Electrically operated tilt-away/roll-away table base

LowRider CNC Hardware Development
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Okay, so I don’t have the incredible creativity of @bitingmidge (those fenders… just wow!), or the incredible design and remix skills of @DougJoseph (where do I even begin…), or the incredible engineering skills and generosity of @vicious1 (creating the amazing LR3 and then putting the plans online for free? Any thanks seem inadequate), but here is my humble contribution to the LR3 community.

So my problem was that my full size (63" x 120"“) LR3 table took up almost my entire garage, and my wife was not happy losing her indoor parking space on a permanent basis. It was built from 2x4s and 3/4” plywood, and weighed a ton (well, around 200 pounds). I was supporting it with a few sawhorses, and trying to move it off the sawhorses and lean it against a wall was an adventure that I didn’t want to attempt more than once.

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So my solution was to build a table base that could allow the table to tilt on an angle so that it took up less floor space, and then could roll off to the side of the garage. As my Fusion 360 skills are sorely lacking, I designed most of it in my head and on a few napkin sketches, and with a bit of trial and error, I came up with a (mostly) successful prototype.

Flat:

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Tilted:

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Rolled away:

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Edit - video added…

It uses two 20" linear actuators for the vertical lift, and two 14" linear actuators for the angular lift.

I’ll post some details of the build in a future post, with Bill of Materials, dimensions, cost, etc. if anyone is interested. Hopefully this idea will help out members of the community that are short of floor space and don’t have the free wall space to build a hinged table on a wall.

BTW, in case anyone was wondering about the motorcycle in the above pictures, it is a 1955 Royal Enfield 350cc single cylinder.

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Dude, you rock. That’s amazing. Just amazing.

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Thanks for the kind words. I feel like I just hack stuff. :slight_smile:

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Bill of Materials (BOM):

  • ¾” plywood (2 full sheets or 1 full sheet plus scraps from previous project)

  • 10’ 2x4 (x1)

  • 22” 500 lb drawer slider (1 pr)

  • 4” heavy duty hinges (x 7)

  • 2” 600lb lockable casters (1 pkg of 4)

  • 20” 900 N 12V linear actuator (x 2)

  • 14” 900 N 12V linear actuator (x 2)

  • 12V 20A power supply (x 1)

  • Power supply cord (x 1) Note: needs plug end and bare end

  • DPDT rocker switch (1 pkg of 2)

  • 3” x 6” plastic junction box (x1) Note: requires cutting out for rocker switches

  • #14 AWG wire (x 60’)

  • Crimp on fork connectors (x 18)

  • Solder or Marrettes for wire connections (x 8)

  • Wire staples or screw clips for cable management

  • Heat shrink or wire loom for cable management

  • ¾” lag screws (x16) for attaching actuators to plywood/lumber

  • #12 x ¾” wood screws (x16) for attaching sliders to plywood

  • #8 x 2 ½” wood screws (x 12) for attaching lumber feet together

  • #8 x 1 ¼” wood screws (x 20) for attaching plywood pieces to lumber and plywood

  • #10 x ¾” wood screws (x 42) for attaching hinges to plywood/lumber

  • 1 bottle carpenter’s glue

Note: links are for Amazon Canada and Home Depot Canada (prices are in $CDN), but US and other countries sites should have identical or similar items available (probably at a lower cost)

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One added bonus: the table height is adjustable!

AT the lower end of the range, it is 36" high (32" to the bottom, so if your table thickness is not 4" then total height will vary). Perfect for loading heavy materials onto the table.

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At the top end of the range it is 41.5". Great for close up work when standing.

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The time to lift and retract is a respectable 64 seconds fully up and 61 seconds fully down. So only about a minute to tilt the table and move it out of the way, or to get it flat again after storage!

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Wow that is AWESOME! Great job!!!

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Very cool!!
But, this thread is crying out for a short video clip of this table in action.:wink:

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what is the large 12 to 18 inches beside the cnc for?

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If you are talking about the fact that the CNC is inset from the table edge by quite a bit, that is because I originally built the “Little Red” CNC on a single sheet of plywood for testing and troubleshooting purposes.

The CNC will be expanded to a full size “Big Red” version shortly, so when I built the full size table top, I simply re-used the existing plywood, and it ended up that the rail was inset by about 15". It will be moved to the edge when I get my longer struts cut.

You can follow the full story here: Bartman's LR3 build thread - A New(bie) Adventure! - #103 by Bartman

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Sure, I’m up for a new adventure! This will be my very first Me-Tube video…

Edit - moved video to post #1…

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:slightly_smiling_face:Thanks :+1:

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Pretty slick and sweet bike too!

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Now there is a masterclass in understatement! An electric table is my dream, even though I don’t need one, I want this!

(thank you for those kind, if terribly embarrassing words!)

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Words to live by!

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Amazing job, very creative.

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Looks absolutely great, I actually think I need something like this.

Great job!

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