@Jim, Thank you! I've got the long wall and extra outlets already in place!

@David, agreed!

@Bob, I'm going to put my at more standing height, and get a drafting chair, I think that will better serve for comfort in the long run... adjustable height would be cool though...

@Daryl, this will be overkill for me in some ways, but that's half the fun!

@Robert, thank you!

I built this some years ago and it has worked very well for me since then.
The bed for my power wrapper had warped over years of use, so I decided to replace it with a metal channel.
I found this 2x4x10 foot long aluminum channel at the steel yard for a few $$.
I stopped with it on the way home at my buddies Machine shop and had him mill a disconnected slot down the length of the channel to use to mount rod rests.
After some use, I decided to give it the ability to roll up and down the formica coated rod bench that I have.
I did this by adding skate board rollers on the inside edge bottom such that the rollers extended about 1/4 inch below the edges of the channel.
Then, to stop its movement I added brakes to the channel by drilling and tapping brake mounting holes in the face of the channel. Then, I took 1/4x20 carriage bolts to use as brake members. I used tape to build up the head and end of the bolt to allow a chair leg rubber cushion to have a tight fit over the end of the brake bolt. Then, after screwing the bolt into the channel from underneath, I capped the end of the bolt with a knob to use to raise and lower the brakes.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Tom's pic of the mobile bench inspired me. I cleared out a couple of bookshelves I had in my office and I've ordered two 48"L x 24"D x 26.5 - 38"H (adjustable) mobile work benches. A single 8-10' would be optimal, but I need to be able to move this setup around if need be and a single 8-10' would be too cumbersome. I also ordered a track system so I can slide my wrapper up down the rod blank. This is a barebones setup compared to the really nice workshops some of you have, but at least it gets me off of the dining room table for now.

@Roger, thanks you! That's an awesome take on a rod building bench. The description and photos help a ton with ideas. Thank you!

Daryl Ferguson Wrote:
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> Tom's pic of the mobile bench inspired me.

Me too! That build sounds awesome! I hope you post pictures of it when you are done!

Thank you, everyone! This has been extremely helpful!

I think I'm going to use these brackets, weight wise they are overkill, but they look like they'll allow me to be "legless" in the front middle, I'll still build anchor points along the sides and front corners.

[www.amazon.com] - 29"x24" work station brackets.

I'm going back and forth between building a proper frame or just layering some plywood with additional brackets.

Half the fun is in the planning lol, thank you all for your advice and shares!

Anyone that is building a bench, either stationary or mobile, should consider adding a foot control board. Not having to slide or kick your wrapper's foot control along the floor is a real time saver and it makes the entire wrapping experience better.

...............

Tom, I don’t use a power wrapper, but I’ll certainly make a note of your advice should I decide to go that route at some point. My first power gadget is going to be reamer. Reaming cork by hand stinks! I wore gloves on the last one and still got a blister on my thumb. I have a long standing policy that my hobbies shouldn’t cause physical damage to myself or others.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2023 02:46PM by Daryl Ferguson.

Tom,
In addition to your comment about the foot control board - a very good idea if you move along the rod as you work - the use of the sliding power wrapper obviates the need for the control board.
But, one does have to have the additional width on the length of a rod bench to allow the wrapper to move about 4 feet in either direction. This movement will largely cover most rods being built without having to move the position of the person doing the wrapping.

But, if you don't have the space; then certainly having a bottom mounted foot control board makes a world of sense to avoid having to move the foot pedal.

Best wishes

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
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> Anyone that is building a bench, either stationary
> or mobile, should consider adding a foot control
> board. Not having to slide or kick your wrapper's
> foot control along the floor is a real time saver
> and it makes the entire wrapping experience
> better.
>
> ...............

Tom - are there any close-up pictures you know of the full-length foot control board. I am working on setting up the Flexcoat power wrapper and could see that it would be nice not to have to scoot the foot pedal along as you work up/down the rod. Do you build some kind of frame around the factory foot pedal or are you completely scrapping the factory foot pedal and creating your own?

Hello Kevin.

The foot pedal information is in the first book (vol-10 / Issue-5 / Page 10.
The Back-Issue can be ordered from RodMaker Magazine [www.rodmakermagazine.com]

The bench that Tom alluded to was featured in 3 articles in RodMaker Magazine.

10/5 Shop; Mobile Rod Building Workshop I of III. 10
10/6 Shop; Mobile Rod Building Workshop II of III. 22
11/1 Shop; Mobile Rod Building Workshop III of III. 22

There is a lot of info there.

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Kevin
Here is a picture of a rod bench and the control board that Barry Thomas built in 2013:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Click on the "enlarge" to get a better look at the details of the board.
Notice that he hinged the front part of the board and then connected a rod to the back part of the board that goes up to the underside of the bench where he mounted his pedal. Then, he used a lever arrangement to cause the pedal to be depressed when the board is pressed.

Take care
Roger

Kevin,

Here is my modest mobile setup. I used two 48 x 24 inch work benches because one 8' would have been too cumbersome for me to move should the need arise. Anyway, it's very expandable, IMO. I could easily lay a couple of 2x6 boards across the cross members underneath the work surface for storage, but so far, all my stuff fits nicely in the cart. I also have two rod dryers. I just didn't have them on the workbench when I took the picture.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

My ideal workbench is one where my wife’s Christmas decorations aren’t encroaching on it everytime I want to build something haha

roger wilson Wrote:
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> Kevin
> Here is a picture of a rod bench and the control
> board that Barry Thomas built in 2013:
>
> [www.rodbuilding.org]
> p/photo/17397/title/img-00211/cat/508

Awesome! thank you! Look great, love the pedal board!

Daryl Ferguson Wrote:
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> Kevin,
>
> Here is my modest mobile setup.

This looks great! Probably what I should have done with my first set up! Thank you for the photo!

Evan Cobb Wrote:
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> My ideal workbench is one where my wife’s
> Christmas decorations aren’t encroaching on it
> everytime I want to build something haha

My woodworking buddy calls this "Flat surface disease" lol

I call it verticalitis. If there is a vertical surface with nothing on it my wife will put something there.

My wife is like that with wall outlets. Every time I look for an open spot, I find some sort of therapeutic aroma creator plugged in to the outlets.

Thomas Kaufmann Wrote:
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> I call it verticalitis. If there is a vertical
> surface with nothing on it my wife will put
> something there.


Lol, I like that!