AndyG
Established Member
Hi All,
It feels like I've been away from the forum forever, there have been all sorts of things going on. One of which has been moving house, which has in turn meant setting up a new workshop!
One of the first big jobs was to get a proper tool bench put in. The plan is to create a router/mitre saw/pillar drill bench along the longest wall. I really wanted the router part of the bench to be flat. Unfortunately the top parts of the frame were a bit off, so I had to improvise, and here is the solution.
I attached a bunch of M10 fully threaded coach bolts to the top parts of the frame. These are held with nylon lock nuts. You can see the housing that will enclose the router.
Another set of nuts and washers then support the first layer of the top, 18mm MDF. The idea is that the top can be held straight be adjusting the supporting nuts.
A top view of the first layer
Once the first layer has been coaxed into being flat (something that took a bit of tweaking, but wasn't too bad) the second layer is placed on top. This layer has clearance holes that fit around the nuts and washers.
The two layers are held together with some M6 bolts and pronged nuts.
The final stage is to put the third layer on. This is currently gluing to the second. The end result is that if everything needs re-flattening, the 2nd and 3rd layers can be removed in one piece and the 1st layer adjusted.
This is probably a massively over engineered solution. But it is solid, I guess it should be with 3 sheets of 18mm MDF. Hopefully though that mass will help keep any vibrations down. The next job is to create a hole for my shiny new router lift!
Andy
It feels like I've been away from the forum forever, there have been all sorts of things going on. One of which has been moving house, which has in turn meant setting up a new workshop!
One of the first big jobs was to get a proper tool bench put in. The plan is to create a router/mitre saw/pillar drill bench along the longest wall. I really wanted the router part of the bench to be flat. Unfortunately the top parts of the frame were a bit off, so I had to improvise, and here is the solution.
I attached a bunch of M10 fully threaded coach bolts to the top parts of the frame. These are held with nylon lock nuts. You can see the housing that will enclose the router.
Another set of nuts and washers then support the first layer of the top, 18mm MDF. The idea is that the top can be held straight be adjusting the supporting nuts.
A top view of the first layer
Once the first layer has been coaxed into being flat (something that took a bit of tweaking, but wasn't too bad) the second layer is placed on top. This layer has clearance holes that fit around the nuts and washers.
The two layers are held together with some M6 bolts and pronged nuts.
The final stage is to put the third layer on. This is currently gluing to the second. The end result is that if everything needs re-flattening, the 2nd and 3rd layers can be removed in one piece and the 1st layer adjusted.
This is probably a massively over engineered solution. But it is solid, I guess it should be with 3 sheets of 18mm MDF. Hopefully though that mass will help keep any vibrations down. The next job is to create a hole for my shiny new router lift!
Andy
Fair point. I suppose mainly because it was easier to get hold of 18mm MDF
