Elevating projects

[Pat Meeuwissen]

Guys, as I get older I don't want to work on the floor any more. I don't have room for a dedicated work table and have been using 4 buckets to help when working on larger projects to raise them up to a comfortable height. The problem is that they don't anchor down very well and slide very easily. I would love to hear/see any other ideas for doing this, keeping in mind they need to be collapsible or stored in one another. Thanks

[Vince Rosypal]

I like my telescoping leg saw horses, they get down to about 18" and fold up real compact
They are pretty good for sturdy, especially when lower.
One day I might add a 2X to the top which will stiffen it up even more

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/mastercraft-sawhorse-with-telescopic-legs-0571635p.html

[John Ziebron]

Pat I'm with you about working in an upright position. I'm lucky enough to have a large work table on casters but sometimes I work on stuff outside. In that case I'll use one or two of these: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-X-Workhorse-Workbench-17185155/202021304. The top locks on with a quarter turn and it folds flat with the top in about 10 seconds. I hang them on a wall when not in use. Very clever and sturdy design.

[glenn bradley]

Adjustable sawhorses and torsion beams

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[Larry Frank]

I have the Husky table also and it is great. The Stanley adjustable saw horses are also good.

[Brian Backner]

If you want more in the way of convenience, mimic what the ergonomic gurus in industry do - use an adjustable height workstand. You're obviously not going to need a 10,000# capacity welding positioning table with a built in turntable, but most home shop projects could be accommodated by a rolling lift table from HF:

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/lifts-stands/500-lb-capacity-hydraulic-table-cart-61405.html

or:

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/lifts-stands/500-lb-capacity-hydraulic-table-cart-61405.html

If you are working on something really big, or heavy, use two of these stands and bridge them with a work surface made of 2x4's and plywood.

[John K Jordan]

I often use the collapsible plastic saw horses that have a couple of 1.5" wide notches. These will tightly hold a 2x4 or 2x6 on edge which make the whole thing pretty stable. I often put a piece of 1/2" ply on top to make a temporary work surface, sometimes held with screws.

I use these inside and outside the shop for wood assembly, chainsawing chunks for turning blanks, welding and plasma cutting, and for a general work surface around the farm such as when working on equipment or animals. They make great temporary roosts for birds too - I currently have some in a pen for some big toms I'm "turkey sitting" for a friend. The storage space is minimal.

For something shorter, I'd probably take a couple of 2x10s or something, notch the tops of these and stand on edge, and interlock with a two or more more notched 2-bys running the other direction. To reduce weight and perhaps to work better on a bumpy floor/ground, the bottom two could have big arches cut out to make feet on the ends. Easy to knock down and store. Three levels for more height. Zero cost with surplus lumber. In fact, now I want to make one of these for myself!

JKJ

[Matt Day]

+1 Brian

There are some good threads on here about adjustable work platforms/benches. Do some research on it.

[Charles Lent]

Do you have a Work-Mate?

If not, they are quite easy to find cheap at yard sales. I made a table top for mine from a piece of 3/4 plywood about 2' X 3' in size, but it could be larger or smaller to suit your needs. I attached a T shaped strip across the bottom center of the plywood that I clamp into the vise on the Work-Mate. Making it T shaped and mounting the narrower part of the T to the table bottom the wide part of the T keeps it from pulling out of the Work-Mate vise, should the vice not be quite tight enough while in use, the wider part of the T will prevent the top from lifting out of the vise.

With the Work-Mate fully folded and laying on the floor, the table top is about 5" above the floor. With the 4 legs opened, the table top is elevated to about 11" above the floor. With the Work-Mate fully set up, the table is about 36" above the floor. Folding the legs back in will give you a height of about 30". One of those heights will be comfortable enough to allow working on almost any small project, and it's easy to change the table from one height to another as the project grows in size. When finished using the Work=Mate I fold it and hang it on the shop wall. A hole in the table top plywood lets me hang it on a nail in the wall too.

I now have several Work-Mates and use them frequently to hold tools and projects at comfortable heights. I initially made the first table top for a Work-Mate to hold a lunch box planer, but I have been finding new uses for my Work-Mates and table tops ever since. Set one up next to your car to pile tools on while you are working. Set one next to your large work bench to hold sanding and painting supplies when the large bench isn't quite large enough to hold everything. Set one up next to your drill press to hold the boxes of bits wrenches and screwdrivers while drilling and clamping many parts to the drill press table. Set one up next to your lathe and use a table top with holes in it to hold all of your lathe tools. Invent some new uses for your own needs.

