Raising tools for taller people?

[steve joly]

I'm wondering if anyone else has raised any of their large tools on a platform to make the working height more comefortable. If so how high is your work surface and how tall are you? And how did you raise them? My table saw is on a large bench that includes my miter saw router station, radial arm saw, and some big drawers for storage. The whole thing is on casters and can be pulled out to the center of my garage when I'm working on a project. I'm realizing how much I prefer to work at the bench vs my other tools which are on regular mobile bases. The table saw top/bench top is at 36 inches. I think I would like to raise my band saw and shaper to similar heights however want to make sure they stay stable also.

[Rich Riddle]

Some folks here have done it for other reasons. If memory serves correctly, Keith put his major tools on pallets and uses a pallet jack to move them around. That would add about five inches of height to all the tools. Others also use pallet jacks and pallets. Some people make their own pallets when using this system. How much height are you attempting to gain? Are you saying you want all your tools 36" high? How high are they at this time?

[John Downey]

My mobile bases add about an inch to height. Being fairly tall I don't mind it, but I generally don't like the table saw to be all that high - limits my reach when ripping.

Chopsaw I do like to be on a tall bench, 42" or so. My drill press is a bench model that came with a metal stand. I used it for years with the stand on the floor, and then put it on a wheeled dolly for easy moving around and cleaning. It's now 4-5 inches higher and I much prefer it that way. Table is usually around 48" up if not more. It's nice not to have to bend way down to see what I'm drilling.

[glenn bradley]

The Saw Stop PCS is quite low compared to other saws I have owned. When I got one, suddenly the rest of my shop was "tall" and I had to hunch to use the saw. I built a small torsion box riser for it and all has been well.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I'm not alone! Seems like everything to too low in my shop too. I raised my tablesaw around 4", the bench is taller than the experts said it should be, and all the other stuff is on mobile stands, which give them more height. I think everything is designed for <6' heights.

[Mike Olson]

All my tools are higher than normal. My tablesaw is at 42" high and my Chop saw is at 46" high.
I'm 6' 4" and just measured out the height of my tablesaw by reaching out to the back of the tablesaw by bending at the waist. Whatever the tallest height allowed me to still reach the back of the tablesaw easily is what I used: 42". As the Chop saw isn't nearly as deep i could place that higher.

All the high tools allowed me to add more storage under them. For instance, my snow blower is under my chop saw.
Also, important is that I don't slouch the entire time i'm working

[Steve Baumgartner]

I'm 6'2". I put my Unisaw up on a platform of 2x laid flat (so 1 1/2 raise) mostly so that stuff being cut would clear other tools nearby, but it does help my back. I raised my lathe up 5 1/2 inches on edgewise 2x6. Makes it much more comfortable for me.

Steve

[John Lanciani]

I use hockey pucks under the feet of my stationary tools to raise them up. Cheap, easy, and fast. They're 1" thick and they're just soft enough to let the machine foot settle in a bit so that they stay put. When I need to stack them I just shoot a couple of 16ga finish nails through them to keep the stack together.

[Mike Cutler]

I use hockey pucks under the feet of my stationary tools to raise them up. Cheap, easy, and fast. They're 1" thick and they're just soft enough to let the machine foot settle in a bit so that they stay put. When I need to stack them I just shoot a couple of 16ga finish nails through them to keep the stack together.


Oh,,, now that's a great idea!!!!

I'm 6'2" and all my machines are higher up. All are on some type of a mobile base and the height was changed there, by using ply wood layers to raise the machines.
With John's idea, I now need about a dozen pucks to raise my saws a little higher.

Table saws are 36"
Jointer is 36"
workbench is 40".
Bandsaws are 40" and 45".

[Dok Yager]

I`m 6'4" and I put my lathe on my old welding table that's in 42" tall and it`s just the right height for me. My table saw is on a mobile base I built and is 2" taller than stock as is my bandsaw.

[Jason White]

I'm nearly 6'5" and I've found 40" to be the ideal height for my workbench. Normal height for a workbench is 36", so I just raised it and all of my other stationary tools 4". Easy to do if you build your own mobile bases like I did. Here's one I built for my cabinet saw, which raised it up exactly 4 inches...


I'm wondering if anyone else has raised any of their large tools on a platform to make the working height more comefortable. If so how high is your work surface and how tall are you? And how did you raise them? My table saw is on a large bench that includes my miter saw router station, radial arm saw, and some big drawers for storage. The whole thing is on casters and can be pulled out to the center of my garage when I'm working on a project. I'm realizing how much I prefer to work at the bench vs my other tools which are on regular mobile bases. The table saw top/bench top is at 36 inches. I think I would like to raise my band saw and shaper to similar heights however want to make sure they stay stable also.

[Rick Potter]

3 layers of part board. Gives a saw height of about 37 1/2".

[Jery Madigan]

I raised my 20" band saw 4.5" with 3 2x8's front and back. The purpose was to get the lower cabinet door clear of the Rockler All terrain mobile base. However, I find that I like the higher working area and as a bonus, it clears the top of nearby machines giving me me more horizontal working area without moving the saw. I am 6'1". don' know the height - may add it later to this when I get home.

[steve joly]

Thanks for the input I think I'm going to try raising the bandsaw and shaper to match my tablesaw height. My final goal is that I will get to a good work height with my tools aligned so that the tables will support work pieces for each other. Probably will need some rollers in between also. Here is a pic of how high my table saw sits now, (the bench has been finished and the space between the table saw and the miter saw is filled in by a router table that shares the table saw fence) this bench is going away but I plan to repeat the height with my new setup.
281631

[Jason White]

The height of the SawStop PCS is 36", which is the same as most other cabinet saws (including my Unisaw).


The Saw Stop PCS is quite low compared to other saws I have owned. When I got one, suddenly the rest of my shop was "tall" and I had to hunch to use the saw. I built a small torsion box riser for it and all has been well.

[Clay Crocker]

I'm 6'4" and I have settled on a standard height throughout my shop of 39". Workbenches, router table, cabinet saw, etc… My cabinet saw has 3" blocks between the bottom of the cabinet and the mobile base.

[Jason White]

CORRECTION!!

I was wrong about the height (sorry!)... :o The PCS is 34" tall and not 36". I measured the one we have at work today. Why the heck would they make it so much shorter??


The height of the SawStop PCS is 36", which is the same as most other cabinet saws (including my Unisaw).

[Matt Day]

I have my cabinet saw on 2x4's on end, so it raises the working height 3.5". Not at home right now so can't measure. I'm 6'1" and would never go back to the lower height.

[Larry Frank]

I am 6'3" and have bad back problems. I have raised my SawStop PCS so it is 42" high and that is about the height of my other tools. I have had to build boxes to fit in the various mobile bases to raise them up but it has made a huge difference in my back comfort.

[Rob Price]

I was suprised at how low the PCS was, I just never got around to raising it and got used to the height, maybe I should revisit. My BS is on a mobile base but I like the stock height. My router table is close to 40". I put my lathe on leveling casters to get the spindle height at 48". I'm 6'6".

[Alan Bienlein]

I'm 6'-3" and all my tool surfaces are the same height at 36". I even lowered my one work bench 2" to be the same height as the tools and I haven't noticed the difference
and I gained an additional 32" of ripping length for my table saw because of it.

My jointer is the only exception but the top of the fence is just below 36" in height which works perfect. I even lowered my band saw so the table is at the same 36" height and I find it more comfortable to cut on.

I think my wife feels a little left out now as I no longer need her to help support what I'm cutting due to all my work surfaces being the same height and I no longer have to rig up something to support it due to this one simple change.