# Flip top tool stand



## cbrown1112 (Jan 9, 2013)

Got a bit bored this weekend and decided to start working on making my garage/workshop. I have seen several versions and decided to make one to hold my small drill press and delta planer. I built a custom feed and out feed ends for the planer so I am able to flip it and not have to remove the stock ones that would fall off when switching between tools.


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## Woodwart (Dec 11, 2012)

Great idea! I have thought of doing this to accomodate some of my tools in my limited space. :thumbsup:


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## One Ozark American (Jan 9, 2008)

Good Job


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

That looks great! I wanted to do this with my planer and new smaller drill press but didn't know if it would work. This answers that question and I will be starting mine next week!

Any tips on making it work with the drill press?


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## cbrown1112 (Jan 9, 2013)

With the drill press and planer I built mine with additional bracing between the layers of 3/4" plywood for extra strength. And for the center I used a 1/2" steel rod as the pivot for the table top. Most plans I have seen use a wood dowel. Last make sure you give an extra 2" inches from the height of your drill press and the center height of the pivot to accommodate the full swing when you change between tools. And of course make sure you use lock nuts for all bolts on your piece. Make sure you post pics. I am going to build a drill bit holder on the side so I have what I need while working.


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## cbrown1112 (Jan 9, 2013)

Sorry I also used some left over laminate that I had for the out feed for the planer so the wood would feed out easier when using the planer.


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## JMartel (Nov 30, 2011)

That's how I did mine, too, but I turned my drill press the other way. I figured it would give me more clearance.


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## ifishwhenican (Dec 23, 2011)

Great idea. Opens up a world of possibilities. What else would this work for?


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

I've seen a few variations of this stand, and I plan on using either 1/2" rod or all thread depending on what I have lying around. Did you have a set of plans you were working from? Know where I could find them? Thanks again for the post!


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

You can find a link to the plans in this thread, on post # 35.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Well done cbrown1112. This particular project has to be the most common one made here at WWT.com. And once you make it it's not hard to understand why.


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## Shaw Racing (Nov 15, 2008)

*Question???*

I have seen many of these flip-top stands posted on here and have a quick question. I would like to make at least one of these possibly two. The first one I want to mount two of my sanders on so that won't be an issue. 

My question is about mounting saws on a flip-top stand. I would like to mount my chop saw on one side and was wondering what people thought about mounting my scroll saw on the other? Do you think it would work or would the vibration of the scroll saw be too much?

Thanks,
Rich


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Shaw Racing said:


> I have seen many of these flip-top stands posted on here and have a quick question. I would like to make at least one of these possibly two. The first one I want to mount two of my sanders on so that won't be an issue.
> 
> My question is about mounting saws on a flip-top stand. I would like to mount my chop saw on one side and was wondering what people thought about mounting my scroll saw on the other? Do you think it would work or would the vibration of the scroll saw be too much?
> 
> ...


Here's your answer:

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f13/another-flip-top-tool-stand-35973/

(works just fine)


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## cbrown1112 (Jan 9, 2013)

I think you would be fine with these two tools. The weight from the wood and the tools give a good balance to the tool stand. I am going to build another one for my miter saw and joiner.


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## Shaw Racing (Nov 15, 2008)

Thanks!


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

cbrown1112 said:


> With the drill press and planer I built mine with additional bracing between the layers of 3/4" plywood for extra strength. And for the center I used a 1/2" steel rod as the pivot for the table top. Most plans I have seen use a wood dowel. Last make sure you give an extra 2" inches from the height of your drill press and the center height of the pivot to accommodate the full swing when you change between tools. And of course make sure you use lock nuts for all bolts on your piece. Make sure you post pics. I am going to build a drill bit holder on the side so I have what I need while working.



I started building my flip top cart tonight. I got the top pieces and spacers cut to final dimensions. I need to pick up some hardware tomorrow on my way home.









I've rough cut the side pieces and bottom shelf, but I'm still uncertain about the overall height. My drill press is 29" tall. You suggested adding an additional 2" to the drill press height and make that the height of my opening which would be 31". Am I correct in this? I plan to attach the drill press sideways and try to keep the cart as low as possible, so hopefully I can make the opening smaller?


