Thread: Friday lunch prattle

Happy new year all

Ditto

Regards
Paul

For Simon:

These are 57mm long, recycled Ikea.

drawerslides1.jpg

For anybody that's interested :

Method of combining wheels and lockability

Adjustable wheels.jpg

We probably focus on placing the wheels on the fixed leg components. This is the opposite approach. The style of bench and available space may be an issue particularly on existing benches.

Regards
Paul

I like that - simple design, common components and stable when wheels are up.

Originally Posted by labr@

I like that - simple design, common components and stable when wheels are up.

Only thing I would say is that on a really heavy bench the screws in the hinges might need to be switched out for bolts.

Otherwise its nice and simple and workable.

Originally Posted by doug3030

Only thing I would say is that on a really heavy bench the screws in the hinges might need to be switched out for bolts.

Doug

I agree that bench looks as though it is a smaller size and made of pine so a strong man in his latter years might lift one end with a single finger .

However, if we consider a 2.4m bench made of tougher than steel Aussie hardwood it might be a different issue, but I don't think I would stress too much. By all means use heavy duty hinges and the largest screws that will fit even if you have to enlarge the counter sink to accommodate them. The vertical screws in hardwood will have tremendous holding power and the horizontal screws will only need strength in shear. If you could enlarge the holes in a big hinge to take batten screws that would be perfect and would hold an African elephant (an adolescent ).

Regards
Paul

The screws going into end grain on the locking block is probably something best avoided, but as you say, Paul, it is more than adequate for the lightweight bench it is attached to. For that matter it would probably last for years on my 160kg Aussie hardwood bench too, if for no better reason than that I have no urge to move it in the near future.

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Method of combining wheels and lockability
We probably focus on placing the wheels on the fixed leg components. This is the opposite approach. The style of bench and available space may be an issue particularly on existing benches.

That's a bloody good idea!

I'm planning to build something like The Perfect Garage Workbench & Outfeed Table // Part 1 - YouTube (without the router table). I like the idea of hiding a shopvac and maybe a mini-separator in the bench, and having some gates for dust when using benchtop tools (sander, track saw, etc). Plus integated power strips on each end of the bench. Not totally sold on t-track, but I haven't actually used t-track or bench dogs in person.


Could probably do your idea on the end if the bottom cross-beam was raised a foot or so.

Poll - what is good size for outfeed/assembly table?

1. Full sheet (2.4 x 1.2)
2. Shorter (~2 x 1.2)
3. Smaller (~2 x 0.9)
4. Other?

I guess I'd like to have enough space to feed a full sheet into the saw, and out the other side, which means 2.4 (in) + 1.0 (saw) + 2.4 (out) = ~5.8 ish. With a row of machines against one wall, that's pretty much the width of my shed.

I guess it should be the same width as my table saw (since it will spend 90% of the time butted up against it), and at least half a sheet of ply (say 5/8) long so I can push through and not have it tip off the far side. Say 1.8x1.2?

I suspect that nobody has made suggestions because it all depends on the type of work you do most often.
Here are a few thoughts that may or may not help.

For many of us space would be a major consideration but that is probably not so critical in your case, although you don't want to waste space either

One approach would be to work out what you would need as a minimum for most of the work you do and then add some capacity for expansion to cope with occasional full sheets or whatever else might be larger. That could be things such as foldable benches or gate leg extensions hanging off the permanent table.

Of course there is a trade off here because the expansion equipment will take time to set up. For this reason I would favour gate leg extensions on both in and outfeed tables as I think they would be quicker and easier to set up. They would also be more stable since they would be connected to the tables.

It really is a problem that requires an individual solution.

For me, I have a Triton wc2000 with the maxi extension table that will handle a full sheet of ply. After the first cut you aren't dealing with a full sheet of ply any more. Sometimes I position some of my four Triton multistands strategically to handle bits that might otherwise drop. There is also my new height adjustable assembly/infeed/outfeed table which can be used with any machine in the shed.

For me (and I am talking only about me) I find no reason to set up a massive table of a fixed height to catch offcuts from the tablesaw. I would rarely need that with the projects I do and even when it would be handy I can still make do with what I have. I don't find myself in that position often. I have 15m x 6m of floor space and a large, fixed table would kill me.

Within the next few weeks I will be cutting a lot of sheet goods because I will be re-skinning the frame on my box trailer with 4mm bracing ply (1.2m x 3.3m sheet size). I suppose a big outfeed table would come in handy for that but after that job is done it would just be stopping me doing anything else while it is taking up all the space. There's 5 sheets to cut in that job and there's 2 sheets of 12mm ply for some drawers that I can do while I am set up. I can have them cut up in less time than I could build the big outfeed table. And that's probably all the sheetgoods I will be cutting up in the next 3 to 5 years.

Agree. Suspect it'll be used more as an assembly table/workbench than an outfeed table.