Charley

[John T Barker]

Guys, as I get older I don't want to work on the floor any more. I don't have room for a dedicated work table and have been using 4 buckets to help when working on larger projects to raise them up to a comfortable height. The problem is that they don't anchor down very well and slide very easily. I would love to hear/see any other ideas for doing this, keeping in mind they need to be collapsible or stored in one another. Thanks

I'm on facebook and "like" a few of the woodworking pages which display projects, tools, etc. Just a few days ago there was a work table which could be elevated to a number of different heights for your comfort while working on a project. My back thought it funny that a number of people responded that they didn't know what value this would be...probably 20-30 year olds that haven't done much to their bodies yet. I'll try a few more times to find it and post it for you if I do.

[John T Barker]

This looks like a sketch of what I saw on facebook.

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[Keith Outten]

Get the hydraulic table that Brain recommended. Throw away the handle, then you can stand the table on its edge for storage and it takes very little floor space.

I have four of them, use one for my midi-lathe and the others are used for various projects as necessary including unloading my truck, moving materials around my shop and temporary work tables. You will enjoy the adjustable height an how easy it is to raise and lower the table.
.

[Cary Falk]

I have a couple of Dewalt foldable adjustable height saw horses from Home Depot. I also have an older Wolfcraft foldable adjustable height table similar to a workmate.

[Brian Backner]

This looks like a sketch of what I saw on facebook.

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I like the idea, you could also design one with a single heavy duty auto floor jack centered on the top table.

The point is there are multiple ways to make adjustable tables.

[Pat Meeuwissen]

Guys, thanks so much for the responses and the understanding. It was all good when we were in our twenties now the knees and back are paying the price.
I do have a workmate and use it all the time for smaller tasks but right now I'm working on a bar server cart and its 56" long I was thinking more along the lines of a couple knock down boxes like this outfeed table looks to be. https://www.familyhandyman.com/tools/table-saws/diy-table-saw-table/view-all
I also have a couple adjustable heavy duty saw horses which too wide to fit well into space I have to work. I use them outdoors when its not 24 degrees out. :);)

[glenn bradley]

People have done some clever things with the little HF or Grizzly hydraulic tables as the "engine".

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[Stan Calow]

​I use an old kitchen table I found at a garage sale for $5.

[Pat Meeuwissen]

Here is what I'm going to make.
http://woodarchivist.com/2000-knock-workstation-plans/

[Mike Cutler]

I have that HF cart that Brian linked to.
I bought it to put a 350 lb wall oven in, and I've used it a lot in the shop. It also lines up with my truck bed, very useful. Ikept the handle though .

[Clint Baxter]

If you want breakdown/storage capability you might take a look at the Trojan saw horse https://www.amazon.com/Trojan-TS-27-Tall-Sawhorse-sawhorse/dp/B0000224RN/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1489273539&sr=8-2&keywords=trojan+saw+horses. Picked up some of these in a taller size and they can be very versatile as well. When not in use, you disconnect them from the wooden crossmember and the fold up to a very small size.

Clint

[Warren Lake]

didnt read it all totally agree, at one point I was using a roll around welded up say 16" off the ground approx and sitting on a mechanics roll around seat, it was better. Then last time like the photo shown did the beams on horses, what a difference for fitting doors and drawer fronts on a vanity. Main thing is check it all for level so stuff is not racked

[Herb Smith]

This video from Down to Earth Woodworker might be something for you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-rfBtZVeC8

[Alan Lightstone]

If you want more in the way of convenience, mimic what the ergonomic gurus in industry do - use an adjustable height workstand. You're obviously not going to need a 10,000# capacity welding positioning table with a built in turntable, but most home shop projects could be accommodated by a rolling lift table from HF:

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/lifts-stands/500-lb-capacity-hydraulic-table-cart-61405.html

or:

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/lifts-stands/500-lb-capacity-hydraulic-table-cart-61405.html

If you are working on something really big, or heavy, use two of these stands and bridge them with a work surface made of 2x4's and plywood.

If the one you get is anything like mine, the top is crowned and while it lifts easily, the surface is useless to work on. You would have to custom make a flat surface for it. It's not something I would buy again.

[Chris Wdowiak]

I am in the same boat as you and plan on building the Woodsmith plans stacking saw horses.

[Bill Dindner]

I use a Festool MFT/3 folds easily and has loads of features, if I'm working on a large price, I roll an adjustable height stand under it.

