Flip Top Has Nine Lives

[glenn bradley]

I have had almost no shop time lately. Even now I am squeezing this in over an extended late-lunch as I go back to work for some more tonight in an hour or so. This may be the third or fourth thread that has starred this particular flip top stand. I have removed the lunchbox planer and put it in storage. This allows me to put the Ridgid sander in its place and gains me back nearly nine square feet of floor space. I made my top in two parts to allow for changes in the tools as time went by. Must be one of the two things I've ever planned right as this flip top has held my CMS, different sanders, and my planer in different combinations. Here's a few exploded shots and the sander in its new home. You can see the various t-nuts and cutouts for the various positions, some of which were used more than once . The corner bolts are just in position to hold the latches while I work. When done they sandwich the top skins together along with the other screws. The two large bolts are for my cast iron belt/disc combo that only attaches in two places and is quite stout.

[larry merlau]

your the man in shop notes that makes such great new ideas come alive glenn now you have resurrected a old one

[John Daugherty]

That's great Glenn. What do you do with the extra spindles etc. that go with the sander? Is it mobile? Would it hold the planer too at the same time? I'd like to build something like that to hold my ridgid sander and get it off my counter top.

[Carol Reed]

Glenn, do you have a SketchUp of your flip top somewhere to share? Or overall height, depth, width, and flip details? Thanks.

[Jim C Bradley]

I think you should name that flip-top stand, "Cat."
It has had at least 9 lives.

Enjoy,

JimB

[glenn bradley]

That's great Glenn. What do you do with the extra spindles etc. that go with the sander? Is it mobile? Would it hold the planer too at the same time? I'd like to build something like that to hold my ridgid sander and get it off my counter top.

In the original design (which is a conglomeration of other's ideas) I had included a drawer in the bottom. I never got around to it. I thought that during this change I would finally add it but, time is short. Hooray for the Dollar Store .



Mobile on dual locking casters on one side and non-swivel on the other. Used to be all swivel which was more maneuverable but, not as accurate (that means I kept banging into things ). It has always held two tools. More pics and info here and in these pics (wow, it used to be much lighter in color):

Glenn, do you have a SketchUp of your flip top somewhere to share? Or overall height, depth, width, and flip details? Thanks.

I built this back in 2006 before I knew what SketchUp was. As confessed; it is a combination of many stolen ideas . . . er, I mean education through exposure to others . The size will vary with your needs but, the important ones for me were:Space between bottom panel and the underside of the swivel panel; I wanted enough room to flip without worrying about banging into anything and . . I was going to add a drawer.Height of the side panels past the top of the swivel panel; I wanted them high enough for good support but, they had to clear my planer tables.



Here's the basics on mine; all 3/4" BB ply except the frame that separates the swivel panel sides, it is 7/8" fir IIRC:
31-3/4" x 24-1/2" = Sides
1-1/4" x length required = Skirt (adds strength but must clear caster locking mechanism)
26-3/4" x 24-1/2" = Bottom panel (extra 3/4" allows bottom panel to be dado'd into sides)
26 x 24-1/2" = Swivel panel (2 required, separated by frame. Pivot dowel pierces frame)

The 26" dimension is between the sides. The hinge pin is a 1" white oak dowel about 6" long on each side. You can see I added pivot point reinforcement blocks on the outside of the sides. I lubed these with paraffin 6 years ago and they still turn great. It is very awkward to flip this thing without a tool on each side for balance . Despite its frail appearance, with the four corner knobs locked it is solid enough to use with the planer sled with no alignment issues during the transition from infeed supports, through the platen area and onto the outfeed supports. This shop fixture comes in second behind my tablesaw sled in terms of value versus the time required to build. It has been a blessing in a little over four square feet of floor space.

Last minute thought: In the second and third pic at the top of this thread you can see a bit of orange peeking out between the top and the sides. These are large washers that I cut out of an old coffee can lid .

[John Daugherty]

Thanks Glenn that helps a lot. Not only did the carcass change colors the wheels did too!

[Carol Reed]

Thanks, Glenn. On the to-do list for sharpening equipment.