Workbench feet

[Rolf Safferthal]

For my workbench project I think about what kind of feet are suitable. Sled feed seem to be a good solution. But I´ve seen two different styles. One has a flat bottom side, the other one is cut out in the middle - maybe 3/4 of an inch - so that the sled foot rests on two "end paws" only.

Which one is preferable, which one gives a better friction between floor and foot. Floor is OSB. :confused:

Du to the fact that my shop is in an old indoor pool there is no level floor. :rolleyes: It inclines towards the former outlet. Therefore I´m in need of an opportunity to level the workbench without instability.

Any suggestions?

[Jeff Sudmeier]

In your case, I would think that the feet with the cut out would be prefered! If your workbench is going to be stationary, I would build it, and then hand plane the feet until it is level and sits well.

Course if you move it, you would have to do it again. You could also install levelers, but I would think the friction with the floor would be lessened.

[Alex Yeilding]

I like the idea of resting on the ends of the sled feet. But I'd encourage a shift in thinking, from "cutting out the middle" to laminating footpads on the ends of the sled feet. The visual effect is the same, assuming you use the same wood and plane them flush on the sides. But the pads are a lot easier, and flexible for your leveling challenge.

I would place the base (or whole bench) where you think you want it in the shop. Then I would find the highest corner, and put a relatively thin pad (~1/2") under that leg end. Then use wedges under the other three corners to level your bench. Mark each wedge for location and how far it was driven under the foot, and use them as guides to thickness the other three pads.

If you move the bench, just plane down the pads to level it, or remove them and put on new ones.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Great idea Alex!! I would go with Alex's suggestion :)

[Hank Knight]

Rolf, my basement floor is far from level. When I built my workench, I decided to incorporate machine levelers so I could adjust the leg length independently. I ordered levelers with 3" neoprene pads and 1/2 X 13 X 6" studs form MSC Industrial Supply. I wanted solid base plates for the leg caps, so I had my local machine shop turn, drill and tap some 3 1/2" X 1 3/8" steel stock to give me a 3/8" X 3 1/2" bottom plate with a 1 1/4" X 1" round threaded stud that slipped into a 1 1/4" hole in the bottom of my bench legs. The whole assembly is bomb proof. The levelers pivot and I have about 4" of vertical adjustment for each leg. The neoprene pads stick to the copncrete floor like they were bolted in place - I can't move the bench with all my weight against it.
I'm trying to post pics, but am having some trouble. The photos have been posted here before. Search a thread entitled "Newbie Bench Questions" for the pics.

EDIT: I don't know why posting pictures is such a challenge for me. Here's anopther try of a picture that I haven't posted before. Maybe this will work and give you an idea of the levelers:

[Rolf Safferthal]

Thanks for that bundle of ideas!

Have to think about Alex´ recommendations of lamiated pads. Seems to be much easier!

Hank´s levelers are very interesting too. Need to figure out, who sells similar parts in Germany!

[Alan Turner]

For those better at knowing industrial supply houses than I, a question:

Where can one buy 1/2" or 3/4" rubber-like disks, perhpas 3" in diameter, so I can make my own feet less expensively than I can buy them pre-made (about $8@ is the cheapest I have found)?

To clarify, I need to build 10 student workbenches which will live on a wood floor. $32 would be fine as a price, but $320 is a bunch. How hard are hockey pucks? Are they soft enough to grip a wood floor? Even though I was raised in South Dakota, this is not a game I ever played.

TIA

[Dan Moening]

Here are links to 2 different styles of levelers:

Lee Valley (set of 4) swivel levelers:

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&p=40041&cat=3,40993,41283&ap=1

Grainger vibration isolation rubber pads could be used as a bench "foot". Here is an example:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?xi=xi&ItemId=1611629528&ccitem=

[Alan Turner]

Dan,
Thanks so much. I don't see why the LV ones wouldn't be fine, and the price, even for 10 sets, seems fair.

[Dev Emch]

Rolf...

If it were me, I would choose a sled foot with the cutout. This puts the load onto four pads which makes it easy to level. The best way to level out is to use machine leveler feet. These feet can be bought from a variety of sources even in germany. The germans use these like everyone else to level heavy machines such as milling machines and lathes. You will have to install a threaded barrel to accept these. Now, if you install these, you are probably wondering why the cutout? Good Question. A solid workbench is often made of maple or beech. You will most likely find ready supplies of steamed red beech and not that much maple. Either one is excellent. What I would do for a nice supply of quarter sawn 16 quarter beech! At any rate, these things are heavy. VERY HEAVY. So when its time to move mine, I slip a toe jack under the 3/4 inch cutout section to lift the bench up. My toe jack is made by a german company called GKS Perfect and I use it to move all sorts of machines and to get rollers under the bench when its time to move it. I can jack it elsewhere, but the GKS jack is too easy to use and I only need that 3/4 inch slot to lift it up 4 inches. Hope this helps.

[Michael Perata]

I used a sled foot for my workbench but mounted HDPE pads at each end of the sled. My bench weighs about 300# and stays put except when I really push on a plane.

Moving is easy by lifting up one end of the bench slightly and sliding it across the floor.