Convertible workbench cupboard – FineWoodworking
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Once I conceived of this venture, I used to be fascinated about individuals with an urge to make issues however no workshop to make them in. We might all like a full-size workbench, however for these of us dwelling in an residence or apartment, that’s generally not possible. So I designed a cupboard that, when closed, can stand in a lounge or bed room with the looks of effective furnishings. As soon as opened, nonetheless, it gives a workbench with vises, hold-downs, and air filtration; drawers with ample storage for instruments and {hardware}; a desk for writing or drawing; and even a small lathe. I wasn’t considering of the piece as fitted to full-scale furnishings tasks (although who is aware of?) however fairly for smaller-scale crafts resembling chip carving, inlay, pyrography, jewellery making, or mannequin making, and for modest turning tasks.
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The pivotal level
The main technical challenges of the venture stemmed from my choice to incorporate each a workbench and a lathe. I made a decision the way in which to do it was to mount the lathe to the underside of the workbench floor and make the slab pivot so both facet might face up. How might I construct this unwieldy hybrid work platform so it will rotate easily and effortlessly and lock in place securely? And the way would I elevate the desk beneath, which would want to elevate the lathe into place after which drop down once more as soon as the lathe was locked in place? As a longtime mechanical-design draftsman, I discovered the mechanics of the factor intriguing, and I selected to design and construct from scratch all of the mechanisms required for rotating the work floor and lifting and decreasing the desk.
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The cupboard’s frame-and-panel outer case is constructed from 1-in.-thick quartersawn white oak and joined with wedged through-tenons and dovetails. The desk, lifting mechanism, and rotating maple bench slab are all housed in an internal case made with 3/4-in.-thick Baltic-birch plywood and put in within the solid-wood outer case as an impartial module.
The lifting mechanism
I constructed the lifting mechanism from jatoba, also called Brazilian cherry, which I selected for its interlocking grain, density, and hardness. The lifting is initiated by a spreader jack, which engages a pair of twin scissor lifts, and the lifts contact the underside of a platen that strikes the desk up and down. With the bench slab turned lathe facet up, the desk is raised to contact the slab from beneath and elevate the lathe into its working place. The bench slab then will get locked tight with 4 sliding pins, and the desk may be lowered.
The spreader jack is activated by a crank deal with that drives an Acme-threaded screw. I sourced that screw—a double-threaded shaft—from a equipment for constructing a Dubuque hand-screw clamp; it really works extremely effectively for the spreader jack, as its right- and left-hand threads forestall the shaft from projecting past the cupboard. A sliding information and socket retainer maintain the spreader jack in place and forestall it from twisting.
The bench slab
The workbench floor, made from stable maple 1-1/2 in. thick, has a double row of three/4-in.-dia. canine holes the place an assortment of clamps, hold-downs, and benchdogs may be inserted. Holes bored into the entrance fringe of the slab settle for guide-rail clamps and a modified pipe vise. 4 lever-action slide bolts maintain the slab securely in place. Whenever you need to use the lathe, these bolts are launched, and the bench slab is rotated 180° and cranked upward.
Simply behind the bench slab there’s a detachable picket grille that matches over the inlet for a pair of exhaust followers. The followers draw effective sawdust into HEPA charcoal air filters. There may be an aluminum display screen mounted to the underside of the inlet grille to catch bigger particles. A detachable panel on the again of the cupboard permits servicing or substitute of the followers. To the left of the inlet grille is a pair of 110v electrical retailers.
The desk, the lid, and the autumn entrance
To make use of the desk for writing or drawing, I modify it so its prime floor is roughly 30 in. above the ground after which pull it ahead on its heavy-duty mechanical slides. Its top may be locked to stop flexing. Each time the lathe or the workbench is in use, the desk is pushed again into the cupboard, the place it may be utilized as a shelf.
The cupboard’s lid, a solid-oak panel with breadboard ends, is fairly heavy, so I put in two cupboard stays on all sides to assist elevate it and to safe it in its open place. The soft-close lifts are reverse-mounted to realize extra clearance.
On the within of the lid there’s a folding shelf, and beneath that hangs the crank for the lifting mechanism. I generally mount a 12-in. by 16-in. magnetic whiteboard contained in the lid as effectively, and an LED mild bar may be added beneath the lid’s entrance lip to light up the work space.
The frame-and-panel fall entrance, additionally made with stable quartersawn white oak, hinges ahead and slides into the physique of the cupboard for storage. I constructed a barrister equalizer to stop the panel from racking because it slides in, and I put in jatoba put on strips inside the cupboard to stop scratching on the panel face.
Greg Baker works wooden in a basement store in Whitby, Ont., Canada. Educated as an engineer within the early Nineteen Sixties, he could also be one of many final to have labored with technical drawing pens and india ink on drafting linen. To construct this cupboard, he produced 25 pages of intricate drawings, which may be discovered right here.
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