I have been dabbling with building benches out on hospital beds for a few years. My first attempt wasn't the greatest, But it did do the job and is still in use today. I acquired a couple of the foot pump up beds a while back and decided to build a welding bench as I just got a new mig welder. I have included some pics to show what I came up with. I shortened the bed top to the length of the base and centred it to the base. I raised the top 300mm (11.8)in to make it a good height for working. I completely redesigned the part that used to be the upper body raiser and turned it around to become an extra bench on the end, And with a pull of a leaver, I can lower it out of the way down the side. I also used the bedhead clips and made and extra addon bench on the other ended if needed. I mounted my mig welder underneath the top and made fittings to hold cables and welding helmet. I also added a 4 point power board to allow me to use grinders and other tools. Size of the bench on its own is 1260mm x 870mm, (49in x 33in) The extra add-on benches adds 500mm (19in) to each end of the bench. I kept the tilt action as I found its handy when welding angles. I can adjust the height from 650mm to 1000mm (25in to 39in) it has brakes to stop it from moving. Its very stable.
- Thread starter pwta
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Wendelspanswick
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I've also got a hospital bed as a workbench, similarly modified. I love the fact that you can lock all four castors from one end, lock the castors to just go straight and also adjust the height from both sides.
Plus they are always superb quality.
I did start posting when I came across other hospital beds that were free to collect but no one took me up on any of them.
Plus they are always superb quality.
I did start posting when I came across other hospital beds that were free to collect but no one took me up on any of them.
rockweasel
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Cool idea!
Looks a fiddly job .... must have taken a lot of patience
Looks a fiddly job .... must have taken a lot of patience
The top is 4mm, I mainly do light weld jobs and felt it would be a good thickness without putting to much weight on the bed. It was a very fiddly job, Lots of nights spent sitting and working out design problems. But I enjoy the design side more than the welding. I am in the middle of building a second one where I can lower the bench to 450mm to allow me to put a ramp and push my motor cycle onto it and then I will be able to raise it to any height to work on the bike. I want a bench that I can work on my bike at the right height but also allow me to raise it to a normal bench height to use when its not a bike bench. I love the flexibility of a hospital bed as a bench. And they are really well built.
Can you post some pics.
I have finished my motorcycle lift /workbench. I wanted a bench I could put my bike on but also make it a workbench I can use everyday. I found a hospital is a great thing to modify to suit my needs. It can be lowered to a height of 450mm to allow me with a ramp to put my bike on the bench. It can be raised to a height of 1000mm to allow me to work on the bike or I can use it as a normal workbench. It has a double slide lift I designed to allow me to lower it to the lowest I could, But allow me to lift it to a good workbench height. All the ramps are stored under the bench and I have made a winch system that I can use for extra help to get things like mobility scooters or even a ride on mower onto my bench.
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rockweasel
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Cool! Could you post some pics of it?
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Cool! Could you post some pics of it?
Duplicate pictures removed...
DAPPH
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This thread just caught my eye... It made me smile ..here's why
A few months ago I was rushed into hospital with a flare up of my spinal problems that was affecting my breathing and everything below my armpits .
After a few hours in the emergency suite I was stabilized and moved on to a clinical decisions unit wearing an oxygen mask
Whilst I was having one of the 15 minute check ups , the older guy in the next bed ( a dementia & tourettes suffer ) was rambling to himself, cussing & swearing so loud that the doctor could not hear my heart beat via his stethoscope .
" I wish he'd shut up " , the doctor said . Suddenly a big bright orange light appeared under his bed, lighting up the corner of the ward where the bed was , instantly followed by a bright white flash , then a loud bang , followed by a lot of choking smoke .
All hell was let loose as other staff came running to my doctors call for emergency help .. The old guy was a quiet as a mouse .
Staff unplugged the bed & fired an extinguisher off into the area covering the motors & control panel . Whilst this was happening other staff lifted the old guy out the bed , put him into a wheel chair & legged it with him to a safe place outside the ward .
We were all evacuated out into a corridor in our beds whilst the firemen arrived , made sure the bed was out & manhandled it out the ward to a place for inspection etc. Once the ward was declared full of fresh air and not likely to cause any one any harm we were reinstalled , the old guy getting a new bed.
After we were all resettled and starting to drop back of to sleep , the old guy suddenly sat up in bed and said , " Yer bugger , that made them move like f*****ng racehorses. that bloody bed would make a nice work bench for me when i get out of here you BSTD's"
He then fell back into his bed and snored his sodding head of for the next five hours till breakfast time.
A few months ago I was rushed into hospital with a flare up of my spinal problems that was affecting my breathing and everything below my armpits .
After a few hours in the emergency suite I was stabilized and moved on to a clinical decisions unit wearing an oxygen mask
Whilst I was having one of the 15 minute check ups , the older guy in the next bed ( a dementia & tourettes suffer ) was rambling to himself, cussing & swearing so loud that the doctor could not hear my heart beat via his stethoscope .
" I wish he'd shut up " , the doctor said . Suddenly a big bright orange light appeared under his bed, lighting up the corner of the ward where the bed was , instantly followed by a bright white flash , then a loud bang , followed by a lot of choking smoke .
All hell was let loose as other staff came running to my doctors call for emergency help .. The old guy was a quiet as a mouse .
Staff unplugged the bed & fired an extinguisher off into the area covering the motors & control panel . Whilst this was happening other staff lifted the old guy out the bed , put him into a wheel chair & legged it with him to a safe place outside the ward .
We were all evacuated out into a corridor in our beds whilst the firemen arrived , made sure the bed was out & manhandled it out the ward to a place for inspection etc. Once the ward was declared full of fresh air and not likely to cause any one any harm we were reinstalled , the old guy getting a new bed.
After we were all resettled and starting to drop back of to sleep , the old guy suddenly sat up in bed and said , " Yer bugger , that made them move like f*****ng racehorses. that bloody bed would make a nice work bench for me when i get out of here you BSTD's"
He then fell back into his bed and snored his sodding head of for the next five hours till breakfast time.
