Rolling Assembly Table/Workbench with folding, height adjustable legs

Hello All,
I’m a frequent viewer, but this is my first project post that some of you might find interesting. I needed a good sized assembly table/bench, but I work in my garage with limited space where everything must be put away at night. Also, this is an older house, and the garage floor is very uneven with a big slope towards the floor drain.

I got my ideas from my own experiences and different sources, notably Ron Paulk’s portable workbench and a fold up workbench from Craig English, both on YouTube. Lots of credit to both of these gentlemen for their great designs.

My table folds up flat against the wall, resting on a small shelf that’s installed at the height that allows me to roll the table onto the shelf and tilt it up against the wall. Since I used a torsion box design for the top, I needed a wider shelf for support. It’s secured with a couple of 5/8” bolts inserted in 3/4” holes in the side of the bench, which double as dog holes. The torsion box is 44” x 74”, and is 6” in height, as opposed to many of the torsion box designs which are taller.

The legs fold out when the bench is secured to the wall, a spacer bar is inserted between a notch in each cross member of the legs for support, and then the support bolts are released and the bench is lowered down and slid off the shelf. It’s rolled into position, and then the side mounted casters are released by foot so the bench now sits on it’s legs.

I wanted a way to quickly adjust the height of the legs due to my very uneven floor, but most of the techniques I’ve seen depend on a threaded bolt. I have that design on my tablesaw outfield table, but it’s a bit slow and tedious. So, I came up with my own design, basically a leg within a leg. The outer leg is made by milling a centered dado in 2×4 stock, and then glueing 2 pieces together to form a 4×4 leg with a 1 1/2” centered slot. The interior leg has a T-Track to accept the head of a 1/4×20 bolt, which slides through a hole drilled into the outer leg with a knob attached, so the leg can be secured quickly at any height. It’s easier to see in photos than a written explanation.

I made this bench with 1/2” Birch plywood and KD Douglas Fir from the Borg to save money. It would be a bit more refined with higher quality lumber, but at a higher cost. I drilled the typical 3/4” dog holes in the top, and finished with a couple of coats of Watco Oil and paste wax. I know the arguments against using paste wax on a workbench, but I just couldn’t help myself since I wanted to keep it looking nice for a while. I bought a couple of the Festool clamps for use with dog holes, as well as Veritas Bench Dogs and quick release Wonder Dog, and I can’t wait to put these to use. Thanks for looking!

-- Tim