# Adjusable height table - advise.



## petergdenmark (Oct 12, 2011)

Hi guys.

My first post here on lumber jocks, so hope this is the right place to post my question

I'm planning the build of a workbench in 2 sections, and in between those, i'd like to have an adjustable table that raises and lowers very parallel. to hold different machines like the miter saw, a kreg jig, my metal cutting band saw etc.

I've though about car jacks, the raising machanism from an office shair, and commercially available options like lab lifts. The last option is ofcourse pretty accurate and would suit my needs, but also pretty expensive.

I've thougt about building something with a sarrus linkage (see picture), and some kind of jack, but before i start building something, maybe one of you have found a brilliant way of doing this task?

Thank you all

Excuse my english - iit's not my first language.


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## tenontim (Feb 24, 2008)

Peter, I bought a hydraulic lift table, similar to this one:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200365546_200365546
I made a 30" x 60" torsion box to mount to the top of it, and I use it for an adjustable height sanding and finishing table. It's fairly stable and adjust about 25" in height.


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## petergdenmark (Oct 12, 2011)

Hey Tim.

I'd love to have that table, but the cheapest option here, costs around $400, which is a bit steep.


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## petergdenmark (Oct 12, 2011)

Pillow block bearings and shafting sounds like a soution.

But you're right - wobble would be a problem, and an easy and safe solution would be to just make a solid top between my 2 benches that was a bit lower, and then having small tables that fitted the height of each machine to put on that solid platform.

I just hopesd somebody had cracked it 

Thanks


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

You seen this right?


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## petergdenmark (Oct 12, 2011)

No - i hadn't seen the Jack Bench, but that is far beyond my ambitions and wallet. Looks awesome though .

Living in scandinavia just getting a bench vise is imposisible, so you to to order it from the US, which means shipping and serious taxes (like - the item would be more than double the price when it finally arrived).

We don't have hardwood suppliers here (so private consumers can only get spruce - construction lumber), max thickness of plywood we get at normal stores is 12mm, and if you special order 3/4" 5-ply regular construction grade plywood it's $90 for a regular 4×8 sheet ($200 for 3/4" furniture grade), no special stores for wood workiers, etc.

So a lot of solutions that seem possible for people from the US, is insainly expensive here. Our marked for private consumeris is only geared towards construction - not finer woodworking.

Best Peter


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

Peter, There is nothing wrong with your English. In fact, you are better than a lot of people who post on these forums. (present forum not included)


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## Sylvain (Jul 23, 2011)

Peter,

If you can ship tools from USA, you can also ship tools from Europe.

For example there is a vise manufacturer in Czech Republic :
http://www.york.cz/en/category.do?categoryId=28

You can get tools from Germany : 
E.C. Emmerich
http://www.ecemmerich.de/

by the way they have a bench lift : http://www.ecemmerich.com/hobelbaenke.html

There are other sites :
Dieter Schmid fine tools
http://www.fine-tools.com/

There are surely others in Europe
have a nice day


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## supahdupah (Apr 10, 2011)

The easiest way, but not necessarily the cheapest, is aluminum extrusion and linear actuators.


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

8020 extrusions
cncrouterparts.com carriages
Cold rolled steel rails
Counterbalance with cement weights, steel cables and pulleys.

If you were really careful, you could probably mount the rails to a wood leg and skip the extrusion. They need to be parallel, very parallel to avoid any wiggle.

You could make some holes to put pegs in to hold it in position.


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## rustynails (Jun 23, 2011)

Any one on the site build one of the "Jack-Benchs" per brtech post / #5 post ? If so what are your thoughts and how much did you have in to it if I may ask…


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