If you’ve watched my channel for a while, you’ve probably noticed my planer sitting on the box it came in for a long time. You’ve probably also thought it was about time I make a home for that thing. I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s been driving me nuts having to drag the box out to use the planer, and it’s been an eyesore in my garage. As mentioned in the video, I was going to make a regular mobile cart for it, just like I did the jointer, but it never seemed right. It seemed like something was missing.
What was missing was the integration of multiple processes into one time saving, space saving unit. That’s what One Minute Workbench is all about. It’s about being able to setup and tear down quickly, all while taking up as little space as possible. The idea of having two separate carts seems like a good idea at first because I could reduce use of floor space, but I was missing the key ingredient of integration. Integration, or at least the right kind of integration, maximizes that reduction in floor space use, and maximizes efficiency.
I say “the right kind of integration” because I often see integration methods that require too much compromise. I’ve seen a couple of “flip top” designs that are okay, but for the most part, I’m not a fan of them. There’s always something funny going on with how the cords fit into the arrangement, there’s questions about the security and stability of the locking mechanisms (introducing possible vibrations or just a general “isn’t solid” sort of feeling), the out-feeds are in competition with each other, and most importantly, you can’t easily or quickly jump back and forth from machine to machine. There will always be an additional setup process in-between machine uses.
Some people have argued that I should have used blast gates for the board milling station’s dust collection system because swapping hoses is an extra setup process. While it’s true that swapping hoses is an extra step, it only takes a few seconds…literally less than 5. If you had blast gates, you’d still have to open and close blast gates, which would take the same 3-4 seconds. Blast gates are also notorious for being leaky or prone to the gates accumulating dust build up that prevents the gates from closing fully, which greatly reduces the efficiency of your vacuum. Blast gates are also expensive! So why would you pay more for something that doesn’t do as good of a job and still requires the same amount of setup time? If you’re like me, you wouldn’t!
You might also be wondering about the 3D printing I did for this project and what that means for your personal build. A viewer made a great suggestion in the comments on YouTube. He suggested that you buy PVC fittings that are close to the sizes you want, and then use a heat gun to heat them up and shape them to size (by inserting them into the ports), being sure to wear protective gloves and a respirator, of course. While I haven’t tried this method myself, I have heated and formed plastic before, and it sounds viable.
If you decided to build one of these, be sure to let me know how it goes and send pics so I can add them to the customer gallery. And if you’re thinking about buying the plans but have some questions, send me an email and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Until next time, I hope you have fun building something!