It's just a piece of MDF with holes in...

[Peterm]

No really, it is! I've been thinking about this for a while and have finally got around to making it. I work a lot in occupied homes and space is always tight. An MFT is a non-starter for me, and sometimes even a B&D Workmate is too big; often I end up using a systainer to rest on, with the workpiece literally held in place - not ideal.

What I needed was a small, flat surface, maybe with holes in that I could clamp stuff onto...

[attachthumb=#]

Maybe the same height as a Sys1, so I could use it on the floor if I needed to and have support either side...

[attachthumb=#]

And made to slip over whatever stack of Systainers I have with me to make an impromptu bench.

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Obviously it's only for lightweight work, but it's surprisingly steady (once the stack's off the roll-board, or course!) and very flexible - need it higher, just add another Systainer to the stack! Overall size is 500 x 600mm, and the whole thing's made from 18mm MDF (offcuts and scrap, took me about an hour); the sleeve that slips over the Systainer is just glued and screwed together, and fixed to the top with glue and dominoes - though I had such a fight taking it apart after dry-assembling it, you have to wonder if the glue is really necessary

Anyway, works for me; might work for you too!

Cheers, Pete.

 

[johnsonri]

Clever idea there, Pete.

Questions:
When you have the top sitting on the systainer, is there any clearance at all under the part sitting directly on top of the systainer?

Did you use any guide or template to help ensure that the holes were aligned?

Rey

 

[Frank Pellow]

Great idea!  I am working in a confined space in my daughter's basement this marning, and am using a stack of 3 systainers as my "bench".  I could certainly make very good use of your "peice of MDF" right now.

 

[Peterm]

When you have the top sitting on the systainer, is there any clearance at all under the part sitting directly on top of the systainer?

Not as I've built it, but it would be easy enough to fit a small spacer around the inside edge of the 'sleeve' if you needed clearance for a clamp or something; might need to make the sides of the sleeve correspondingly deeper if you go down this route...

Did you use any guide or template to help ensure that the holes were aligned?

No, they were marked at approx. 96mm centers and simply drilled out. The holes are just there to facilitate clamps/clamping elements -  it's not intended to have any of the accuracy of an MFT; if you needed that I guess you could use a spare MFT 800 top and cut it down to suit??

Best, Pete