Felder/Barth work table

[Patrick Kane]

Im pretty surprised my forum and google searches didnt come up with anything, but does anyone know of an example of replicating a mobile hydraulic work table? I like what i see in videos of the Felder FAT 300 in action, but it is close to $2000. Furthermore, i think to truly appreciate the table, i would want two of them working in tandem. I might be all wet here and you "get what you pay for", but i find it hard to believe someone hasnt come up with a similar table for $300-500 in materials. A few of the motorcycle lifts look like a great fit, but they arent intended to be highly mobile, which is one of the benefits of the Felder table. i would appreciate a link to someone clever who has already sorted out the trials and tribulations. Otherwise, might be time to check out 80/20 parts and source a light duty jack with god casters.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Patrick, I have this one.

https://www.princessauto.com/en/deta...le/A-p8662280e

It's not as large as the Felder table, and it leaks down overnight.

That said, I plan to modify it so it will have a release pedal rather that the cart handle as that's in the way.

I also plan to make a MFSC type top for it, like the one shop on Timothy Wilmot's site. I purchased the plans from him for the MFSC from his web site.

His cart is here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWEdrBdbBhg&t=73s

regards, Rod.

P.S. Having worked with the Felder FAT300, it's a great cart, the FAT500 is as well, pedals on both sides, optional perforated top for hold downs or panel tilting surface.

You should be able to get a good cart from industrial supply places in the USA that will be much better than the Princess Auto/Harbor Freight type stuff and still be reasonably priced.

[Mike Cary]

Harbor frieght has a number of hydraulic lifts. Most are $200-300. With a little customization and a different work surface you’d have close to the same thing.

[John Kee]

The Fat 300 is an OK cart, I've had one for about 2 years now but wouldn't waste money on another. While it works OK but the unit is from the factory a 1/4" out of level and the supposed phenolic top that came with the unit is a low grade piece of concrete slip form material that is really easy to damage. Felder quality definitely has been slipping over the last few years. I recommend looking for something that's actually worth the money.

[Ed Mazuronis]

I'm fairly new to woodworking as a hobby and researched various bench ideas. I was fairly set on buying the FAT 300 as a portable bench and out feed support. I planned to make my own top out of baltic birch since the Felder price is way out of line. When I saw the FAT 300 in person, I was sort of disappointed in the overall fit and finish. The plastic caps covering the tubes were broken off and not a sign of good design. I decided to hold off and build my own. About 6 months went by and I realized that building a lighter weight stable lifting table wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. I saw the Barth 300 at AWFS last summer and was seriously impressed with the fit and finish. Powder coated paint job, clean welds, etc. It's a bit more expensive than the Felder, but I feel like you are at least getting what you paid for. I ended up biting the bullet and buying one in December. Very happy with it.

[Matt Day]

Unless you have a lot of disposable income, I’d suggest you modify a HF table. $170 for the 500lb capacity.

[Jim Becker]

You could also consider the Noden Adjust-A-Bench with the mobility kit. It's solid and capable. Manual lift, of course, but that's been no big deal for me.

[Brian W Evans]

I have a harbor freight model (might not be this exact one, but it looks the same). I'm surprisingly happy with it. I don't use it as a bench yet, although I plan to, but it is handy as a mobile outfeed or a way to move piles of parts around. Sounds like you could buy a fleet of these for the price of a Felder, too. It does leak down overnight, as Rod mentioned with his.

Looking at the Barth 300, I feel like you could get yourself 2/3 of the way to a Barth for 1/10 the cost, especially if you factor in the Barth accessories.

[Nate Daggett]

Im pretty surprised my forum and google searches didnt come up with anything, but does anyone know of an example of replicating a mobile hydraulic work table? I like what i see in videos of the Felder FAT 300 in action, but it is close to $2000. Furthermore, i think to truly appreciate the table, i would want two of them working in tandem. I might be all wet here and you "get what you pay for", but i find it hard to believe someone hasnt come up with a similar table for $300-500 in materials. A few of the motorcycle lifts look like a great fit, but they arent intended to be highly mobile, which is one of the benefits of the Felder table. i would appreciate a link to someone clever who has already sorted out the trials and tribulations. Otherwise, might be time to check out 80/20 parts and source a light duty jack with god casters.

I'm looking to do the same thing. I found these options. They aren't as big as the Fat 300, but I'm thinking about putting a bigger Paulk type workbench on top to both increase the max height and general size of the space. Also my goal was to find one that didn't have the hydraulic release on a handle. Both aren't as cheap as the HF one, but way cheaper than Fat 300. Also both have a foot petal for releasing it and increasing it.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-BU...0845/205862610
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...1994_200631994

[Andy D Jones]

Some of these do not look all that rigid, when raised, cross-wise to an operator standing at the end. I'm surprised the scissors don't have reinforcement to prevent this; a simple sheet metal panel between parallel beams of the two scissors would suffice.

Also, none of the ones I saw appear to have casters that lock both roll and pivot.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[ChrisA Edwards]

I do have a motorcycle lift table and as I transition away from my motorcycle hobby, I'm looking to convert it more into an assembly table with a Paulk design torsion box on top.

