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Thread: Leveling feet for my workbench

  1. #1
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    Leveling feet for my workbench

    I'm in the process of building my own workbench and wanted to include leveling feet to compensate for variations in the garage floor. I found this website:

    http://www.levelingmounts.com/

    and as you will see, their site is a bit difficult to navigate. I gave them a call, and the lady on the phone couldn't have been more pleasant to work with. I explained to her what I was looking for, and they pretty much had exactly what I needed. Since I was looking for a hex socket on the top of the shaft, I had to move up to the heavy duty levelers which are overkill with a 5,000 lb rating, but it had all of the features I wanted.

    If you need leveling feet, I would highly recommend this company.

    Here is a pic of the mount I got with a #5 in the background to give you an idea of scale.

    DSC_0004.jpg

    Bryan

  2. #2
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    Brian, how are you planning to attach the levelers to your bench legs? Like you, I decided to use heavy duty levelers on my workbench, but I couldn't figure out how to attach them. Several people told me to imbed threaded connectors in the legs, but I didn't think they would work long term. The cross section area of a connector is something like one square inch. I didn't think tha was enough bearing surface to support my bench and stand up to all the pounding and wracking a workbench has to endure. I went to my local machine shop and had them turn down some 1 3/8" steel plate to make 4 end plates for my bench legs. Each one has a 3" X 3" X 3/8" plate and a 1" threaded stud for the levelers. Each one gives me 9 square inches of bearing surface on the end of each leg. They are bomb proof. Here's a couple of photos:
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Hank Knight; 06-03-2006 at 12:40 PM.

  3. #3
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    I went with 3/4 bolts with a nut then a washer before contacting a metal sleeve in the legs. Turn the nut to raise and lower the remaining free sliding portion of the threaded shaft. On the other hand I now know this was overkill and quality lifting feet like you have are more than adequate and a much more elegant solution.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  4. #4
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    Hank, those are some impressive mounting plates. Here are some pics on how I'm doing it:

    DSC_0001.jpg DSC_0002.jpg DSC_0003.jpg

    DSC_0004.jpg DSC_0005.jpg

  5. #5
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    Brian, those are nice looking mounts and a perfect solution for sled feet. You shouldn't have any issues with them and you'll enjoy the levelers, even if you never move your bench. I't's nice to know that all four feet are soilidly on the ground. Post pics of your bench when you're done.

    Cheers.

    Hank

  6. #6
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    A wedge usually does the trick for me!
    .. If walking is good for your health, the postman would be immortal.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Jarnell View Post
    A wedge usually does the trick for me!
    Measure twice and cut once and swear three times

  8. #8
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    Leveling feet can certainly do the job, but I personally prefer a larger area to be in contact with the floor, so I use wedges as Brian mentioned. Unless you do very little work on the bench that will put lateral stresses, the adjustable feet may not give you as much grip on the floor as you want and they will also have to be very heavy duty to avoid the metal bending with stress, too.

    Yes, my shop floor is also sloped as it was originally built as a 3.5 bay garage by the previous owner, so I have to deal with this not just with my bench but with some other tools. And that also means that it's very hard to "angle" anything relative to the slope...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Leveling feet can certainly do the job, but I personally prefer a larger area to be in contact with the floor, so I use wedges as Brian mentioned. Unless you do very little work on the bench that will put lateral stresses, the adjustable feet may not give you as much grip on the floor as you want and they will also have to be very heavy duty to avoid the metal bending with stress, too.

