How much VERTICAL room do you want/need on either side of the Kapex?

[wow]

I am back to working on my 'possible' workshop trailer design. One wall will have the Kapex along it, with a table structure made of 8020 extrusions. The table will have 8' plus of surface on either side of the Kapex blade. and will have systainer storage both below and ABOVE the table on each side, with a CT under the saw itself.

Here's a screen shot of my 'work in progress' that I really just started. Ignore all of the detail as it will change, but it should help visualize the concept:

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It's the storage ABOVE the 'side wings' that I am wondering about. How much room would you want or need from the side 'wings' up to the bottom of the rack that supports the upper systainers? The depth of the upper will only be what is needed to fit a single systainer from front to back. That currently looks like it will be 350mm deep.

The height of the wings will be 900mm, to match an MFT if needed. So how high above that (or off the floor) would you make the bottom of the support structure? In other words, how much clearance would YOU want to maximize storage space but still allow comfortable room to work on anything from crown moulding to ?

 

[woodguy7]

If it were me i would want to be able to stand straight & be able to bow my head to look at the workpiece without bumping my head.  Depends on your height.

 

[Brent Taylor]

I have a 7'x16' trailer w/ 7' sidewalls, I built in a 8' work and storage bench were i have a small drill press & mitre box. I find this works for me , but i'm also 6'10. It also has a drop gate that i use as a outdoor work area with folding work tables. It's a mess right now, so no pics. Hope it's some help.

 

[Carl Prentiss]

My first thought is the max capacity of the cross cut and the add room for your hand as in being able to roll the work piece over without jamming your hand.

 

[wow]

Did a little ergonomic testing tonight. Here are some images:

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The vertical clearance on the sides in this version is 432mm, or about 17 inches. As you can see as indicated by the yellow line, the operator (me) can clearly see the cove molding being cut.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome!

 

[Integrity_Construction]

Holy smokes Wow ! I'm extremely impressed with your conscientious planning !!

Dave

 

[wow]

Holy smokes Wow ! I'm extremely impressed with your conscientious planning !!

Dave

Thanks, Dave! I'm thorough and fairly good at analysis - but not fast.

Fortunately or unfortunately I have lots of time on my hands right now, and it seems smarter to 'build' it in SketchUp (now that I've learned it) and make changes there than it would be to make the mistakes and have to correct them in real life. I've already found a number of problems that I hadn't thought of just by 'walking around' the model.

I appreciate any and all feedback anyone might have, as you might see something I am missing. Fire away!

 

[nclemmons]

Cool use for Sketchup!  Is the person just a dynamic component from the 3D warehouse?

Thanks for sharing!

You are definitely moving up that Sketchup learning curve.

Neil

 

[Stoli]

Have you scoped out the cost of 8020 compared to plywood?  Will 8020 be quicker to assemble and therefore make up for the cost difference?

 

[wow]

Is the person just a dynamic component from the 3D warehouse?

You are definitely moving up that Sketchup learning curve.

Neil:

Yes, the 'person' is just a component from the 3D warehouse. In my model I put him on his own layer and I call him 'Ergo Man'



I hate being a freeloader, so I shared my very first model/component to the 3D warehouse last night. It's a plastic storage bin that I 'built' from scratch. It's certainly not perfect, but it's fairly accurate and I'm proud of it.

 

[wow]

Have you scoped out the cost of 8020 compared to plywood?  Will 8020 be quicker to assemble and therefore make up for the cost difference?

Stoli:

I'm looking at the 8020 due to weight. The trailer this will be going into is as light as I can buy and is all aluminum - frame included. While plywood would probably save me a boatload of money, the weight would kill me I think.

I mentioned that I'm still working on the detail? One of those details is whether I go for single-stacks of systainers (as I have drawn it) for more flexibility at a higher cost, or go with double-width stacks and save a lot of money but trade off a little flexibility. I haven't even tried to price it out yet so I just don't know.

Keep tuned.

 

[Gary in Texas]

Man, that is a LOT of 8020!!!  And a lot of 8020 fasteners.....

As an alternative, getting back to the thought of using plywood, have you considered making this from plywood but cutting out all of the extra weight?  Thinking here of a design much like a carcass, would be an ideal CNC job.  The shelving/side units would retain rigidity, but you could eliminate a lot of the plywood weight, and it would have to be a significant less cost than going the 8020 route. Planned correctly, some of the milled out plywood could be used for shelf material.  And speaking of the shelf material (bottoms), no reason why those have to be a solid chuck of plywood either.  You could even make a frame type bottom using plywood cut offs and assemble using the domino route....

Perhaps another Sketchup project to consider while laid-up?

Gary

 

[semenza]

    I think the amount of space / head room for leaning forward over the Kapex extensions will be partly determined by the position of the measuring scale. EX- My current set up has a scale that is positioned flat / horizontal. I frequently find myself leaning forward to look straight down on it.

  Also check the head space with the saw in a miter position. When you stand off to the side for a miter cut you may find yourself leaning in to see the inboard side of the cut.

  Even though you would lose some of the Kapex compactness, you could consider moving the saw forward from the wall in order to preserve full vertical space above the extension but still increase the lean room.

    Seth

 

[smartcarpie]

Wait til you see how much those boxes of 80/20 sticks weigh when they arrive on your porch..

But maybe if it's open frame construction it will even out. Don't forget to loctite all those fasteners so you don't have a disaster en route.

 

[curt boyer]

Wow, here is my setup, the guy in the picture is 5'-9". The tallest guy to use the saw is 6' and no one has hit their head on the upper shelf yet.
Cheers
Curt

 

[wow]

That is EXTREMELY helpful, thanks!

Mine is only ~ 61", so I may need to raise it a little to provide adequate clearance.