Bora Centipede - Temporary Workbench

I currently work in a fairly small shop, although i generally do more metalwork than woodwork. Ive been thinking about a few solutions to add a MFT type surface to drop onto my existing workbenches.

This morning i was trying to remember the Parf system and ended up searching for 'bench dog' on the Carbatec website and came across this:
Bora Centipede Workbench Tabletop with MFT type dog holes | Carbatec

Basically a MFT top with a hinge in the middle. But the support/legs for it caught my eye, which are this type of fold out concertina support that you can clamp a work surface to:
Centipede K6S (2'x4') Work Support | Carbatec

All up it looks like this:
https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/...bletop-02d.jpg

It looks like this would be a reasonable solution to my limited space as it would fold down nicely and be stored out of the way. It certainly wont be as sturdy as a Roubo or a dedicated bench, but as an additional work surface it looks like it might do the trick.

Has anyone used this unit? Reflections? Alternatives?

I have a 1200 X 2400 centipede and currently thinking of making a removable 8020 ally MFT top to go on top until I build my permanent bench. Sort of along the lines of an aluminium Paulk style top. The centipede is 760 high and thinking of a 190 tall top. The old story is you need a bench to build a bench. Costing up the ally stuff at the moment as I have bought a dashboard track hinge to make the bench a cutting station with my festool track saw. The dashboard hinge system needs a track to mount it hence the ally extrusion system. Once I build a more permanent base I can move the top over to it.
Hope someone else has been along this route too.

The Fe$tool STM 1800 would be more robust... as is the price!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by takai

It looks like this would be a reasonable solution to my limited space as it would fold down nicely and be stored out of the way. It certainly wont be as sturdy as a Roubo or a dedicated bench, but as an additional work surface it looks like it might do the trick.

Has anyone used this unit? Reflections? Alternatives?

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I was getting ready to "bag" the apparent lightweight nature of that bench but then I read the weight bearing specs - 2500lbs! (frame) which if true is pretty impressive for a folding bench.

Peter Millard on YouTube has just built a bench using the Dashboard hing & Ikea curtain track.
Extrusion Confusion - A Guide To MFT Hardware [video 486] - YouTube

the video after this has the bench build.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by noel_w

I have a 1200 X 2400 centipede and currently thinking of making a removable 8020 ally MFT top to go on top until I build my permanent bench. Sort of along the lines of an aluminium Paulk style top. The centipede is 760 high and thinking of a 190 tall top. The old story is you need a bench to build a bench. Costing up the ally stuff at the moment as I have bought a dashboard track hinge to make the bench a cutting station with my festool track saw. The dashboard hinge system needs a track to mount it hence the ally extrusion system. Once I build a more permanent base I can move the top over to it.
Hope someone else has been along this route too.

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Hi Noel, I'm also in the process of putting together a largeish (2500 x 1100) MFT style bench top with the sides made from extrusion. If you haven't seen already, I would highly recommend looking at two threads on the Festool Users Group. The first one by AtomicRyan documents his BF/MFT Build and has a few videos, he uses 8020 extrusion. The second one by MikeGE documents his Medium BF/MFT Workbench Build, he uses a German extrusion called item24 (which is also available in Australia).

Both of their builds are based around a fairly hefty setup on casters incorporating lots of storage. They also both use the Dashboard track hinge. I'm planning to adapt their ideas to just build a top (with the Dashboard hinge) that will sit on sturdy height adjustable trestles. I'm working within my garage, so the top has to be stored against a wall when not in use.

I'm wondering what sources you've found for the extrusion in Australia or if you are only planning on using 8020. I priced out using 8020 versus item24 and was surprised that item24 was cheaper - even including the shipping from Melbourne to Sydney.

Have you thought about what to make the MFT top out of? I still haven't come to a decision as the humidity where I am in Sydney fluctuates quite a lot and I'm not sure MDF would be a particularly good choice.

I have a Bora Centipede (same as the image you have posted) and have found it to be the solution in my workshop for a workbench.

It's very quick to put together and pull down and easy to slide around if you need to move it a little. Takes up little space when you need it out of the way.

My workshop is a single car garage and full of machinery so having a permanent full size workbench is not an option.

I have a small 6" bench top jointer and the Centipede takes the weight of the machine when I need to use it. The Centipede is stable although vibration when sanding will cause tools/bits and pieces to fall of the top.

I did buy the risers for the "legs" as I found the work height to a bit low.

One thing that I have noticed is when unfolding the top you can be "pinched" by the middle joint of the top. Only happens once if you know what I mean.

Not really sure how it compares with other products on the market. As I didn't compare it with anything else. Just thought it was perfect for what I needed.

Cheers

Brett

A lot better priced than I was expecting