As a recent amputee I have discovered difficult to find a suitable woodworking bench. It needs to have either a hydraulic or electrical means to raise and lower the bench. As an amputee I am fortunate that at times I can do some woodworking in a standing position; however, most of it is done in my wheelchair. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Bob Fleege Ames, IA
Hi Bob. I do some work with "Hope for Injured Warriors" and I'm interested to see what you come up with. May I anticipate a question and ask what kind of woodworking you do. Does it need the sideways sturdiness for hand-planing? Mostly power of hand tools? Here is a post from Chuck Isaacson on a wheelchair accessible table saw: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...853-My-new-Saw Brian
Hi Brian, I guess first I have to give you a little background info. I'm not only an amputee (left leg below the knee) but I also have a prosthetic left shoulder with very limited range of motion. My wife is an Occupational Therapist and recommend I find a hobby where I would be using these muscles. So up until my amputation I focused on making pens, walking canes and then got into carving the handles for the canes. Having had to give up some other activities I plan on spending a lot more time in my woodshop. We are currently looking for an accessible home and one of my requirements is enough space in the basement to setup a wheelchair accessible wood whop. I want to continue what I have done, especially the walking canes which I gave to local disabled vets, but I would like to start expanding into smal furniture and other projects.
