Thread: A wheely good workbench solution

Hello again
Happy new year to you all!.
Eventually got around to getting this done, a thick slathering of paint took a long time to dry, as the workshop is quite chilly.
I had some more things to make whilst I had metalwork and painting to do...
Some threadbar was scavenged, and I'd just enough nuts and washers to do the job.
Got around to testing it and pleased to say it works well
SAM_4087.JPG
I put a bend on the spring and drilled another hole since the last photos.
The spring might be a tad stiff for the job, ...
Or maybe I just need to take a file to the corner of the pedal and round it a bit...
or maybe unbolt the catch and add a bead of weld where it stops against the tab.
You might make out that it is canted forward slightly.

I'm thinking the witness marks on the paint might make it clear or not.
Still works without fault, but its just not quite as smooth and silent as it could be.
More of a case of the why might be the reason I would even bother sorting that, as
its not like I'm in an apartment or anything.

SAM_4093.JPG


Plenty of space for a shelf or to sweep or simply even, to find that dropped cap iron screw.
If it doesn't roll in behind the wheels that is, which would be very unlikely wouldn't it?
SAM_4097.JPG

Nice and level even with plenty of weight on it
SAM_4104.JPG

Why didn't ya do dis ages ago, and where's my shop bed goin?
SAM_4106.JPG

Ill make an update if I decide to go back at it again for whatever reason.
An interesting project to ponder about for the Scandi bench, as the base is a good bit shorter.
I'll take some trial and error I guess, rather than just finding two pipes which was pretty close or spot on the perfect length for the job.

Thanks for reading, be interesting to hear some ideas or tips
All the best folks
Tom

Here’s mine,
The Beast Workbench Design walkthrough of custom timber workbench - YouTube

That was a very enjoyable watch Peter, the levers look very tidy.
What a great solution for one who wants an unobstructed access and vision for fallen items.

Very cool looking benches to have in the shop, I did ponder making something similar to your assembly bench in future if needed for outfeed/infeed.
Currently, as always I suppose, ,,,just trying to make some more space, and was thinking a similar thing might give some more options for moving everything about.
Would love to see some more on that sometime if you have a thread about it.

Will have to see how things go, as I may be able to actually use my TS now that I've got it rolling nicely, (bar the soft floor) so along with bench no.1 movable now
should make the shop more versatile.

Thanks for showing
Tom

Having another look at your design Peter now I have time to think about it.
It looks like something similar (but not concealed)
might be a better idea instead of the paddle designs for the next bench,
a shorter narrower base on a Scandi type with sleds might not lend itself as easily as this one, as the long lever might get a bit skyward,
Your solution might sort that out for me.


Would be very interesting to see some more about your design.
I may have to go digging for your old threads when the time comes to want it mobile.
(not even finished it yet though, so that will be a long time away yet.
Thanks again, definitely some food for thought

Cheers again
Tom

Well, twasn't long before more fettling was needed...
The spring kept undoing itself so it needed to be bolted down.
Luckily had enough of the take your face off handbag umbrella spring to have another go at it.
Took a bit of a fight with two pairs of vice grips and a pliers, but got there in the end.
Seems solid enough with a washer, I was thinking I might have to make some sort of wee plate for it to stay put, but it's not budging as it is, so will leave that for another day if it happens to wriggle it's way loose.
SAM_4111.jpg

Since I've messed around with now it for a bit, some might be interested on how well it works.
It wheels around very easily and puts up no fight whatsoever, which I was slightly surprised with, so this tells me the paddles/caster locations are not too long. (bearing in mind the base for this bench is pretty long)
It's not tippy either which was the biggest surprise.

(made note that the paddles do collect quite a bit of rubbish, so would go about it the same as I made on the tablesaw, much cleaner)


One thing that I didn't see coming, was the short lever will hit the ground if you wheel it to the left and crash into something, or jam the caster into an offcut.
This can be sorted easily with a stop, which I may well do in future.
I have yet to see how big of a deal that will be, was thinking of some sort of pin arrangement to catch into a slot on the long lever kinda thing, instead of drilling another hole into the bench strecher or having another lookalike pedal.
SAM_4115.JPG


Another more important issue might be for those with a bad floor.
I chose to make it lift quite tall off the ground, around an inch,
to account for tipping, and for waste not to get stuck whilst moving it.

I didn't do any calculations and just winged it with the metal I had.
If the floor is properly level where you drop the bench, the foot lever will be as you see it.
If you happen to have an area where it's not level, then that lever will lift up
and bottom out against the underside of the upper strecher of the bench, or get close to it.
This leaves little space for your foot, and a bit of footwork might be in order,

Another thing regarding the bottoming out of the pedal on the upper strecher, I got lucky as the bench lifts the height I wanted it to,,,
Note the higher the bench is lifted, the more chance of that pedal bottoming out, and stopping the bench from lowering/being stationary.
Mine might need a wiggle on the bad part of the floor, but with a small bit of weight that should swing those castors around.
Might be a millimetre or two too high, but might settle down after a while,
I will be keeping it there in the original location anyway, I like my back to the tools, and only moving it for use of the tablesaw most likely.


SAM_4116.JPG

I am very happy with it though, it makes the workshop seem much bigger now.
One safety aspect I will mention, as those likely interested making their bench mobile will have a cramped workshop, and might use it more than they think
they do!
I'm sure some of you might often do a poor man's pommel without knowing it! hopping over boxes of offcuts and the likes, like a gorilla...
DEPRESS the levers afterwards or you might end up landing on your aarse!

And as again, will do an update on how things go,
I might end up making a stop for the short lever in future if need be.

Very glad I made the base for this bench first, as the next design will be more involved.
Would be very interested to see some other ideas.
Thanks for looking
Tom