Harbor Freight Adjustable Assembly Table??

[Rodney Randal]

Has anyone ever used, or thought about using one of the hydraulic motorcycle lifts or scissor table lifts that Harbor Freight sells as a base for an adjustable, moveable assembly table?

I have built a 4'x5' torsion box table, but would REALLY like to be able to move it and also have the height adjustable. There are several that I am thinking might work with some modifications (a wider base for stability):
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2792
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91764
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93033
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=41145
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43542
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93116
Several of these are on sale at the local store until 6/12. I am hoping that there will be a 20% off coupon before then to make them even more doable.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or is this a stupid idea?

Thanks,
Rodney

[Vaughn McMillan]

I've thought of the same thing, Randy. I don't see why it wouldn't work.

By the way, welcome to the Creek. :)

- Vaughn

[Larry Cooke]

Has anyone ever used, or thought about using one of the hydraulic motorcycle lifts or scissor table lifts that Harbor Freight sells as a base for an adjustable, moveable assembly table?Rodney,

To be honest I was eyballing the ATV lift for use with lowering heavy objects from the back of my pickup. Though it's maximum lift height be a little too low for that (I do have some ideas that might cure this problem.)

Anyhow, my thoughts were where am I going to store this thing when I'm not using it. Now you come along with this idea and now I'm really going to have to decide. I too am going to build a torsion box assembly table and this could be an excellent way to adjust the height as well as moving it around, just need to build a larger support frame for it perhaps.

It sounds like a great idea, if you do decide to do it let us know how it works out! I'll do the same too.

Oh, and welcome to the Creek!

Larry

[Keith Outten]

Rodney,

I have five of the hydraulic tables in my shop. My largest is a 770 pound capacity table that I use as a workbench. I have a plywood top bolted to the metal table with holes for clamping and two small woodworking vises installed. My workbench doubles as a means of unloading equipment from my truck and is great for handling sheet goods and twelve foot long sheets of Corian. As an assembly bench the ability to adjust the height means that I don't have to bend over so much when working on projects.

My Jet mini lathe, drum sander and a very large heat press are all mounted on adjustable tables and I have one that isn't dedicated to any task that I use as a third hand on some projects to handle long boards like a sawhorse, a table for painting, platform for my EZ cutting table, adjustable welding table, etc.

I have an ATV lift burried in a storage building. I never found a good use for it.

.

[Rodney Randal]

Rodney,

I have five of the hydraulic tables in my shop. My largest is a 770 pound capacity table that I use as a workbench. I have a plywood top bolted to the metal table with holes for clamping and two small woodworking vises installed. My workbench doubles as a means of unloading equipment from my truck and is great for handling sheet goods and twelve foot long sheets of Corian. As an assembly bench the ability to adjust the height means that I don't have to bend over so much when working on projects.

My Jet mini lathe, drum sander and a very large heat press are all mounted on adjustable tables and I have one that isn't dedicated to any task that I use as a third hand on some projects to handle long boards like a sawhorse, a table for painting, platform for my EZ cutting table, adjustable welding table, etc.

I have an ATV lift burried in a storage building. I never found a good use for it.

.
Vaughn and Larry,
Thanks for the welcome.

Keith,
Are these all HF tables and lifts? If so, have they held up well and performed OK?
Do you happen to have pics of the setups?
Did you make larger bases to make them more stable?

Thanks,
Rodney

[Dave Sweeney]

Rodney, here is a link to a 20% off coupon from HF, http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/emails/display.do?fname=23_RetailA.html

[Rodney Randal]

Thanks Dave!

Rodney

[Keith Outten]

Keith,
Are these all HF tables and lifts? If so, have they held up well and performed OK?
Do you happen to have pics of the setups?
Did you make larger bases to make them more stable?

Thanks,
Rodney

Rodney,

My hydraulic tables were purchased from Northern Tools but I would bet they are the same as those sold by HF. All of them are lift tables, four are the 330 pound models and my bench is the 770 pounder. The 770 model is better quality than the smaller tables but all have been great for my shop. Northern Tools will often put the 330 pound lift tables on sale for $120.00 in my area, I can't remember the price of the larger 770 model.

The only table that I modified is the 770. Because I purchased it to use as an adjustable workbench I bolted two pieces of angle iron to the metal table sides that support a 48" by 60" plywood top. I added two plywood rails down each side to stiffen the top as well and to have something to fasten two small woodworking vises. I then cut holes in the table top near the edges for clamping purposes. The plywood top is sacrificial and easy to replace when it is worn or damaged.

