Scissor Jack Assembly Table

Viewer Project - By Mike
Added on April 19, 2010

Love your site and all your podcasts. You have done great things for the craft or should I say sport. Anyway, I built a new assembly table using your torsion box design. I thought you might be interested in it since you gave yours away and will have to build a new one when you get your new shop. Its 4 feet by 4 feet and adjusts from 30 to 39 inches in height. I don’t have the room for a larger one. It is on Zambus 2600 lb casters so it rolls real nice and locks down beautifully, my 2 year old can move it. Its made of mostly maple some birch and little bits of zebrano teak and Jatoba just stuff that was lying around the shop. Also the drawers are soft closing which are fantastic I will never buy regular closing drawers again. Oh ya the best part is it adjusts using a electric scissor jack powered by a motorcycle battery and I have pins that go in so it is solid as a rock. Hope you like it.

Discussion

Doug Hoffer April 19, 2010 9:30 am

Great table, I will be building the torsion box table top here soon hopefully. I love the adjustable scissor lift design. Keep on keepin on!

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Nik Brown April 19, 2010 9:41 am

That’s really cool!!!!!

Just out of curiosity, why did you use a battery? I noticed you have power running to the table. Is the battery so that you can still operate it when it’s not plugged in? I just wonder about the power drain on the battery and having to recharge it.

If it does end up being a pain I’m guessing that the scissor jack just needs 12volt DC power. You can easily get that off an ATX computer power supply.

Just a tip. But you may have reasons for doing it with the battery. VERY cool project!

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Dean April 19, 2010 9:48 am

I really like your assembly table. Definitely worth patterning after. Thanks for sharing.

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Marty April 19, 2010 12:45 pm

This is a truly brilliant idea. I built my table tablesaw height so it could function as an outfeed table but I am going to try to incorporate your idea into it. Where can I find and electronic scissor jack? This is the first time I’ve seen one. Thanks for the inspiration!

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Marie April 19, 2010 12:47 pm

WOW!!! What a great idea, I want one. Just wondering if you could provide details on lift assembly. I plan on adding a torsion box to my shop and being a short person that lift unit would be a great benefit.
thanks for sharing,
Marie

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Nathan Martis April 19, 2010 3:17 pm

Hell YEA
Love the design
Quick question though. How do you recharge your motorcycle battery?

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lex April 19, 2010 3:34 pm

Very nice indeed.

Fine piece of craftsmanship and I love the Jack. I love added functionality to a piece.

I think this has given many of us food for thought.

Lex

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Ben H April 19, 2010 3:56 pm

Too cool for school!

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jHop April 19, 2010 6:34 pm

I love this table! Finally, a way to blend a love of cars and woodworking. Let me know when you install the Airbag kit, so I can get photos of the “dropped” table!

All jokes aside, that is very impressive!
Do the corners support all the weight very well, since it looks like you only have the one post that actually rests on the jack?

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- Stephen April 19, 2010 7:06 pm
  
  @jHop, I believe that the legs are supported by the large pegs on each leg. The table appears to be lifted by a center column. I didn’t build the table, but from what I saw in the pics that appeared to be how he built it.
  
  Reply
Claude Stewart April 19, 2010 7:06 pm

This is ingenious.

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herb April 20, 2010 6:22 am

Totally cool! This thing looks sturdy enough to hold anything! Hmmm, I always did want to take apart that ’55 Chevy….

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Dennis Caskey April 20, 2010 6:52 am

Wow! That is a great idea. I have been trying to figure out how to do make a rock solid adjustable height assembly table for quite a while now. I think you have solved my problem. Thanks!!!!!!

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Chester April 20, 2010 7:17 am

Way cool!

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- Chester April 20, 2010 7:26 am
  
  I love this table just cuz! And because I will never have the time or patience (or space) to attempt such a table, I will offer one idea regarding table height. I am redoing my shop right now … and … arranging EVERYTHING to be at (kitchen-counter height) 36″. That way if I have a big piece and need to extend it from a work bench to a table saw extension for more support, everything is level and even. I even built a box to raise my jointer to 36″ bed height. The jointer is also much easier to use at a more upright height.
  
