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Lazy Susan workbench plans for smaller shop?

golfmogul

Active Member
I've seen images on Pinterest of a lazy susan workbench with 4-5 fixed (bolted) tools on it. I'm just finishing the un-crating & inventorying of my RV-10 Emp kit. I'll be building the RV-10 in my 2 car attached garage (until its time to put wings on). Still, I'd like to keep parking my car on one side of the garage this winter if possible, so I'm doing all I can to plan for efficient use of space in the other half as I finish my shop setup. I built 2 EAA workbenches. I have a low bench a friend in my local EAA chapter graciously donated to me (he used it for wheeling around the fuselage QB kit, which I also plan to order soon). I have a couple shelves. I am planning on building a fixed workbench, probably 20 inches deep, along the rear wall of my garage for some fixed horizontal space, but if I were to bolt down all my bench tools on that fixed bench, with each one next to each other, I think each of them would get in the way of long aluminum skins I need to lay across the bench to access/utilize one of the tools. Instead, I'd like to build a lazy susan for my DDR2 dimpler, bench grinder, band saw, 1 inch belt sander w/side disc, and drill press. I imaging it having wheels but usually sitting at the end of my fixed long workbench. Have any of you done this? If so, do you have plans for it or tips on making it? I'm sure I can hack my way through it but would love to use proven plans if there are any out there - thx in advance. (PS - I'm open to other ideas for where I should mount these 5 fixed tools if you have ideas. RN I have wheels attached to 1 of my EAA benches & by stepping on levers the wheels come down so its easy to move but its stable & fixed when the wheels are up ... was going to wait & see if I will be moving the other EAA bench tons before ordering a set of wheels for it). Thx. Chad
 
I built this rotating table. The drill press is on one side and the grinder with the Scotch Brite wheel /belt sander on the other.
A second table that did not flip holds the band saw. Thats all I used for table mounted tools during my build. Plus having everything on wheels is a great help during the build.
My dimpler was only pulled out when needed, not permanently mounted.
I have the plans for this rotating table if your interested.

As an aside...I move my workbenches constantly depending on what job I'm doing.
 

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I built this rotating table. The drill press is on one side and the grinder with the Scotch Brite wheel /belt sander on the other.
A second table that did not flip holds the band saw. Thats all I used for table mounted tools during my build. Plus having everything on wheels is a great help during the build.
My dimpler was only pulled out when needed, not permanently mounted.
I have the plans for this rotating table if your interested.

As an aside...I move my workbenches constantly depending on what job I'm doing.

Thanks for the idea - I thought of a rotating table like this - but I'm still thinking that the lazy susan might be better b/c I have 5 tools but maybe you're right about not permanently mounting the DDR2? Can it work ok without being bolted down when using it?

Here's a pic of the lazy susan I found online but can't find plans: https://www.finewoodworking.com/readerproject/2012/02/24/lazy-stephen-tool-turntable
 
Thanks for the idea - I thought of a rotating table like this - but I'm still thinking that the lazy susan might be better b/c I have 5 tools but maybe you're right about not permanently mounting the DDR2? Can it work ok without being bolted down when using it?

Here's a pic of the lazy susan I found online but can't find plans: https://www.finewoodworking.com/readerproject/2012/02/24/lazy-stephen-tool-turntable


That lazy susan looks pretty cool. If you can't find any plans for it, just figure out how big you need it and make your own. It looks like it's really simple.
 
Tony Bingelis "The Sportplane Builder"

The blue book Tony Bingelis wrote years ago and sold by EAA and Amazon has his portable 4-way work island shown in Figure 1 on page 40.

IMG_9073.jpg

I built one over 30-years ago. I have drill press, ban saw, vise, two bench grinders, disc / belt sander all mounted to it. Has served me well and still serving me.
 
Obviously there's more than one way to skin this cat, but I didn't feel the need to permanently mount my DRDT2.

It takes a couple of seconds to clamp it down on an EAA bench with a wood clamp. When I do the big pieces, I build up the table to the level of the DRDT with cardboard that I saved from one of the shipping boxes. Otherwise it's out of the way in the back corner of my garage.

My drill press and belt sander are on a little table I made with a 24" top that just has locking casters from harbor freight. much easier to just spin the whole table around than spend the time and $ for a lazy suzan. Less wobbly too.

The bench grinder with 3m wheels makes a huge dusty mess inside that I don't want to be breathing in, so it's outside on a bbq cart that I saved when the grill portion rusted out. It's not bolted down, just sitting on a shelf on top, that way I just carry it back inside when rain is in the forecast.

I realize that a lot of this seems cobbled together, but it maximizes space, minimizes mess, and didn't take a ton of time to set up with stuff I already had on hand.