I've used it a couple of times when installing drawer slides in cabinets. It's nice to load a heavy cabinet, while it's in the down position, and then lift it to a comfortable working height.

I can move it around my garage currently, with a small dolly when unloaded, but it's not something I can do very easily.

What I need to do is add a pair of casters to the end that has nothing but a metal tube that sits on the ground.

My table is rated for 1000lbs, cost me around $550 when I bought it, around $900 in today's market.

It uses air to raise the table and has about 6 safety height lock positions, which I always use when I have a motorcycle on the table.

In theory, if the length of the metal top of the table becomes a little too cumbersome, I could probably cut it 2' shorter without affecting any of the lifting mechanism.

[Keith Outten]

I own five of the hydraulic tables. One is pretty much a permanent home for my wood lathe, the other four are used when I am doing production sign runs. They are an important part of my work routine that allow me to work large batches of door signs and move them from machine to machine, then to a workbench and eventually to pallets in a storage area. Four of mine are 300 pound capacity models, the forth is 700 pounds and is used to unload trucks on occasion.

[Patrick Kane]

I should have updated the thread after i purchased a FAT300, but now is a good reminder. I had a harbor freight cart for a few years. I specifically purchased it used to lift my cyclone body and motor into place. I am in a basement and needed to squeeze the motor up inbetween joists. Anyway, it worked beautifully for that job. Also used it to unload and load a few cabinet saws, a drill press(in pieces), and other generally heavy things from cars and trucks. I think i paid $40 for it, and it more than saved $40 of work from my back. As a shop work cart and surface, it sorta sucked. The hydraulic system didnt hold its setting real well. You would come back an hour later and your table would be a little lower than you left it. Probably an issue specific to mine, but kind of the quality you expect from harbor freight. Next, the handle was in the way of a lot of longer and larger material. The handle holds the hydraulic release, so it is kinda important and cant be removed. The table top is very small for work pieces.

Fast forward a few years, and even a year and a half after i made this thread. I found a new on pallet FAT300 along the coast, bought it for under a grand, and ushipped it to me in PA. This is still a very expensive cart for me, but about 50% off retail when it was all said and done. If I could buy a second at this price, i would do it in a second. Ed is right, the plastic caps are maybe a little cheap. Frankly, didnt even notice them until one of my pups decided to steal one and chew it in the shop. Now i am down a cap. However, the rest of the unit is pure awesome. It wheels around my tight basement shop very well. The steel frame is very rigid. There is almost no racking and twisting while moving it around with several hundred pounds of load. The hydraulic system seems robust and precise. You can raise and lower it precisely where you need it(for outfeed/infeed support). The size of the cart is almost perfect for me. It is narrow enough to fit through a single man door. It is short enough to maneuver around my tight shop, but at the same time, it is just long enough and just wide enough to support just about everything you need or want. I am on maybe month 9-10 of ownership, and it has been fantastic. I need to make a few modifications to help me on specific tasks, but it lets me move things safely and somewhat easily that would be impossible to do by myself. 4' x 8' islands can be stood on edge and wheeled from my shop through the single man door and into someone's vehicle for loading. All without having to ever lift the top. It is an excellent infeed/outfeed helper. Especially for the planer. I usually have sawhorses stationed at the infeed/outfeed of my nested jointer and planer. After planing all my uniform boards for a table top, island, etc. i can slide the stack of timbers from the sawhorses onto the FAT300, and then wheel it back to the front of the planer for the other face. This is so so simple, and yet it saves so much labor schlepping long 8/8 hardwood boards from machine to machine. Lastly, it performs as you would expect for an auxiliary workbench/assembly table. Surfaces and parts are always at an ideal height with the lift mechanism. I wouldnt use this to pound on with a chisel or hand plane that much, but dominoing, sanding, tracksawing etc are all tasks ive done for hours on the cart. Things i would change on my felder cart are a perforated top for 20mm dogs, clamps etc. I think some form of 80/20 rails to bolt to the frame at some point would also be a good idea. If you have a full sheet of plywood on the cart, it can be difficult to control the cart, because you need to grip the cart itself to move it. If you grab the plywood, you will push the plywood off the cart before the cart moves.

[Erik Loza]

Reviving this thread with some FAT300, FAT300S, & FAT500S pics from the Vegas show. Personally talked to several guests who went the HF/Northern/etc. route for their lifting tables. EVERY ONE OF THEM commented how much nicer the fat table is after playing with it.

Erik

[Patrick Kane]

I just used mine again this afternoon to lift the cast iron top of an Oliver 232 table saw into place. My wife, who is currently pregnant and can’t help me, commented how the FAT300 is the best tool I ever purchased. Probably biased praise given she doesn’t use any of the other tools, and no other tool replaces the need for her to come help me lift things from time to time. Still, the cart lifted the 200-300lb table above the saw base easily and allowed me to scoot it into place without anyone getting hurt. It’s the least glamorous tool in the shop, but it is fantastic. I need to find a good deal on the heavy duty version that can lift 1000+lbs.