Out in the Paddock Mobile Work Trolley/Bench Designs

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

Hello Lynn,

I appreciate you concern about being distracted by divergent projects. However, in addition to being handy the workbench trolley will allow me to practice welding. I have not done any welding for decades. It would be good to have recent welding proficiency before tackling rust repairs on a chassis cross-member or foot-well/bulkhead panels. It would be good to practice on something a little expendable first - like a mobile workbench trolley.

They reckon practice makes perfect!

Kind regards
Lionel

If you are depending on the 240V mains for your welding... you may be limited as to what you can do. Its OK for light jobs but I find its rather a pain , after 4 pm the voltage drops where I live and welding is a nightmare,

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

What size overhang - wider than 30 mm - have you found to be user-friendly when clamping things to the front and back of your workbench?

I am going to replace the particle board sheeting top that came with the pallet rack-based workbench I bought about a year ago. I have been using the bench regularly for the past couple of months. In this time I have found that the current particle board overhang of 30 mm is not wide enough when clamping. The workbench is currently open to all the elements.

I went one of the timber yards and had a browse of their stock. I found some 120 mm wide and 25 mm thick hardwood that I will replace the particle board with. After receiving some responses I will be able to work out the dimensions of the front and back overhang and know how much timber to buy. After fixing the timber down I am considering covering the timber including its edges with some metal sheeting.

No - this is not intended to be a welding table that was discussed in a previous thread.

I appreciate your input.

Kind regards
Lionel

[maple_leaf_eh]

For a long time in remote Canada, sleds were a common oversnow, farming and woods-work feature. They don't need a smooth hard surface road. They are low to the ground for equipment like generators, welders, tool boxes, etc. Stable to tow to a job site. Easy too for one or two men to load objects like supplies, fuel cans, logs, stones, or dead animals. Easy to build with a couple of long planks and some sort of perpendicular deck. And above all - cheap to make and replace. Research "stone boat" and "komatik".

Putting wheels on something that might move a few miles/kilometers over its lifetime might be a misuse of effort. Likewise, inflatable tires might be just another problem to resolve when you need the utility out of the trailer the most. Perhaps the only advantage of a waist high bench is the worker doesn't need to bend at the wait.

[David Herbert]

Some very good points Terry. There is no reason that a work bench couldn't be mounted on skids and as you say it won't get a puncture every time you want to move it. It will also be more stable without the give that tires would allow.

David