Hydraulic bench

[Joshjosh]

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone has ever made or used workbench from an old hydraulic bed?

I'm thinking of picking up a cheap therapy bed with raise and lower function and putting a 4x8 foot torsion box mft on top.

I currently use a 4x8 mft on a regular bench

for table saw outfeed, crosscutting and assembly, but figure the height adjustment would be great for sliding off larger cabinets once built up.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

I have an old hydraulic hospital bed, I took the metal bed frame and replaced it with a sheet of ply. It is the best thing I ever did, it means I am always working at a comfortable height with no back strain. As it is on wheels (two of them lockable) it is easy to move it out of the way or spin it round as needed.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I haven't got one, but have helped a friend make a few.

The main issues is when they are disposed off, it is normaly got a fault that is to costly to repair.

The ram seals are the most common issues. But they can be found and replaced.

The PTFE bushes in the pivet points can wear.

 

[Joshjosh]

I have an old hydraulic hospital bed, I took the metal bed frame and replaced it with a sheet of ply. It is the best thing I ever did, it means I am always working at a comfortable height with no back strain. As it is on wheels (two of them lockable) it is easy to move it out of the way or spin it round as needed.

Good to know it's worked well for you. Where did you buy the bed from?
Cheers

 

[Joshjosh]

I haven't got one, but have helped a friend make a few.

The main issues is when they are disposed off, it is normaly got a fault that is to costly to repair.

The ram seals are the most common issues. But they can be found and replaced.

The PTFE bushes in the pivet points can wear.

Good info I'll bear that in mind when keeping an eye out for one

 

[Distinterior]

I made one from an old hospital bed that was given to me by a client of mine....He used to work for the company that made them. Swivelling wheels and it can be lowered onto solid legs by standing on or flicking the lever with your foot to drop it down or raise it onto its wheels.
It is really heavy & stable!

Here's a picture of mine.....It's really useful!

 

[Joshjosh]

I made one from an old hospital bed that was given to me by a client of mine....He used to work for the company that made them. Swivelling wheels and it can be lowered onto solid legs by standing on or flicking the lever with your foot to drop it down or raise it onto its wheels.
It is really heavy & stable!

Here's a picture of mine.....It's really useful!

View attachment 152223

Nice, thanks for the pic, it looks like a similar base to the therapy ones I've seen. I was weighing up the pros of height adjustment vs the loss of storage underneath but the more I think about it the more useful it sounds

 

[hlvd]

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone has ever made or used workbench from an old hydraulic bed?

I'm thinking of picking up a cheap therapy bed with raise and lower function and putting a 4x8 foot torsion box mft on top.

I currently use a 4x8 mft on a regular benchView attachment 152202View attachment 152202 for table saw outfeed, crosscutting and assembly, but figure the height adjustment would be great for sliding off larger cabinets once built up.View attachment 152202

I’ve made three of them at work, just remove the top and replace with a 3/4 or 1” mdf and put a vice on it.
Surprisingly sturdy and extremely convenient.

The problem with converting a hospital bed is that the underside is much larger and doesn’t allow for knee and foot space should you want to work sitting down.

 

[Distinterior]

I use mine mainly as an assembly bench for cabinets and the height adjustability is really useful when getting large tall cabinets off of it. I dont sit at it.

I think, from memory, the lowest it will go is about 300mm from the floor, but sliding the cabinet off from that height is easy enough. Maximum working height is up to about 1000mm.....

 

[hlvd]

I use mine mainly as an assembly bench for cabinets and the height adjustability is really useful when getting large tall cabinets off of it. I dont sit at it.

I think, from memory, the lowest it will go is about 300mm from the floor, but sliding the cabinet off from that height is easy enough. Maximum working height is up to about 1000mm.....

Yours isn’t a hospital bed, it’s a therapy plinth or treatment table and perfect for this kind of job.
Sadly these type of tables aren’t allowed to be repaired unless done by the manufacturer so they end up being skipped once something goes wrong.

 

[Distinterior]

Yours isn’t a hospital bed, it’s a therapy plinth or treatment table and perfect for this kind of job.
Sadly these type of tables aren’t allowed to be repaired unless done by the manufacturer so they end up being skipped once something goes wrong.

Fair enough. I thought the guy I got it from told me it was a hospital bed frame, but compared to the picture that Josh Josh posted, mine does look a lighter style.

I cant remember the name of the manufacturer but it does have a name roundel on one of the foot pedals.
Its certainly man enough for what i use it for and in its previous life, the owner used it as a motorcycle lifting bench.

 

[Joshjosh]

I’ve made three of them at work, just remove the top and replace with a 3/4 or 1” mdf and put a vice on it.
Surprisingly sturdy and extremely convenient.

The problem with converting a hospital bed is that the underside is much larger and doesn’t allow for knee and foot space should you want to work sitting down.

Yes, I have a different bench with vice I use for hand tool work, the current bench I use as a mft has tool storage under it so I'm used to no foot space below.

 

[Terrytpot]

Yours isn’t a hospital bed, it’s a therapy plinth or treatment table and perfect for this kind of job.
Sadly these type of tables aren’t allowed to be repaired unless done by the manufacturer so they end up being skipped once something goes wrong.

I spent 2020-2021 doing a horrible job that involved 3 or 4 stops a day collecting medical/clinical waste from hospitals and City Hospital in Nottingham had their normal skip right next to the collection point for all their medical waste. It used to break my heart seeing what they used to throw away.. like filing cabinets, huge sets of chairs (when they changed style), all sorts of things on castors and more sheets of material than my local B&Q stocked!

 

[hlvd]

I spent 2020-2021 doing a horrible job that involved 3 or 4 stops a day collecting medical/clinical waste from hospitals and City Hospital in Nottingham had their normal skip right next to the collection point for all their medical waste. It used to break my heart seeing what they used to throw away.. like filing cabinets, huge sets of chairs (when they changed style), all sorts of things on castors and more sheets of material than my local B&Q stocked!

All cloth backed chairs are now being replaced with vinyl wipeable ones.
Anything showing rust that’s used in a clinical area will also get skipped.

 

[Distinterior]

I've just had a look for the makers name on mine......Its a Huntleigh Akron model and designated as a "Couch", as was suggested by HLVD

225kg weight limit.