Scissors Lift Table

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 I have wanted an adjustable table in my shop for years and got excited when I saw one of these on Facebook for $29.95. That was a scam of course, but then Steve DeVries brought one to our guild meeting in May and I watched a video ( many, many times) of one being built by Marius Hornberger and I followed his design with a few personal twists of my own.
 
 This lift is built almost entirely with high quality maple plywood and the nut block is some hardwood from my wood room and I can't identify it
 
The lift has 1 1/2" thick by 2 1/2" wide arms and 1 1/2"x 3" top and bottom frame members. All the bushings in the scissors and connecting block are DOM steel tubing and the pins are 1/2" steel. The threaded shaft that runs it up and down is a 3/4"-6 Acme thread and the casters are 4" 2-way locking type. The height range is from 17" to 57" and it takes 107 turns for the full 40" travel. I am going to make 1" 6 point socket driver for it to use on a drill.
 The bearings are 1 3/4" OD and 3/4" ID and fit over the 3/4" bushing sticking our of the scissors arms. In front of the nut that crank goes on is a 1 1/4" roller thrust bearing with a 1 3/4" bearing pressed into the inside of the top front frame member and it supports the shaft in the front. I have Delrin block in the top back member that supports the back end.
 
 This was design as you go project with a lot of visits back to Marius' video.
 
 All the wood is finished with Boiled linseed oil and may get some poly on it later. The top is a small laminate covered worksurface that had to be cut down to leave 1 1/2" overhang all the way around for clamping. 

Cheers, Jim






Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

18 Comments

Design as you go is the best option at times, well done.

Main Street to the Mountains

What Eric said. You gotta be flexible. This worked out well! 👌

The early bird gets the worm but its the second mouse that gets the cheese.

I need one of these.   I know you built this a while back, is it still as solid as it was, when you first made it?
That’s cool. Is it solid at all when extended out like that?

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

NICE !!!  I would have lost sleep trying to figure out the lift system. Excellent job !!!   Mike
thast real cool jim.

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Thank you all for the nice comments. It is about 3 months old now and still very solid. I have used it with almost all my equipment in the basement shop. Steve DeVries from  out guild sell complete plans for the one he built that has more range than mine because the arms are longer. He used his for installing upper kitchen cabinets.

Hi Swirt, with a big load on it, it has some sway  side to side except when it is all the way up with the arms almost vertical. Then it has a lot less sway!

Cheers, Jim

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

Thanks Dutchy. I love it!!

Cheers, Jim

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

This is a great design and build!
Thanks BE49. I made it like one I saw from Denmark! Actually I made 2- One for Bubba! He bought the material and I did the machining! There are lots of pivot  pins and steel bushings in it!

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

I was totally impressed with the number of projects that Jim Jakosh has made and posted!!!!
Great job Jim. This is one I have seen several times, and used to consider making some day.

I also wanted a adjustable height table. My end result wasn't near as well done as this, and a whole lot less woodworking, and a lot more using what I already had. It resulted in my first post at the other place. I admit it's a piece of huey, but it took me about 10 minutes to make it start to finish. I used it successfully back then, and it still is in use today. I forget the actual numbers, but it easily goes from very low, to higher than I usually work at. I'll post it some time here for a laugh, and to pass along the idea of the ABC version of an adjustable height work area. Not sure if I can find the old pics, or if I'll need to take new ones?


Thanks, George. I'd like to see you lift table! For years I had use one of the adjustable roller supports to level pieces up the the machines for infeed or just support way out on long pieces. Then I saw one of these posted on Facebook for $29.95  and it was a SCAM. The acme threaded rod cost more than that!! I use it a lot for an adjustable woodbench so I can work at a comfortable height in the shop!

Hi BE49. I keep busy. On Lumberjocks I had 1100 projects posted and there were no metalworking ones there. Some are simple ones and some are very detailed and precise but all is fun for me!!!!!!!!!

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

Jim, I did find this pics, and posted my work of desperation here. You could call Jims work the Long, and mine the Short of it. 
Another very cool project Jim. 👍🏻

.................. John D....................

I like, need one of these to extend work bench, band saw table, planer out feed, etc. Nice work. 👍👍
Thanks, George, John and Tom. I see they sell hydraulic lift tables now that you pump up with a foot pedal. I march to words from my old boss,  Bob Beovich , when I was an apprentice tool maker. He said: " you appreciate it more if you make it yourself' !

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day