Folding workbench upgrades #2: Parts and assembly

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This is part 2 in a 2 part series: Folding workbench upgrades

  1. Folding braces questions
  2. Parts and assembly

Got my workbench upgrades done.  It didn't seem like much before I started but this did in fact take a little time.

I made 20 brackets for hinge points.  All from scraps which was nice.  I used 5/4 hard maple.  I want this thing to be stout.



Then I made the arms.  More scraps.  Ran out of maple though so I used red oak for the double-arm sections.  I took the time to make smooth rounds on the ends, 1/8 round over on all edges, and a light sanding.  Same for the brackets above too.


Then for the hinges I used 1/2” x 13 all thread.  I just picked up a 6ft section and used my grinder to cut pieces to length.  1/2" washers and lock nuts all around.


I got both sides mounted


Super sturdy!  Now let's try the folding mechanism.


Crap!  Maybe if I turn them around?


Double crap!  At this point I decided I'd just undo the middle bolt any time I needed to fold it.  Other option was to mess around with the hinge point but I didn't want to spend the time on that.  Objective 1 (Rack-be-gone) was met, so I decided to push on and wrap it up.  I really need my workbench back.







I ordered some wing nuts so I can more easily disassemble the brace joints to fold it up.  But for now, it's done!

Next project - attempt repair of the spindle sander...
nice !

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.


Cool Jamo... Like those brackets... and great to see someone put some decent sized wheels on a mobile.

A few MFT style dogs would make it just a day lighter which portability would benefit from... and would give greater clamping options, especially towards the middle.

While 3/4" dog holes seem to be the Yankee standard... they are a tad tight for the 3/4" clamp (Irwin etc...) shaft for hold downs... the 20mm gives that 1mm wiggle room that makes a world of difference.

If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD