My Welding Bench Build

[Tiggy_dorset]

An off-shoot from the 'Our-Work-Benches' thread: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/our-work-benches.48442
This thread is just a continuation of my bench build.

A few more minor adjustments to make:
-Upgrade to larger castors
-Widen the wheelbase slightly for extra stability when raising the leaf
-some catches to stop the struts from lifting the leaf when in its lowered position (held closed by sash clamp at the moment)

6mm plate on top of 12mm MDF. Its surprisingly almost dead flat. need to be sure I dont put too much heat into it.
Udjustable castors for leveling.
Hinge gap is wide enought to allow cutting of sheet with a circular saw.
Legs fold away, held in position by magnets.
Struts I pinched from my old Astra boot lid allow lifting and lowering the leaf with ease.

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

The problem I had was the leaf not closing down properly due the the positioning of the struts. I planned to fit catches to hold it shut.
After advice from several chaps on this awsome forum, I changed the design so the leaf closes down without wanting to open up by itself.

 

[Wallace]

Going a bit off topic, do I spy one of the bandsaws in the background talked about in this thread?

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

Going a bit off topic, do I spy one of the bandsaws in the background talked about in this thread?

Its an Axminster I bought 2nd hand. Yep it looks to me like the same rebranded machine.

 

[Wallace]

I've often thought about having similar bench on one wall in my garage, what keeps putting me off is once it's up there's another big flat surface to act like a magnet for all the crap I accumulate!

Where do you store the extra set of legs when not in use? Are they too long to sit under the leaf and pivot down?

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

I've often thought about having similar bench on one wall in my garage, what keeps putting me off is once it's up there's another big flat surface to act like a magnet for all the crap I accumulate!

Where do you store the extra set of legs when not in use? Are they too long to sit under the leaf and pivot down?

They are stored underneath and povit down. It is something I need to think about improving/redesigning. At the moment they are held up by magnets, then drop and are bolted in place. The hinges are a bit flimsy and I feel the legs require more stability. I may over-engineer them with dampers so they come down slowly with a shhhtt sound

Yes it became a flat surface magnet before I even got close to getting this far with the build

 

[Wallace]

That makes sense, couldn't see the hinges in the other photos. Have you thought about adding levelling feet for when in use?

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

That makes sense, couldn't see the hinges in the other photos. Have you thought about adding levelling feet for when in use?

It did have a full set of castors which could be raised and lowered on a thread. I have uprated the main castors which are not adjustable, but still has the adjustable castors on the leaf legs which allows me to level the leaf with the main surface. I need to extend the legs as they are slightly too short due to the newly fitted castors.