Thread: Mobile bench using scissor jacks

Cracking idea, well done !

Great idea!

Great Idea, might have to pinch that one


joez

Originally Posted by Groggy

Great idea!

Groggy, you might need more jacks than that to lift your monster.

Hmm

very interesting

extremely interested in seeing how it works in captivity.

Might just be what I need for my bench build

I like the idea. Looks very nice.

Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker

...
extremely interested in seeing how it works in captivity....

I've had a trial-run or such going for a couple of weeks, just using a batten across the jack in place of the flat bar, and using pliers etc to turn the jack. I was initially planning on having the jack push up against just a 19mm ply piece, went with the steel to be sure nothing cracks!
If you raise the jack an inch or more the box can bind when you lower it (fixed with a kick!). The bench itself can rock a little when being wheeled, as it is held up really by a single fulcrum, and the box itself can move a little in its recess.

Nice idea Dog.
I was contemplating a solution to that exact problem today. I have a couple of spare scissor jacks here somewhere but I'lll use a removable wheel setup.

Your bench looks great mate - in my initial brainstorming to work out how to move this one around I thought of a roll-under type arrangement or removable wheels, problem is I have trouble storing the stuff I have now, let alone bench moving paraphernalia!

I wonder whether having the steel plate welded to the top of the jack might lessen the wobble

I'm going to have to think about adding something like this to my bench as I build it.

Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker

I wonder whether having the steel plate welded to the top of the jack might lessen the wobble

Hmm welding.... I initially planned to weld the M10 bolt shaft to the jack, then went with cross-bolting it on with M4 bolts.... a consequence of a fiddly weld and limited experience/practice! I wouldn't relish welding the top.
It would make assembly/disassembly a nuisance though I feel. I have thought of joining the jack to the plate, so the wheels could be retracted upwards - would help with sweeping etc, but the way clearances have worked out, they'd only rise a couple of mm in any case.

I was pushing the bench around yesterday to clean up the garage after making some ply covers for the jack wells, if you only rise the legs enough to push - 3-4mm or so, then rocking is minimal. Given the castors are there to only move from A to B, the rocking isn't concerning me.

Lee

Good idea - I really like it.

It sounds like the rocking and jamming are caused by the boxes being too large and of not being a close enough fit to their enclosure. To reduce the rocking and jamming, instead of lifting both ends of the bench maybe it would be better to just lift one end and leave the other end permanently on wheels. When one end of the bench is on the ground the bench should not move. Then it may also be possible to use just one swiveling castor directly under the jack in a much smaller box so that it does not tilt so easily in its enclosure. Leaving one end on wheels only works if they can be fixed (not swiveling) castors

I like a solution I saw in a european workshop that used trailer jockey wheels to move stuff around. All the machines had holes in them where a set of 3 modified jockey wheels could be inserted and locked into place. They were moving 2 ton machines around with this setup.

Originally Posted by BobL

Good idea - I really like it.
It sounds like the rocking and jamming are caused by the boxes being too large and of not being a close enough fit to their enclosure. ...

I agree, I'd love to have it an air-tight fit! The enclosure is about 10mm wider than the jack, and the boxes fit into their wells with approx 1mm tolerance (half the width of my square blade actually!) - too loose they rock TOO much, too tight and they jam on lowering!
I really did want 4 feet on the ground for use - I did consider just jacking one end initially.
Given the feet are lifted a few mm, the rocking is only this much, and at this height, no jamming on lowering occurs at all.
This system according to specs I guess should lift 600kg (castor limit - probably more given the short duty cycle you would ordinarily be subjecting the castors to). This is based on the castors, the jacks should lift nearly 2 tonnes between them... the piece of block door the castors are bolted to might become the weak link in between 600-2000kg! I think my bench would weigh in around 250kg (Top is 35mm solid door and 38mm of ply and hardwood apron, base is blackbutt).

Lee