mechanism to change height of a work bench

How often will you be changing the height? There are a variety of RV stabilizer jacks. A set of 4 scissor type jacks is about $100. It would be tedious to crank them up and down very often.

Picture a very light version of one of these.

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Could you make something from garage door opener parts? Trailer jacks?

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There are these fine things. We call them come alongs.

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Lowes has something called a kayek storage hoist.

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Do you need the whole 5 feet by 30 inches raised, or would a smaller amount work?

You could build a sturdy box, 8 inches high and two feet square, With corner posts that extend into index holes on your current bench. Set it on top when you need the height, toss it under the bench when you don't.

That would be much simpler than any ideas I had. What about a hinged, flip down shelf, with legs on the outside edge?

It's a little pricey:

I like your idea better, but maybe not as good, but it depends on the current height, and certainly not as cool as the request, but conversely, a a sturdy box to stand on. Maybe 2 to 3 feet wide, and maybe with a short back wall to remind him not to step backwards and fall.

Look at how your lawn mower adjusts hight - Preferably a single point adjuster. Get a handle off an old trail plow, with the hand lever and sector to give you fixed intervals. Or get 4 jack screws,with pulleys, and some wire rope and a crank handle.

Wow, you're old. I knew what you meant but had to look it up out of curiosity. A good share of the results were blades for ATVs or pickups. Dad's was a two bottom that he pulled with his Farmall M. He eventually bought a three bottom that used a hydraulic cylinder to lift.

as a follow-up Thanks for all the replies!!! am very appreciative. Given the location and setting of the workbench, any lifting mechanism from the top wont work. Neither will separating the bench into smaller parts. The bench is in the shape of a 'L' with one side being a 'set aside' area' and is basically free standing and not intended to move up/down.

Hard to say how often it would be moved up/dn...lets put it this way, if there was an easy mechanism to do it, it would be moved often. Working on some things like a stereo receiver, I prefer higher. Working on developing something on a small computer, I prefer lower, like a desk. It all sorta depends on what is being worked on and how I feel I can best approach it.

The idea by rbowman seems to fit the bill nicely and yea, a little pricey but.....my desk is a little larger than what that can support. I'll have to look for something similar that will be a better size fit, but also capable of lifting 150-250 lbs - which is what it will be once I get all my electronic gear on it or make other arrangements for the gear and have a lighter bench. Still open to other options.... Thanks again J

I suppose you could fabricate a scissor lift mechanism and use a linear actuator to run it up and down. Surplus Center in Nebraska has them.

A loot of the RV levelers or slideout supports incorporate screwjacks or jack screws if you're Canadian.

"Mike"s trailer jack idea looks OK but you are probably $200-300 in parts

I ploughed with a 3 bottom behind 1949 MH 44. Same as my Dad did about 10 years earlier - when he hit a rock that unhitched the plow just as he grabbed the lever to lift the plow. He caught up to the tractor and hit the clutch just before it went through the fence into the Grand River.

Hey, good for him. I don't approve of polluting waterways.

And tractors are expensive.

Clare Snyder formulated on Saturday :

That's not good for the tractor or the river.

So, you don't really need 5 feet of high desk, you really need enough to work on one project, and while working on a project like that it might even be more convenient to have a lower space to set tools and parts on.

Since you need about 8 inches of height, the simplest solution is still the box. On a box you can pound or drill. The second simplest solution, if you won't have to apply force, is a set of sturdy brackets on the wall or mounted onto the back of the bench into which you occasionally insert a shelf. If you need strength you just put hinged legs on the front of it.

The elegant solution is to dedicate a space on the bench and separate it. Draw a rectangle about 24 inches wide and 19 deep, and cut that piece out of your bench. Put legs on it on pivots and an attachment bracket under the bench top such that you can pull it up and snap it into place, somewhat like your dining room table where the wings pull up when you need it wider.

Can you cannabalize an old barber chair?

Now that....................is creative thinking.

Which led to this:

They're just inflatable air bags.