what height are your work surfaces?

jeffsw6

For those of you who have made your work surfaces all the same height, how tall are they, and how did you decide?

My table saw is about 37 1/4". I just ordered a miter saw (good "Black Friday" deal) and will need to make a rolling stand for it. I think it makes sense to have the deck of the saw be the same height as the table saw.

So that made me think, maybe all my work surfaces should be the same height. I think I could build a miter saw stand that is adjustable by using some screw jacks. My dad's table saw has adjustable feet and I always assumed this is so you could level it -- it only just dawned on me that maybe Delta also wanted the customer to be able to make their saw the same height as their benches and other tools, too.

joecaption

Those feet were just for leveling.
I see no benifit to having all the work surfaces the same height.
A mitre saw is one tool you going to want to be able to more from place to place in lots of cases.
I use one of these and it's worked great.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...E59D03&first=1

Lots of other companys also sell mitre saw stands.

oh'mike

A lot has to do with your work space and if your benches need to do double duty----

Due to the length required for a chop saw table I'm not sure if that one needs to match up with the table saw----I prefer the chop table to be rather high---easier to see---I am rather tall---

I use a wood chop saw table with a fence---about 6 1/2 feet to the left and 4 feet to the right of the machine----makes for great support and is easy to add stops for repeated cuts--

A fence also keeps crown and base moldings from rolling over as you work---

My job site stand is also wood---I just hate the rollers---the material is never exactly where I want it to be and I can't make marks for repeated cuts. I need to be fast and accurate to make money setting trim. A home made table with a fence allows me to do that.

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jeffsw6

Quick, repeated cuts are what I am after. I plan to build a deck in the spring.

I have a lot of things in my garage/shop so everything is either against the wall, or needs to be easy to move. That's why I bought a table saw with a wheel kit.

For the miter saw stand, I figured I would make a small stand the same height as my table saw, and I can just clamp them together and use the table saw's fence to cut deck boards (or anything else like that.) If I need to make longer cuts I can add a bench, also the same height, and clamp a stop block to make repeated cuts. As long as the stands do not shift around, all I need to do is measure once.

What I meant by "rolling stand" is I want to put it on casters. Caster brakes are useless, though; the stand would shift. I will need to have a way to keep it in a fixed place.

I am trying to think of a way to use screw jacks that would lift the miter saw stand off of the casters and keep it stable. Obviously any screw jacks with feet are able to do this. I think I might be able to do it quickly if I take the long bolt that is part of the screw jack and replace it with a long hex-head bolt. Then an impact wrench can do most of the work and I can simply use a ratchet driver to level it out.

So the screw jacks would look like this picture, except the wing-nut part would be embedded into the bench and the top of the bolt would have a hex-head.

I don't know if the bases of these jacks are actually threaded, or if they are welded together or if the wing nuts actually ride on the bases. That seems like an easy problem to solve though, I could always get one threaded for me if they aren't.

Bolts like this 18" long are about $10 to $20 with a hex-head. It seems to me that this would be a really good way of having a portable saw stand that can be moved quickly and effortlessly, and will not take very long to level up, or adjust to desired height. I could make a couple of new benches this way also.

Sane?

EDIT: If the wing nuts on those screw jacks do simply ride on the base, I guess all I need is a bolt with the same diameter and TPI, and a second wing nut for each one. Should not be too hard to get from the fastener store.

woodworkbykirk

table saws and chop saw stands are set to a height thats geared to the masses to be comfortable.. if your not average height youll want something custom to you . allows for clearly seeing what your doing and not being hunched over... if you need a outfeed table make it the same height as the table saw top.


for an assembly table shorter is sometimes better as when a project startes to take form it can become bulky.. youll want to be able to install trim or hardware easily without having to reach up to high or hunch over to reach down.. so adjustable legs as mentioned are a perfect idea

oh'mike

I like your thinking----with a garage shop everything needs to do double duty---keep us filled in---

Look next door at woodworking talk--lots of shop ideas there--(Link at the bottom of the page)

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ToolSeeker

Absolutly if your work surfaces are the same then you can use your bench for an out feed table when cutting long or oversize pieces or vice versa

funfool

Is an advantage to having them the same hight.
I have a friend that has a contract and builds shipping crates.
He has everything sitting on heavy duty casters, even the table saw.
The shop is a large pole building, his work benches are 48"x48" sit in the middle of the floor and can work from both sides.
Rolls them up to the saw and use as out feed tables.
Builds his crates on them, can spread them apart for longer crates.
Uses them to roll the 16' long crates to the trailer to load.
The work surfaces really do double or triple duty.
You may not need something on this scale, but is an idea for you while you design yours.

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jeffsw6

How does he keep his benches and saws from shifting on the casters? Did he use jacks or something, or are the casters he bought just equipped with better brakes than the ones I have used?