When I purchased my 18" Jet band saw last year it was a snap to unload. I backed my truck up to the shop door and slid the band saw in it's crate onto the hydraulic bench then lowered it to the floor and stood it upright by myself. I used the same procedure to unload my ShopBot but my Dad had to help as the Bot weighed over a thousand pounds and it was impossible for me to even slide it out of the truck bed by myself. The weight was more than my table was designed to handle but we were cautious and carefull, the unloading went without a hitch.

For 12 foot long Corian sheets I just slide them from my truck bed onto my hydraulic workbench then adjust the height to the ShopBot table and slide each sheet onto the Bot as I need them. I work alone most of the time and have found that when your over 50 you need to find ways to eliminate the need to manhandle heavy loads as much as possible :)

My Jet mini lathe is now portable on its hydraulic table. I can drop it to the lowest setting and load it in my truck for transporting. Setup takes just a few seconds to pump the table up to the most comfortable height and my wife and daughters can lower the lathe when they want to turn pens so one size fits all....literally.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=5535&highlight=hydraulic+table
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=11823&highlight=hydraulic+table

[Vaughn McMillan]

...Follow this link for a couple of threads with pictures of my workbench and drum sander hydraulic tables;
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/search.php?searchid=738586
LOL - Gotta wonder when the guy who owns the whole doggone site posts broken links. ;) :D

- Vaughn

[Norman Hitt]

LOL - Gotta wonder when the guy who owns the whole doggone site posts broken links. ;) :D

- Vaughn

Yep, Vaughn, didn't work for me either.:confused: Guess Keith musta done an Oops er something with the link.:rolleyes: Bet he gets a laugh when he sees this later this morning.:D

[Keith Outten]

Insert Grin

Thanks guys for pointing out my error, it was a long day yesterday and I failed to test the link I had in my post above but it has now been corrected :)

End Grin

I have for a very long time been aware of the fact that working too many hours = mistakes and I am guilty these days. Lately I rarely have time to visit SMC during the day so my access has been later in the evening when I am bone tired and prone to make mistakes. I stay away from the back office when I am tired..some of you may remember a time long ago when I made the ultimate goof and deleted hundreds of threads when SMC was just starting up :(

I learned my lesson the hard way.....................

.

[Rodney Randal]

Keith, thanks for the links to the pics. Those look VERY similar to the 2 at Harbor Freight, and the specs seem to be the same as well.

I don't know if I need the 770lb model or the 330lb model. My assembly table is 4'x5' with 1/2" skins and 3/4" plywood grid pieces, so I am guessing that it weighs around 80-100lbs, so that would leave me with about 230lbs remaining capacity for the smaller model. I can't see putting much more weight than that on the assembly table.

Do you have any stability issues with yours? I am concerned that there will be the tendency to tip since the wheeled base would be smaller than the assembly table top. I guess that I could make a larger base that it sits on and still use the adjustability part.

Rodney

[Perry Holbrook]

Thanks for such a good idea. I seem to have an issue every few weeks with loading and unloading heavy stuff from the pick-up. I've already come up with 6 justifications for this purchase for pending projects, new air compressor, larger dust hopper, 2000 lb crate of glass, etc.

Anyone know if that HF coupon is for any item in the store or just those new items?

Thanks again, Perry

[Brad Townsend]

Been there. Done that. Works great. You can work on projects at whatever working height is comfortable. I used the cheap $100 version. Bought it at my local Farm & Fleet.

[Perry Holbrook]

Just got back from HF store. The 1000 lb unit was on sell for $199, I'll have it in operation shortly.
Thanks again, Perry

[Mark Pruitt]

....I just got back from Harbor Freight and now I see this thread and I'm gonna have to turn around and go back!:D OK, maybe next week or the next...

[Mark Pruitt]

I have for a very long time been aware of the fact that working too many hours = mistakes and I am guilty these days. Lately I rarely have time to visit SMC during the day so my access has been later in the evening when I am bone tired and prone to make mistakes. I stay away from the back office when I am tired..some of you may remember a time long ago when I made the ultimate goof and deleted hundreds of threads when SMC was just starting up :(

I learned my lesson the hard way.....................

.
Keith, nothing you don't already know, but.......take care of yourself!:) I don't know didly squat about having administrative responsibility over a website like SMC but if you're doing too much surely you can "spread the love".....

[Rodney Randal]

I as well just returned from HF with the 1000lb model for $159 ($199 on sale - 20%). It may be a little while before my assembly table is operational (got a few projects that need completing).

Rodney

[Keith Outten]

Do you have any stability issues with yours? I am concerned that there will be the tendency to tip since the wheeled base would be smaller than the assembly table top. I guess that I could make a larger base that it sits on and still use the adjustability part.

