Making tool stands from plywood.....do you......

[George Farra]

Hi All,

I have a couple of benchtop tools that i need to make mobile stands for. I figured a simple plywood box with storage for necessary parts/accessories is the easiest way to go.

What is your preferred method of constructing the box? Butt joints glued & nailed, glued dado joints, glue & pocket screws? Trying to figure out the path of least resistence that will yeild a strong foundation for the tool. I was planning on using a face frame with either doors on the cabinet or drawers just to get some woodworking practice in :)

The tools are a DP and a 10" bandsaw.

TIA

George

[Ellen Benkin]

I use the Rockler stands. Very study with great wheels and you can easily add a drawer and enclose the bottom to make a cabinet.

[Jamie Buxton]

3/4" ply. I use biscuits just to register the parts together for gluing. Glue in the butt joints is really what holds the box together. If you have clamps enough to glue it, that's good enough. If you don't have clamps, screws work in their place, and then you may as well leave them in the box. But again what holds the box together is glue. Include a back -- quarter-inch anything is good enough -- glued or stapled all around. The back is what provides anti-wracking.

[Dave Zellers]

I use 3/4" UL ply for this stuff all the time- Butt joints screwed together with 2" yellow zinc deep thread screws about 5" apart, counter sunk to be just below the surface. Sand the joint smooth and use a 1/4" round over bit on all edges to prevent splintering of the plys when an edge gets hit.

[George Farra]

Thanks guys. Butt joints, screws and glue sounds the easiest route

Hapy new year

George

[Myk Rian]

Depends on the weight of the tool/machine.
I used milled 2x4 stock to build a flip stand.
M&T construction. Wouldn't be hard to design it for your needs without the flip top.

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[Charles Coolidge]

With the price of wood products I'm not sure you can build a stand for less than you can buy a steel stand. I needed a base for my 30x60 bench, I worked the numbers on hardwood and just purchased a Kreg instead.

[Phil Thien]

(1) IMHO, plywood butt joints aren't all that strong, I'd always reinforce with biscuits and/or screws.

(2) If I'm going to use screws, I'd do pocket-hole as the bite is stronger screwing into the face of plywood (as pocket screws do) than into the edge.

(3) I have a Rockler tool stand, it is nice. But I can certainly build tool stands from 2x4 material (dressed) for less than the Rockler costs. That doesn't include my time, of course, but I make things because I enjoy doing it. If I was including my time I'd never build anything.

[HANK METZ]

I use whatever's laying about the shop when the need arises, more often than not they tend to resemble what Myk has posted. I do a lot of curbside rescues of materials as my wood "crib" shows.

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[Bill Huber]

For a strong and cheap one I used milled 2x4s and then covered it with 1/4" plywood with a face frame for the drawers.
I put the 2x4s together with dowels and then attached the plywood with brads and glue.

The flip stand I did not cover with the plywood but for the sander I did and added the drawers with full rails.

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[Art Mann]

I built a table saw outfeed table the base of which consists entirely of plywood panels held together by an abundance of pocket screws and drywall screws. I will put the strength and rigidity of this construction technique up against any other type of construction of the same weight. It It doesn't look nearly as nice as Bill's sander table though.

[Buck Williams]

I'm a glued dado fan, probably because I work alone and the dados help with alignment for the glue up. I rarely use any fasteners other than shooting some brads into the back, which is also dadoed and glued. Haven't had a joint failure yet on planer, drill press, miter saw and bench top router table cabinets.

[Keith Bohn]

I love a quick down and dirty machine base, but on the Old Woodworking Machines forum someone started a topic call Shopmade Machine Bases: The Cream of The Crop. There are some pretty unbelievable pieces there.

[George Farra]

Hi All,

As an update, I realized I didnt have enough 3/4" ply but I did have a boatload of 1/2" and 2x4 cutoffs. So i made a frame from ripped down 2x4s and skinned it with 1/2" ply. Looks very similar to some of the above posts.

Thanks everyone & Happy New Year!

George

[Jason White]

Have done this for a heavy contractor saw and also a 14" bandsaw. I've used pocket screws, both with and without glue, with great results. Be sure to build a hardwood face frame or the top will sag. Double-locking swivel casters are also a great thing to have.


Hi All,

I have a couple of benchtop tools that i need to make mobile stands for. I figured a simple plywood box with storage for necessary parts/accessories is the easiest way to go.

What is your preferred method of constructing the box? Butt joints glued & nailed, glued dado joints, glue & pocket screws? Trying to figure out the path of least resistence that will yeild a strong foundation for the tool. I was planning on using a face frame with either doors on the cabinet or drawers just to get some woodworking practice in :)

The tools are a DP and a 10" bandsaw.

TIA

George

[Roderick Gentry]

Best method is tack and tape with fiberglass tape and epoxy. It allows you to make bases that rival cast iron, or weldments, in integrity. Which, of course, is not always the point.

[Roy Turbett]

Hi All,

I have a couple of benchtop tools that i need to make mobile stands for. I figured a simple plywood box with storage for necessary parts/accessories is the easiest way to go.

What is your preferred method of constructing the box? Butt joints glued & nailed, glued dado joints, glue & pocket screws? Trying to figure out the path of least resistence that will yeild a strong foundation for the tool. I was planning on using a face frame with either doors on the cabinet or drawers just to get some woodworking practice in :)

The tools are a DP and a 10" bandsaw.

TIA

George

Ever consider MDF? Several members at OWWM.org have made bases out of MDF that resemble cast iron.