My new folding workbench - I'm after some feedback!

I'm gonna ditto these last posts. Don't know what that translates to in US, but it till me all of an hour to replicate it in cad.....
 
I love it! Awesome design! Gets some plans drawn up...they will sell. The dxf file has real value too.

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What an awesome design! Can I buy a bench from you? I live in Denmark, probably expensive to ship. If you haven't already, yu should put it in production.

Alternatively, can I buy the drawings from you?

Let me know if you can help me in any way.

Thanks
Asger
 
I would love to have this as a second work unit IF it was identical height to the Festool MFT/3. Normally it would be used as a carport bench but could see use in the shop as an add on work surface that would provide additional benefits if matching MFT/3 height.

It seems that having it CNC cut would be fairly critical - something I don't have access to. Would think cutting with portable power tools would not be accurate enough to provide the stability shown.

Really like this bench and know a couple other guys who would benefit from it. Would require shipping to the US. Have had smaller items shipped from England and it wasn't high cost. Not sure how this would be. Packaging would be critical though.
 
Great Sturdy design and congratulations. You have a winner here. I would be interested in buying the plans or a complete kit.
 
Suggestion - see if [member=59331]TSO Products[/member] will distribute it in the US for you.
 
Watch this video -


FastCap is manufacturing and distributing a bench designed by Ron Paulk.  Don't know if they would consider yours or not.

But Paul Akers - the founder and CEO of FastCap - is all about sourcing ideas from others and working with them to commercialize them.

Reach out to him!

He now has $100K invested in a CNC machine and might be looking for other ideas to keep it busy. 

Just a thought -
 
[member=60152]Coach.carpenter[/member] - very nicely conceived and executed design  - shows that you understand what you need on your job-site to earn a living.
Wish you success!
Hans
 
Good day all. It has been a long time and for that I apologise. My experiences over the last 12months have been a real eye opener. Here I am again to pass on my thoughts.

Firstly running my carpentry business which is steadily growing and this a long side is actually difficult. Mainly because of cash flow, but also due to time to get to the cnc shop. Pick up the parts, bring them to the workshop, assemble the benches, package them etc. I severely underestimated the time.

This is really leading me to think about selling the plans. Which gives me 3 options:

1) sell the dxf's for other people to have their cnc guys manufacture.... This still worries me as it feels like I'm giving up full control.

2) sell pdfs which of course are Co verbal to dxf's should anyone really want to.

3) sell and post full scale paper plans... Not an option I thought off until it was mentioned the other day. But I could sell in kit form with say one package containing hinges and bench dogs etc.

What do you guys recon??

Funnily enough I've emailed Ron Paulk to ask him about his success with his bench but as yet had no reply. He's a very busy man I'm sure. But the fast cap thing is interesting. Do they buy the dxf for a price or do the work on a commission type basis??

Thoughts are always greatly appreciated. Thanks guys. BTW I still use my bench daily and absolutely love it..
 
Your folding workbench is very interesting!  Well executed sir!

I am one of those who has purchased [member=10829]Timtool[/member] bench plans and never made it...  I am also one of those many woodworkers on this site who is capable of building most anything based on a picture.  Your bench is interesting to be sure, I like that it folds flat and quickly unfolds to a stable, precise work surface.  I can nearly assure you that I would not buy your bench at any price, I can tell you that I might buy the plans though. 

I bought the plans for the [member=6227]crpaulk[/member] Compact Workbench rather than spend $600 to buy it from FastCap.  In all honesty I put more like $900 in time and materials into making the bench but I ended up with MY version of the bench.  I could not be happier with the results.  I get a lot of compliments from the other Carpenters and Tradesmen on the job site.  The bench represents my work.  Had a bought the Compact Workbench from FastCap I would spend time explaining how it is worth $600...  Remember, most carpenters work off a warped sheet of plywood on the job site because they don't want to spend money or take the time to make something that meets their needs. 

My recommendation is to sell pdf plans and enjoy the beer money you earn from them.
 
Looks great. Keep at it in turning to a product. One question...you mentioned planing, how is it when planing? Does it have enough weight to it to resist planing and yet be light enough to be easily portable.
 
gunnyr said:
Your folding workbench is very interesting!  Well executed sir!

I am one of those who has purchased [member=10829]Timtool[/member] bench plans and never made it...  I am also one of those many woodworkers on this site who is capable of building most anything based on a picture.  Your bench is interesting to be sure, I like that it folds flat and quickly unfolds to a stable, precise work surface.  I can nearly assure you that I would not buy your bench at any price, I can tell you that I might buy the plans though. 

I bought the plans for the [member=6227]crpaulk[/member] Compact Workbench rather than spend $600 to buy it from FastCap.  In all honesty I put more like $900 in time and materials into making the bench but I ended up with MY version of the bench.  I could not be happier with the results.  I get a lot of compliments from the other Carpenters and Tradesmen on the job site.  The bench represents my work.  Had a bought the Compact Workbench from FastCap I would spend time explaining how it is worth $600...  Remember, most carpenters work off a warped sheet of plywood on the job site because they don't want to spend money or take the time to make something that meets their needs. 

My recommendation is to sell pdf plans and enjoy the beer money you earn from them.

Thanks for the reply. It's a tough decision. The product is selling and I believe has potential but it needs a big cash investment to get it moving. Like you guys say it's going to get copied if people really want to. So maybe just sell both like the paulk bench?
 
GravyBones said:
Looks great. Keep at it in turning to a product. One question...you mentioned planing, how is it when planing? Does it have enough weight to it to resist planing and yet be light enough to be easily portable.

For pine absolutely. It doesn't move. When planing oak if you fill the shelf with toolboxes to stop the bench moving then yes it works lovely. There is next to no lateral movement when planing which is, IMO a winner for such a light bench.

Also I've have the opportunity to send it to a YouTube woodworker up in Scotland. He's very keen to do a full review and i feel there's good exposure to be had due to the 8k subscribers he has. Any thoughts?
 
Hi Greg
Just a nudge
Have you made any further decisions regarding dxf files or plans. You'd sell a bunch of them
Thanks Mike
 
@mccabbage... Do you really think you need plans to make something similar?  Take a look at my post for a Portable, Folding Workbench with MFT and Router Table Tops.  As I said in my post, folding workbenches have been around for a very long time, as I made my first one about 35 years ago, and Wood Magazine published plans for one a few years ago, as well.  Mine has the advantage of having easily replaceable tops, as it does not use the same, overly complicated (to form) "mortice and tenon" approach that was used in this one.  As such, tops on mine are easily replaced, whereby I was able to modify the top of a Router Table that I had built about 8 years ago to fit the base in under 5 minutes.  As you will see, it's not just a simple, "bolt underneath" router, but a precision Router Table with an Incra LS-17 Positioner along with a removable, plate mounted Porter Cable Router with a lift.  A further advantage was that the only items I needed to purchase were six piano hinges, as everything else was made from scrap plywood and MDF already cluttering my shop.
 
I just noticed that fyme had posted a Sys roll DIY build.  In the photos in his post he also shows a similar folding workbench.  As with the Portable, Folding Workbench With MFT and Router Tops that I designed, I see that fyme used a top attachment that differs from that used in this topic, and while fyme's is also less critical than the one shown in this topic, I still like the enhanced versatility of the top attachment that I used and explained in my post, as it readily allows for interchangeable tops.
 
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