Rodney

Rodney,

Stability hasn't been a problem for me. The hydraulic tables are heavy, the weight keeps them stable and they have a low center of gravity because the pump and larger steel components are at the bottom of the unit. Trust me, you willl use whatever capacity you purchase and will find more ways to use these things than you can imagine. For your workbench buy the largest model you can afford, I know that when I am planing lumber I usually overload my workbench and it never complains :)

I don't think I could ever have another workbench that didn't roll around and have adjustable height. I save floor space too, three hydraulic tables with tools on them will park under my ShopBot Table.

.

[John Gregory]

Rodney, here is a link to a 20% off coupon from HF, http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/emails/display.do?fname=23_RetailA.html

Am I understanding correctly that you can use this coupon on items that are on sale in the store or flyer?

Thanks

[Art Davis]

Rodney,

What a great idea. Some time ago I was puzzling about how to construct a rollaround outfeed table with adjustable height that would make it work for the various machines in my shop. This looks like the solution, and doubles for getting things out of the truck as well.

Question for those responding: how closely can you adjust the height. In other words, can I match the height of my tablesaw closely enough so that it can be used as an outfeed table?

[Rodney Randal]

Yep! Sure can.

Rodney

[Rodney Randal]

Question for those responding: how closely can you adjust the height. In other words, can I match the height of my tablesaw closely enough so that it can be used as an outfeed table?

Art,
I have unpacked the 1000lb model that I got the other day and have raised it up once, lowered it, and put it away for the time being (got other projects that are more pressing), but it has a foot operated pedal and from what I can tell, you should be able to position it just where you want it.

I hope to be able to get around to putting it under my assembly table in the next few days. I still have to get some hydraulic fluid for it - they say to fill it before use.

Rodney

[Larry Cooke]

Question for those responding: how closely can you adjust the height. In other words, can I match the height of my tablesaw closely enough so that it can be used as an outfeed table?Art,

I just got home and assembled mine. Essentually it's a hydraulic bottle jack that does the raising. In answer to your question, yes it's pretty easy to adjust to any height (with-in its range of course.) If you have a Harbour Freight near you, go and try one. They usually have one on display that you can play with.

Larry

[Art Davis]

I just checked in at my HF outlet. They had the 1000 lb table on sale for 199 bucks, but didn't have any in stock. I have a rain check. Have to see if they will eventually come through. This thread was really timely!

[Art Davis]

I just checked in at my local HF outlet. They had the 1000 lb table on sale at 199 bucks, but were out of stock. Got a rain check. Now I'll have to see if they will honor it. Great thread!

[Rodney Randal]

Has anyone else tried the procedure that they specify in the "Owners Manual" about filling the cylinder with hydraulic fluid before use?

I followed the procedures as I understood them, and when I lowered the table, the plug in the cylinder was forced out and my garag.... shop was filled with hydraulic fluid :mad:! It seems that it was overfilled :eek:, but that was their procedures...

Rodney

[Perry Holbrook]

I did the same thing. At first I didn't get it filled enough and it didn't work right. I then added oil until it overflowed the fill hole, and like yours it pushed the excess oil out when I lowered the table. I think it is probably fine but perhaps the fill method could be improved.

Perry

ps I've already used it to assemble my Delta RU 50 pin router on to it's base. Works like a charm.

[Keith Outten]

Has anyone else tried the procedure that they specify in the "Owners Manual" about filling the cylinder with hydraulic fluid before use?

I followed the procedures as I understood them, and when I lowered the table, the plug in the cylinder was forced out and my garag.... shop was filled with hydraulic fluid :mad:! It seems that it was overfilled :eek:, but that was their procedures...

Rodney

Rodney,

I own several hydraulic tables and never had to fill any of the cylinders. Mine came with the proper amounts of fluid.

[Guy Germaine]

I'm considering one to make an adjustable grooming table out of. My daughter is going to be a groomer, and an adjustable table is in the $1000 range. I don't see why I can't build a non-skid table for the top of it. Plus, it alread has a handle and wheels, so it would be great to take to dog shows too.

[Jonathan Spool]

Thanks to everyone regarding using one of these hyd tables in the shop!
I now have one which I will mount a torsion box to for project assembly, have a fine outfeed table which I can move around, and with the torsion box off, a great way to unload the truck into the shop. Great addition due to a great idea I found on this forum. Unfortunately the price at N.Hyd is much higher now, and shipping is prohibitive. I ended up getting mine at Harbor Freight for $230 (local).
Thanks
Jonathan