I thought I'd share my just-finished planer stand for a DeWalt lunchbox thicknesser. Usual reasons, needing workshop space and increasing age making it harder to lift the heavy thing off the floor where it was stored. At first I was going to do a flip-top with a small portable jointer beneath, but realised that the assembly would be quite bulky and take up real estate in the workshop. I rarely use the jointer so it can go on a shelf and clamp onto the bench if needed.So I decided to go for a stand that would fold up and tuck under the end of the bench when not in use:
but then would flip up into position, with the bench acting as an outfeed table:
The stand itself is no special construction, just robust sections and Miller dowel joints, with heavy door butt hinges. And I'm not giving drawings; the table is obviously the size of the planer and the other dimensions depend on the heights available and the height of the outfield table. But it had to be easy to open and close and move. The key to this stand is its support by gas struts. This picture shows the mounting:
EDIT: the right hand strut is upside down in this picture! The thicker part (the cylinder) should be on the top, so that lubrication is properly spread during its lifetime. Corrected it this morning!
The gas struts were obtained from sgs engineering, http://www.sgs-engineering.com/gas-stru ... Gwodn4IE8A. They have a free design service to select the right size for your application. Mine were GSV8-100 and cost about £70 including fittings; not cheap but worthwhile. Quite simple to mount, following their instructions. The gas can be leaked out to weaken the springs but mine at 700N each were just right. The table is held up quite firmly, and the leverage makes it very easy to fold and open. There is room for the deWalt chip collector (not shown) to stay on the planer as it is folded, a great advantage. And when closed it snaps shut during the last couple of cm as it is mechanically bistable. A nice bonus is that the chips that miss the collector fall neatly in the base tray. Here's shots from the side of it open and closed:
Of course if you put too much timber weight on the infeed it could start to fold (but no danger of collapse) so I shall probably add a stay (or a locking bar onto the bench end vice) for heavy jobs. There's no need for extra support for the quick thicknessing of smaller bits even though the gas struts support is surprisingly close to the hinge side (it has to be, to get the strut to close).
Service from SGS was extremely efficient and accurate. Less than a day to get the design back, call to order, shipped same day.
I hope this may interest others with similar problems who may have been a bit daunted by using gas struts despite their widespread application.
Keith
but then would flip up into position, with the bench acting as an outfeed table:
The stand itself is no special construction, just robust sections and Miller dowel joints, with heavy door butt hinges. And I'm not giving drawings; the table is obviously the size of the planer and the other dimensions depend on the heights available and the height of the outfield table. But it had to be easy to open and close and move. The key to this stand is its support by gas struts. This picture shows the mounting:
EDIT: the right hand strut is upside down in this picture! The thicker part (the cylinder) should be on the top, so that lubrication is properly spread during its lifetime. Corrected it this morning!
The gas struts were obtained from sgs engineering, http://www.sgs-engineering.com/gas-stru ... Gwodn4IE8A. They have a free design service to select the right size for your application. Mine were GSV8-100 and cost about £70 including fittings; not cheap but worthwhile. Quite simple to mount, following their instructions. The gas can be leaked out to weaken the springs but mine at 700N each were just right. The table is held up quite firmly, and the leverage makes it very easy to fold and open. There is room for the deWalt chip collector (not shown) to stay on the planer as it is folded, a great advantage. And when closed it snaps shut during the last couple of cm as it is mechanically bistable. A nice bonus is that the chips that miss the collector fall neatly in the base tray. Here's shots from the side of it open and closed:
Of course if you put too much timber weight on the infeed it could start to fold (but no danger of collapse) so I shall probably add a stay (or a locking bar onto the bench end vice) for heavy jobs. There's no need for extra support for the quick thicknessing of smaller bits even though the gas struts support is surprisingly close to the hinge side (it has to be, to get the strut to close).
Service from SGS was extremely efficient and accurate. Less than a day to get the design back, call to order, shipped same day.
I hope this may interest others with similar problems who may have been a bit daunted by using gas struts despite their widespread application.
Keith