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## cbrown1112 (Jan 9, 2013)

Sorry. I wasn't clear on the height. I measured mine again. I have a drill press that is 25" tall and the space between the the bottom panel and the center of the pivot or table top is right at 27 1/2". The side on my unit is 32" tall by 22 3/4" wide. You could make the side a little shorter maybe. But the pivot on my unit is 2 1/2" from top of side panel. So the space between the bottom shelf gives me about a 1 1/2" over the height of the drill press after the top is installed. Looking good so far. I might suggest putting another two braces running parallel with the pivot that way when you mount your tools and crank down on the bolt it does not flex in the middle. Or that is at least what I did with mine.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

cbrown1112 said:


> Sorry. I wasn't clear on the height. I measured mine again. I have a drill press that is 25" tall and the space between the the bottom panel and the center of the pivot or table top is right at 27 1/2". The side on my unit is 32" tall by 22 3/4" wide. You could make the side a little shorter maybe. But the pivot on my unit is 2 1/2" from top of side panel. So the space between the bottom shelf gives me about a 1 1/2" over the height of the drill press after the top is installed. Looking good so far. I might suggest putting another two braces running parallel with the pivot that way when you mount your tools and crank down on the bolt it does not flex in the middle. Or that is at least what I did with mine.


You're awesome! I can't thank you enough for the clear and detailed description. I was able to follow exactly what you were saying, and I can now move forward with cutting the rest of my panels to final dimensions. I came up with 36" for the height of my side panels, which is 4" taller than yours and 4" is the difference in our drill press heights. I was nervous about building this entire cabinet, and then having my drill press hit the bottom shelf the first time I went to turn it, but not anymore!

I plan on adding more bracing to the middle as you suggested. I'm waiting until I'm a little further along, and I'll try to place them so that the bolts holding the machines on will pass through the additional braces. 

Thanks again for the help! I think that was the only hurtle that was slowing me up. I'll try to post some pictures when I'm further along, and I'll let you know if I come up with any tips myself during the build.


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## cbrown1112 (Jan 9, 2013)

captainawesome said:


> You're awesome! I can't thank you enough for the clear and detailed description. I was able to follow exactly what you were saying, and I can now move forward with cutting the rest of my panels to final dimensions. I came up with 36" for the height of my side panels, which is 4" taller than yours and 4" is the difference in our drill press heights. I was nervous about building this entire cabinet, and then having my drill press hit the bottom shelf the first time I went to turn it, but not anymore!
> 
> I plan on adding more bracing to the middle as you suggested. I'm waiting until I'm a little further along, and I'll try to place them so that the bolts holding the machines on will pass through the additional braces.
> 
> Thanks again for the help! I think that was the only hurtle that was slowing me up. I'll try to post some pictures when I'm further along, and I'll let you know if I come up with any tips myself during the build.


Not a problem, let me know if there is anything else I can help you out with. I can't wait to see how yours turns out. I plan on starting another one in the next week or so. I think I may add a drawer to this one for storage, since I plan on mounting my miter saw and joiner on my next one.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

Just another application. OSS on one side, bench grinder and Worksharp on the other. Pivot rod is 1/2" pipe, about 11/16" OD.:smile:

No pins for stops, just the plywood turnbuckles.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Another day, and a little more progress. I only get about 30 min. after I get home from work, and another hour after we put my son down for the night, to work on this thing. It always takes me a bit to get my head in it again, especially with all of the moving parts.

I got the base assembled (forgot to take a picture) and I will be putting the cleat blocks and casters on tonight I hope.

I cut the slots in the front and back spacers, and got them glued and nailed to one of the tops. 








I'll add the additional spacers once I have everything laid out. 








I was wondering when you drilled the hole for the 1/2" rod? I'm worried about getting everything to line up, and I had planned on drilling it before putting the second top on. I feel like I may end up blowing out the spacer if I do that though.

I also picked up some bronze bushings from my local hardware store. They fit the 1/2" rod perfectly in the I.D. and the O.D. fits very snug in a 3/4" hole. I believe I saw Chaincarver Steve do this, and after test fitting all of it, this seems like a very smart upgrade for longevity. I think they were about $1.33 a piece, so if you're interested I can post some more detailed pictures of it later. You may want to use them on your next one.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Got her finished up Friday night.








Here it is with none of the eye bolts in their grooves. I was surprised by how even the weight was distributed between the two tools. I also built a little shelf on the side that will hold a few parts for the planer. Be sure to post pics of whatever you come up with to hold all of your drill bits.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

It came out great, Captain. Isn't it amazing how sturdy these actually are? They're a lot more rigid than one might expect.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Chaincarver Steve said:


> It came out great, Captain. Isn't it amazing how sturdy these actually are? They're a lot more rigid than one might expect.


I was shocked! I have to thank you for the brass bushing idea. I think that is what makes this stand so smooth during rotation. Due to the added height of mine (to compensate for the drill press) I have just a slight bit of racking, but nothing that concerns me in any way.


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