jonny round boy
Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2007
- Messages
- 3,227
Further to my post in Paul's excellent WCR 1000 review thread, this thread documents the build of my own version of a vac-based work centre.
Firstly, this idea came directly from Paul's review, and the fact that he's mounted his on the systainer 'platform'. I would like to take full credit, but I can't I'm afraid. It's a blatant rip off of Festool's design, and Paul's input. [embarassed]
I drew an outline design in SketchUp to get the general dimensions. I'll be mounting this on a CT26, with a sys2. With the work centre on top, access to the systainer is limited slightly, but this systainer is used purely to store spare bags for the CT so that's not an issue (since the work centre would have to be removed to change the bag anyway). Based on the height of this combo, I decided to make my WCR at 600mm high:
[attachthumb=01]
[attachthumb=02]
[attachthumb=03]
I decided to use 18mm WBP ply for the construction. It's lighter, stronger and takes paint better than MDF, and I had plenty of offcuts I could use!
The construction is very simple. First, I had to make the end pieces. I wanted a nice curve on them, and I wanted them to be identical, so firstly I made a template. I printed the shape of the curve from SketchUp at 1:1 scale, and used photo-mount spray to fix them to a piece of 9mm MDF for the template:
[attachthumb=04]
The straight cuts were done with my TS55, and the curves roughed out with my jigsaw before being sanded smooth & to the line:
[attachthumb=05]
I then used the template to draw out the sides & rough cut them with the jigsaw:
[attachthumb=06]
before screwing the template to each side in turn:
[attachthumb=07]
and trimming them with a bearing guided bit in my router table:
[attachthumb=08]
The pieces for the bottom and the vertical section were cut to size, and the timber trim fixed to the bottom board, then the assembly was glued & screwed together. The vertical section is not centered on the uprights - it's flush at one side.
Then the small shelf was added & trimmed, along with the top. Then all the screw holes were filled, and the whole thing sanded ready for painting:
[attachthumb=09]
[attachthumb=10]
It was then painted in the same way as my Kapex Stand, which is painted with emulsion paint (straight onto the bare ply) then finished with a single coat of water-based varnish. When I did this on the Kapex stand I wondered how resilient it would be, and I was happy with the result. It's a lot easier than priming/undercoating then overpainting with oil-based eggshell, especially when it comes to clean-up!
I had some non-slip rubber matting that I bought long ago (designed for holding pieces to a bench whilst routing & sanding) so I cut a piece to fit on the bottom, and one for the top shelf. These were glued in place with a spray adhesive:
[attachthumb=11]
I also added some small cheap screw-in hooks to the 'flush' side of the vertical divide for holding sanding disks.
The main 'add-on' I wanted to copy from the Festool design was the large hose/tool hook on the front end( the hose on my CT26 is the main thing that gets in the way in my small workshop!). It is available as a separate part (497474) and it would screw directly to the upright, but I couldn't justify spending that amount of money on a piece of wire (!) so I decided to try to make my own.
I bought a length of 5mm diameter steel rod from a DIY shed, and then set about trying to bend it where I wanted it to bend - not as easy as it sounds! I didn't really plan what I was going to do with it too carefully, I just sort of made it up as I went along. I made a small jig to help with the bending process:
[attachthumb=12]
Initially, I wanted to bend both of the 'legs' to the centre, in order to mount it to the upright (as per my original SketchUp model). About half-way through the process however, I realised it would be far easier to mount it to the sides of the top shelf so the rod was bent double, and screwed on with four M6x50mm coach screws into 5mm pilot holes:
[attachthumb=13]
This front 'hook' is perfect for holding the sanders, and also works as a 'handle' to guide the vac around:
[attachthumb=14]
Here's some more pics of the finished article:
[attachthumb=15]
[attachthumb=16]
[attachthumb=17]
[attachthumb=18]
This design isn't as 'adaptable' as Festool's, but for the cost (virtually nothing) it's fine. I haven't added all the hooks, baskets, extra shelves etc. that I envisaged at first; I decided I'd leave it quite bare and add bits to it over time, thus the design will 'evolve' in a more natural way. Plus I won't have to try & guess where I might want things in the future!