  The only variants to the 36″ rule in my shop are the band saw and the floor-standing drill press.
  
  I know that the adjustable height assembly table helps with tall projects and low ceiling height. Maybe I will have to look more seriously at this project someday!
  
  Reply
David Smith April 20, 2010 7:25 am

That table is insanely awesome!

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Jason Tetterton April 20, 2010 9:10 am

Very nice execution!

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Dan April 22, 2010 5:47 am

Wow, great concept. A comfortable work height for any project.

Dan

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William Burlingame April 23, 2010 1:03 pm

I agree with the others. Could you give more details on the scissor jack assembly? Are they off the shelf items or did you fabricate them yourself?

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CJ Compton April 25, 2010 12:10 pm

One ton 12v electric car jack one ebay motors for 70-90 bucks. Great project I had the same question as most u other guys, “where do I get the jack so i can build this thing”. To my suprise it wasnt to expensive. Those are for brand new jacks. Also i think your design is much better then the others ive seen. The others rise on 2 jacks one that support each side all the time. And I always was worried if the jacks would be affected by pounding on the table and eventually fail or slip. But your design the jacks are only used for lifting. After you peg the corners u could even lower the jack and take all the pressure off the jack. Nice design

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Mike Perry May 9, 2010 10:17 am

Hi everybody thanks for all the nice comments on my assembly table. I didn’t realize that there was comments that’s why it’s taken me so long to reply. The scissor Jack is from Canadian Tire any automotive store should carry them. The reason I used a motorcycle battery is the Jack draws a lot of amps and my electrician buddy figured this was the most economical way to deal with it. You can buy a converter of some sort to handle it but it was 120 bucks and battery and trickle charger 80 bucks. As for charging it not required very often at all the battery last a long time many ups and downs. There are 4 pegs for each leg that make it rock solid the middle leg is only for the height adjustment or the jack. The middle height is the exact same as my table saw so I can use it as a outfeed table. Thanks again if you have any more questions don’t hesitate now that I know these comments are here

Mike

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Jay January 31, 2011 12:30 pm

Cool idea with the lift to adjust the height.

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wilson October 10, 2011 10:11 am

hay i would like to have some information on the scissor jack .. actually i am looking for a project so would like to do this jack .. what is the motor specification RPM and size etc so would like to send me the other information on this jack like construction .. fixing .. remote connection and working with diagram

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Mike Perry December 3, 2011 9:10 am

It’s just a scissor jack you buy at a automotive store which plugs in your cigarette lighter. I hooked it up to a motorcycle battery . As far as diagrams I have none it was all done in my head as I went along. Don’t know if this helps let me know

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John Eddington April 2, 2013 2:35 am

I’m really loving this project. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like trying my hand at building this, but maybe making it a 4×6 for the top. I had a question about the base. With the stress of the jack pushing up the table top, have you noticed any bowing? And did you just use one layer of of MDF/plywood as the base?

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John Eddington June 26, 2013 9:20 am

I’m in the process of designing my own variation of this awesome table, but came upon a stumbling point. How did you attach the torsion box top to the top of the posts?

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Mike September 26, 2013 8:39 pm

I’m sure you can get the jack at any automotive store I bought it at Canadian tire here in Canada. as far as strength the 4 corner legs do all the holding with pins that I turned on the lathe . there is 3 different heights middle one being the exact height for table saw out feed. the reason I used a battery is the jack draws a lot of amps so it was either use a battery or I had to buy some other thingy to operate the 12 volt jack and the battery was cheaper.I leave a small battery charger on all the time so the battery is always charged. yes it does plug in and I have plugs on the side to plug tools into.Thanks for all the nice comments I’m glad you like it.

mike

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Scissor Jack Assembly Table

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