Heres' a couple pix of my uber precise skin dimpling table
 

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This is what mine looks like at around 30-years old. Yes it has been changed / modified over the years.

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Similar to the Tony Bingelis idea, I built this 4-in-1 tool bench for my shop. The frame is the same basic 2x4 construction as an EAA 1000 table. Dimensions will be highly custom for your tools - don't forget to think about clearance behind the bandsaw for long pieces to move though. A good set of locking casters makes it plenty solid, and the drawers are useful for holding all the attachments and accessories for the various tools.

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Bench

Mine is basically the same except no wheels. Never needed to move it.
However, I just got a neat idea.
Buddy of mine hinges his bench to the wall. It locks in the folded position and legs fold down when it's lowered. Space saver. Not much use for fixed electrics but it saves a ton of bench space along a wall. He also attached peg board to the bottom so when folded it's a pegboard holder for tools. It does require straps of they all fall off!
 
This is my mobile tool set-up. Worked great throughout the build.
 

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Some really nice ideas here! I too just built a 2' x 2' version of the EAA workbench, then put some 4" locking urethane casters under it. An outlet strip with a 15' cord is mounted to one of the legs. The band saw, belt/disc sander, buffer/grinder, and drill press are mounted to the four corners. The big casters put the tools at a good working height. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably make the top 30" x 30" just for a little extra working room.
 
I built a 2X4 EAA bench for my DRDT and never locked it down to the table. I did make the insert that slides over the lower part and makes a flush table top with carpet to protect the workpieces. The DRDT never budged unless I intentionally moved it.

I have my bench grinder mounted on its own (HFT) stand. I’m not sure I would want it on a table top. Seems like the table top would interfere with some of the parts you will work with.

I made a flip top table for a spindle sander and planer - unrelated to the RV project, but I love it. Probably would have been useful for sanders. Not sure if my smallish drill press would fit.
 
The blue book Tony Bingelis wrote years ago and sold by EAA and Amazon has his portable 4-way work island shown in Figure 1 on page 40.

View attachment 3848

I built one over 30-years ago. I have drill press, ban saw, vise, two bench grinders, disc / belt sander all mounted to it. Has served me well and still serving me.

This looks super simple to build - just rotate the entire square bench with 4 tools on it (one mounted on each side) instead of a lazy susan that rotates independent of the base. I'm doing this - and seems many of you didn't find it necessary to permanently mount the DDR2, so I'll just do a 4 sided bench like this with wheels & leave off the DDR2. It can be used on either of my other 2 EAA benches or on the fixed long workbench I'll build along the rear wall of my garage. Thx for this!
 
Obviously there's more than one way to skin this cat, but I didn't feel the need to permanently mount my DRDT2.

It takes a couple of seconds to clamp it down on an EAA bench with a wood clamp. When I do the big pieces, I build up the table to the level of the DRDT with cardboard that I saved from one of the shipping boxes. Otherwise it's out of the way in the back corner of my garage.

My drill press and belt sander are on a little table I made with a 24" top that just has locking casters from harbor freight. much easier to just spin the whole table around than spend the time and $ for a lazy suzan. Less wobbly too.

The bench grinder with 3m wheels makes a huge dusty mess inside that I don't want to be breathing in, so it's outside on a bbq cart that I saved when the grill portion rusted out. It's not bolted down, just sitting on a shelf on top, that way I just carry it back inside when rain is in the forecast.

I realize that a lot of this seems cobbled together, but it maximizes space, minimizes mess, and didn't take a ton of time to set up with stuff I already had on hand.

Heres' a couple pix of my uber precise skin dimpling table

great ideas - I'm glad I saved the cardboard from the Emp crate - I'm doing this - and the square table on casters. Thx a ton
 
Mine is basically the same except no wheels. Never needed to move it.
However, I just got a neat idea.
Buddy of mine hinges his bench to the wall. It locks in the folded position and legs fold down when it's lowered. Space saver. Not much use for fixed electrics but it saves a ton of bench space along a wall. He also attached peg board to the bottom so when folded it's a pegboard holder for tools. It does require straps of they all fall off!

I like this idea for my long fixed bench along the back wall of my garage. ... thinking now ... (thx)
 
One thing to keep in mind when designing a shop space is that if you intend to use a standard Scotchbrite wheel mounted in a grinder or something similar, it will have the most value if the wheel is as accessible as possible.

The best possible design is for the grinder to be mounted on a pedestal type of stand. If mounted to a bench or table top, at least locate it at the corner so that the Scotchbrite wheel side is hanging off the side of the bench top as far as possible.

Even better than using a grinder is to use a buffer because of its long shaft which gets the wheel well away from anything that will interfere with positioning parts.
Harbor freight has an inexpensive one that works well for this.
 
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