[Lornie McCullough]

I have been looking at the Harbor Freight motorcycle lift, and thinking about building a 3x6 torsion box table for it.

Have you (or seen someone) do this? My last project required too much time on my knees.

Lornie

[Rod Sheridan]

I bought a 600 pound capacity hydraulic table that lifts to about 50" high.

I'm in the process of modifying it so the handle can be permanently removed. I need to convert the hand control that lowers it (mounted on the handle) to some type of foot pedal.

That way the handle won't be in the way..............Rod.

[Keith Outten]

Alan,

I have built several custom tops for my hydraulic tables over the years to accommodate various projects. I normally fasten a couple pieces of angle iron to the sides of the table and use these to attach whatever style top I need rather than fastening directly to the (flat) horizontal sheet metal top. This also keeps me from having to drill through the table top over and over. If you can weld a 2" square tube (receiver hitch) to the end of the angle iron pieces you have a great way to mount a variety of metal and woodworking vises, buffing motors, sanders, etc and take advantage of the quick and easy height adjustment.

[Eric Commarato]

There is a woodworker who does excellent video's on YouTube, his channel is Ishitani Furniture. He has a workbench that is made using a hydraulic lift table similar to those you can purchase at Harbor Freight. It appears he has a wooden benchtop and vise built on top of this lift table. The video was released three weeks ago on February 18. The video title is Making a Bench and Chairs. The table shows up around the 7:45 mark in his video. Pretty cool. Check out all his videos, he has a cool shop, nice machines and his work is stellar.

[Pat Meeuwissen]

Guys, thanks alot for all the ideas. For some reason I'm not getting any Emails for any of my subscribed threads all set to Instant Email?? The thing most of these miss on is the "keeping in mind they need to be collapsible or stored in one another" part VERY limited space for any of the lifts which I would get in a heartbeat if space was no object.

[Van Huskey]

One thing to note about these tables is they also make excellent outfeed support for bandsaw, shapers etc that are either mobile or don't warrant the space for a permanent outfeed table. If you don't need a wide variation in height (more likely with a multifunction outfeed table than what has been discussed in this thread) I prefer the non-hydraulic versions like a motorcycle scissor jack since it is mechanical and can not leak down like some people report the Harbor Freight lifts can.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0196PAZ1S?tag=amz-mkt-chr-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-s1020-win81-other-smile-us000-pcomp-feature-scomp-wm-4

[Pat Meeuwissen]

Van another option for sure. The adjustability is infinite with something like this or the hydraulic version. Thanks

[Frederick Skelly]

This thread has been an excellent read. Many good and useful ideas.
Thank you folks!
Fred

[Mason Truelove]

There a lot of options you could get from Ebay, prices ranges from 18bucks to 100bucks.

[Von Bickley]

I just have a couple of saw horses like these.

https://www.amazon.com/Trojan-TS-35-Tall-Sawhorse-sawhorse/dp/B0000224RO/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&qid=1491663067&sr=8-34&keywords=sawhorse

[Dave Cav]

I have the HF lift table to which I've added a basic plywood top. I plan to cut the handle height down considerably, and make a better top for it, but it's quite useful.

[Nick Dimov]

I made a variant of the festool MFT table. It is a piece of MDF that sits of saw horses. colapses when not needed and easy to move around. Nice thing is it works with all the festool clamps. I'm not sure where you are but if it's local to south Florida I have a CNC machine and can cut the top for you.

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[Bill ThompsonNM]

I made a variant of the festool MFT table. It is a piece of MDF that sits of saw horses. colapses when not needed and easy to move around. Nice thing is it works with all the festool clamps. I'm not sure where you are but if it's local to south Florida I have a CNC machine and can cut the top for you. <img src="http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=357959"/><img src="http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=357960"/> <img src="http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=357961"/>
Nice design!

[Bob Faris]

Here is what I'm going to make.
http://woodarchivist.com/2000-knock-workstation-plans/

That looks like it will work well. The two heights will be handy.

My workshop is 1/2 of a two-car garage. I have a Skil X-Bench which I use for a work table, second workbench, outfeed table, indeed table, platform to stand on, etc. They aren't made anymore, but they do show up on eBay and Craigslist occasionally if anyone wants to keep an eye out for one.

https://vimeo.com/7012230

The size of the top is about 2' x 5' and the height adjusts from 24" to 34". I like the portability and storability.