Now that I have heat in my smaller shop I decided to spend a couple of cold nights taking care of the problem with the immobile bench. I laid the unused top upside down on a couple of saw horses and began to build a frame on it (or under it depending on how you looked at it). When I got to the part about cutting the legs I got to thinking about the immobile part of this. Since I had about a couple hundred casters at a yard sale a year ago (viewtopic.php?f=4&t=101313&p=800872) I decided those would be perfect. I cut the legs 7" shorter than normal to allow for the wheels (they have brakes).
Building a Boat in a Basement
Long story short I ended up with a pretty nice workbench that weighs around three hundred pounds. The conference table top alone was a bit more than I want to move by myself. Now I have a nice workbench in my smaller shop that weighs twice as much as me, it is upside down AND it has to be moved outside to the driveway out one garage door and into the door on the other side. After all that, it has to be turned right side up. Did I say this was heavy. It is more than Rosie and I can do ourselves and it is too late to schedule a CubFest to round up help.
Tractor Forks and an Engine Hoist to the Rescue
After a bit of thinking, I wrapped an axle tie down strap around the middle of the bottom center support of the table (remember, it is upside down) and began to lift it with my engine hoist. It was perfectly centered and raised off the saw horses well balanced. I grabbed one of the dollies I had made last year using some of the previously mentioned casters (viewtopic.php?f=64&t=101634&p=803598) and lowered the table down on it. Now I could roll it towards the door where I could pick it up with the tractor forks. Once I had it on the tractor I took it to the other side and into the other shop. I set it down on the floor and grabbed it by one of the center legs with the engine hoist to get it to start to roll over. I then got under it with the forks to help it roll more without slamming down on the casters. As I lowered the engine hoist with the forks holding the other side the table shifted upright with little problem.
Now I can move my bench whenever I need a little more room in the shop and the caster brakes keep it in place. Later I will add a vice and small anvil
- Getting the bench started, I started using it as a workbench as I built it.
- Once the frame was bolted together it was ready for wheels
- Moving it into the bigger shop was pretty easy with the help of the tractor.
- Flipping the bench upright was a snap with the forks and the hoist
- It looks to good to get banged up
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