Firstly, this idea came directly from Paul's review, and the fact that he's mounted his on the systainer 'platform'. I would like to take full credit, but I can't I'm afraid. It's a blatant rip off of Festool's design, and Paul's input. [embarassed]
I drew an outline design in SketchUp to get the general dimensions. I'll be mounting this on a CT26, with a sys2. With the work centre on top, access to the systainer is limited slightly, but this systainer is used purely to store spare bags for the CT so that's not an issue (since the work centre would have to be removed to change the bag anyway). Based on the height of this combo, I decided to make my WCR at 600mm high:
[attachthumb=01]
[attachthumb=02]
[attachthumb=03]
I decided to use 18mm WBP ply for the construction. It's lighter, stronger and takes paint better than MDF, and I had plenty of offcuts I could use!
The construction is very simple. First, I had to make the end pieces. I wanted a nice curve on them, and I wanted them to be identical, so firstly I made a template. I printed the shape of the curve from SketchUp at 1:1 scale, and used photo-mount spray to fix them to a piece of 9mm MDF for the template:
[attachthumb=04]
The straight cuts were done with my TS55, and the curves roughed out with my jigsaw before being sanded smooth & to the line:
[attachthumb=05]
I then used the template to draw out the sides & rough cut them with the jigsaw:
[attachthumb=06]
before screwing the template to each side in turn:
[attachthumb=07]
and trimming them with a bearing guided bit in my router table:
[attachthumb=08]
The pieces for the bottom and the vertical section were cut to size, and the timber trim fixed to the bottom board, then the assembly was glued & screwed together. The vertical section is not centered on the uprights - it's flush at one side.
Then the small shelf was added & trimmed, along with the top. Then all the screw holes were filled, and the whole thing sanded ready for painting:
[attachthumb=09]
[attachthumb=10]
It was then painted in the same way as my Kapex Stand, which is painted with emulsion paint (straight onto the bare ply) then finished with a single coat of water-based varnish. When I did this on the Kapex stand I wondered how resilient it would be, and I was happy with the result. It's a lot easier than priming/undercoating then overpainting with oil-based eggshell, especially when it comes to clean-up!
I had some non-slip rubber matting that I bought long ago (designed for holding pieces to a bench whilst routing & sanding) so I cut a piece to fit on the bottom, and one for the top shelf. These were glued in place with a spray adhesive:
[attachthumb=11]
I also added some small cheap screw-in hooks to the 'flush' side of the vertical divide for holding sanding disks.
The main 'add-on' I wanted to copy from the Festool design was the large hose/tool hook on the front end( the hose on my CT26 is the main thing that gets in the way in my small workshop!). It is available as a separate part (497474) and it would screw directly to the upright, but I couldn't justify spending that amount of money on a piece of wire (!) so I decided to try to make my own.
I bought a length of 5mm diameter steel rod from a DIY shed, and then set about trying to bend it where I wanted it to bend - not as easy as it sounds! I didn't really plan what I was going to do with it too carefully, I just sort of made it up as I went along. I made a small jig to help with the bending process:
[attachthumb=12]
Initially, I wanted to bend both of the 'legs' to the centre, in order to mount it to the upright (as per my original SketchUp model). About half-way through the process however, I realised it would be far easier to mount it to the sides of the top shelf so the rod was bent double, and screwed on with four M6x50mm coach screws into 5mm pilot holes:
[attachthumb=13]
This front 'hook' is perfect for holding the sanders, and also works as a 'handle' to guide the vac around:
[attachthumb=14]
Here's some more pics of the finished article:
[attachthumb=15]
[attachthumb=16]
[attachthumb=17]
[attachthumb=18]
This design isn't as 'adaptable' as Festool's, but for the cost (virtually nothing) it's fine. I haven't added all the hooks, baskets, extra shelves etc. that I envisaged at first; I decided I'd leave it quite bare and add bits to it over time, thus the design will 'evolve' in a more natural way. Plus I won't have to try & guess where I might want things in the future!