    Yes, my shop floor is also sloped as it was originally built as a 3.5 bay garage by the previous owner, so I have to deal with this not just with my bench but with some other tools. And that also means that it's very hard to "angle" anything relative to the slope...
    Hey Jim, how about using wheels? Do you get enough stability? for those of us with limited room, being able to move a bench out of the way once in a while could be a big help. Sean

  10. #10
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    Do any of you know someone that works for Xerox? If so, ask them what their installers do with the leveling feet from the big machines that they replace or upgrade. If not, make a point to go meet one of them!
    The answer here is that they throw them away. Not allowed to reuse them, even though there is nothing wrong with them. I happen to know a guy through Irish Setter Rescue that works for Zerox here locally, and anytime I need some, I just call and give him a few weeks, and he brings me a small box of them (8 to 10) -1.jpg The small end is about 1 3/4" diameter. The large end with the textured ring is about 4 1/2" and has 4 holes in it. I used these holes to drill mounting holes into the small ends, and ran my long phillips tip through them to sink the screws. Two adjusting ends, one fine threads, the other coarse threads. The adjusting barrel is about 1" diameter, and the large end will pop out of the barrel, and spins freely. There is a long spanner wrench (14") to allow adjustments. There are also some hard plastic "pucks" that they will fit into, but I saw no need for their use. Possibly keeps water off the metal so it won't rust, but that's just a guess. They will adjust from 2 1/8" up to 4 1/4" and are very stable.
    I've got these under my built in bench, and on my two 10' long multistation benches. They work great! Jim.
    Coolmeadow Setters...Exclusively Irish! When Irish Eyes are smiling....They're usually up to something!!
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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sean Troy View Post
    Hey Jim, how about using wheels? Do you get enough stability? for those of us with limited room, being able to move a bench out of the way once in a while could be a big help. Sean
    I don't have the mobility kit wheels on my Adjust-A-Bench...sold them nearly immediately. But the design was such that they didn't touch the floor when being used. I did a similar thing with my previous bench...you had to lift one end in order to get the casters onto the floor. I personally would not have wheels under the bench if said bench was always being supported by the wheels. There is too small a contact area with the floor, IMHO. But again, for anyone not using the bench for heavy hand tool work, this may be less of an issue. In the rare event I need to move my bench for any reason...I just slide it a little at a time.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    I don't have the mobility kit wheels on my Adjust-A-Bench...sold them nearly immediately. But the design was such that they didn't touch the floor when being used. I did a similar thing with my previous bench...you had to lift one end in order to get the casters onto the floor. I personally would not have wheels under the bench if said bench was always being supported by the wheels. There is too small a contact area with the floor, IMHO. But again, for anyone not using the bench for heavy hand tool work, this may be less of an issue. In the rare event I need to move my bench for any reason...I just slide it a little at a time.
    Thanks Jim, makes good sense

  13. #13
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    For my outfeed table, I didn't need the heaviest levelers. But, I found some that wind up very heavy duty at the blue borg. In the hardware bins they have elevator bolts. These things basically look like leveler legs and come in 3/8" diameter. They were less than a buck a piece also. The bottom is just metal though, so I bought some grippy rubber self-stick round bits with the furniture feet further down the isle. After all was said and done, I'd use these on a bench in a heartbeat. They are beefy.
    Jay St. Peter

  14. #14
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    Bryan ---

    I wanted to bring something to your attention. I noticed something about the mortises when I first saw this post. To make sure, I doubled checked with Mark Singer:

    Your mortises are oriented cross grain and thus will have little or no holding power with the long grain tenons. You need to have long grain orientation....so the slots should be rotated exactly 90* to acheive this. Your upright should be large enough to cover the existing mortises - I think you can save it........but you had better get long grain to long grain gluing surfaces.....or else it will not hold.

  15. #15
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    I got some heavy duty machine levelers with a 3" base, 5/8" hardened screw posts rated at #5000/foot from McMaster Carr for something like $8/foot. I had a welder attach threaded rod connectors (like very long nuts), about 2 1/2" long to some 3"X3"X3/8" steel plates. The corners of the steel squares are drilled with 1/4" holes to accept 1/4" lags. With a forsner I drilled 3" deep holes on center into the end grain of my bench legs to accept the long bolts. Looks much like Hanks picture earlier in this post.

    This bench with these feet could stop a charging rhino. My slab is way to far out for shims or wedges, and now my sliding miter bench/shaper/RAS all sit in one plane and act as infeed/outfeed for each other.

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