Re: Adjustable Height Workbenches

[charlie b]

> I am interested in hearing what others have done to make an adjustable > height workbench. When I mean adjustable, I mean a workbench that is > adjustable in heights ranging from ~12" to ~40". In my search for > information on this subject, I have found very little. The best > approach I have seen so far is to adapt a hospital bed frame with > hydraulics or a scissors table to make a medium duty workbench/table. > > Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might be able to offer. > > TMT

If you're talking about a woodworker's bench, with a vise or two, dogholes and dogs, made for holding parts while working on them and a good solid, flat surface to hack & hew on, I don't understand the need to have the height range you specified, especially below maybe 30 inches. It's far easier to raise or lower your body - sit or kneel to lower, stand on a platform to raise, than to move the table top up or down.

There is a pair of bench "legs" that has a height adjustment range of about 18 inches, but they only go down to about 28 inches.

Now if you're willing to make a hole in your shop floor -

What's the 12 - 40 inch range for?

charlie b

[Joe Del Rosso]

I haven't used one but do a google search for "hydraulic motorcycle workbench". This should give you some good ideas. And there are also adjustable height workbech legs but you must adjust them manually. These may not work well if a heavy piece is already on the bench and you need to adjust it..

Joe

[Mike G]

You probably will continue to not find too much. A good work bench is, of necessity, usually a heavy affair to resist the stresses of the work done on it. I would imagine that any construction suitable for what you are looking for is going to have to include some industrial grade machinery.

[J. Clarke]

Taking two ends of reductio ad absurdam, a couple of 2x6s laid across a couple of Workmates won't go that range but will go a couple of heights, while a service-station lift with a benchtop built on it should cover any reasonable range from "under the floor" to "through the roof" and handle any load up to and including "Hummvee" but it won't be cheap.

[Mike at American Sycamore]

I am proud to report that my school owns three of the Jeoffery Noden adjustable benchs. They work great. The benches are easy to adjust and we find this feature to be very handy. Not only because of the different heights of my students, but for different task. From hand planning to assemble work the height being adjustable is a pleasure to work with. I bought mine at the Woodworks woodworking show.

Mike from American Sycamore

[Mike at American Sycamore]

Here is the web site and phone number and correct spelling of Geoffery's name Geoffery Noden at 609-882-3300

Highly recomended Mike from American Sycamore

[John Carlson]

Are these things as solid as a traditional bench? It seems to me that something that moves like this would be bound to rattle around a bit under the stress of, say, heavy planing.

-- jc Published e-mail address is strictly for spam collection. If e-mailing me, please use jc631 at optonline dot net

[Upscale]

I use a wheelchair so I've looked into this extensively. I've worked with crank adjustable work benches at one hospital rehab department. (I have to assume there's also electric or pneumatic ones available). These are the maple slab types of benches too, heavy and solid. They lowered to approximately 20" and they raised up has high as 36". Not meeting your specs completely, but not far off.

I think they've gone out of business, but there has to be other similar manufacturers around. I've been looking for some source up here in Canada for some time, just haven't found it yet, but I know they're out there. The details for this bench was: Midland Manufacturing

- Hi Low Work Bench

- Model 208WB

- Serial 7083

[Upscale]

What if someone uses a wheelchair? You're not thinking far enough Charlie.

[Upscale]

Getting a gateway error on the link Mike.

[Unisaw A100]

Do a search on hydraulic scissors lifts. These are made by Southco and Bishimon (among others). Topped with a couple of sheets of particleboard and you've got one hellava stout bench. Of course buying a lift will set you back anywhere from $1000 to $3000. At auction you might be lucky to find one for $500-$600. That's the bad news.

Alternatively you could go to Harbor Freight or Northern (among others) and buy a cheapo deluxe ATV lift for $100ish. You'd need to design around it's flaws (they creep down/don't have the range of the industrial lifts/would probably require additional corner supports/legs).

UA100

[Mike G]

Well thank you Mike.

Not something that would work for me and my main work bench but, again, for me, it offers some interesting possibilities for an assembly/finishing bench.

[Mike at American Sycamore]

John,

They are very solid and they do not move around even with heavy planing. Frank Klausz used one at the Woodworks Woodworking shows and he was very pleased with the bench. He was doing alot of hand planing and dovetail work. Mike from American Sycamore

[bryanwi]

The June 2004 issue of "Woodwork" magazine has an article by Roger Heitzman about building a layout table up on an electric scissors lift.

It's range is from about 12" to about 55". It's on castors.

Some of these scissor lifts have capacities measured in tons, and you don't have to put the thing on castors.

So I imagine a very strong bench could be built up on one, even strong enough to pounding with chisels, etc.

bmw

[Jay]

A cheap trick I used on a card table to make it the same height as the kitchen table for Thanksgiving use was to take some black pipe, drill holes through it, and use a cauter pin to adjust the height of the legs placed into the pipe.

You might be able to use the same concept for a bench. I'd use a heavier guage pinning mechanism, though.

Jay

[charlie b]

You're absolutely right - I "stand" corrected ( on my way to go stand in the corner for a while. Where'd I leave that damn pointy hat?).

Sorry about that Upscale.

charlie b