Matco triple bay. Bought it!
- Thread starter mike93lx
- Start date
The butcher block pieces my buddy gave me were too far from the right dimensions to work easily and I don't have the time or space to piece it all together, so I hit the easy button and used a piece of 3/4" birch plywood. 4 coats of water based poly on the bottom, 6 on the top.
I'm on the lookout for a deal on a big enough piece of something hardwood (larger countertop, bowling alley, etc) to hopefully upgrade from this later on, but for my use case, this will work just fine
Parts have been ordered for the feet. Coupling nuts, leveling feet and bolts from McMaster, PET-CF from Siraya. Drawer liners will be here this week and I'll get them installed this weekend. Trying to hold on moving tools into it until I have the feet done.
A buddy jumped at buying my HF 44". Net of that and all the materials/parts I bought, I'm probably about 1500 into this. Thankfully time is free...
I'm on the lookout for a deal on a big enough piece of something hardwood (larger countertop, bowling alley, etc) to hopefully upgrade from this later on, but for my use case, this will work just fine
Parts have been ordered for the feet. Coupling nuts, leveling feet and bolts from McMaster, PET-CF from Siraya. Drawer liners will be here this week and I'll get them installed this weekend. Trying to hold on moving tools into it until I have the feet done.
A buddy jumped at buying my HF 44". Net of that and all the materials/parts I bought, I'm probably about 1500 into this. Thankfully time is free...
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alinc100
Well-known member
tool_scrounge
Well-known member
Nice temporary top. In time you will find a long butcher block top on the used market. I just ran into a nice Michigan Maple Block Co 10 foot top that was cleanly split down the middle. It was hard to turn down for $50 but I could not think of a use that justified the pain of getting it home. But I did buy a couple of Michigan Maple Block Co 6 foot ones with the corners trimmed for $25 each so deals are out there.
JerseyBoatBuilder
Well-known member
Bowling Alley Flooring is pretty thick and heavy.
My father inlaws entire work shop had it for counter tops and work benches. When he died I had to cut a lot of it up to get it out of the shop while settling his estate.
I kept one piece that is 1 3/4 × 14 × 24 and it weighs 17.8lbs
My father inlaws entire work shop had it for counter tops and work benches. When he died I had to cut a lot of it up to get it out of the shop while settling his estate.
I kept one piece that is 1 3/4 × 14 × 24 and it weighs 17.8lbs
agreed. I'm including that in my searches.Bowling Alley Flooring is pretty thick and heavy.
My father inlaws entire work shop had it for counter tops and work benches. When he died I had to cut a lot of it up to get it out of the shop while settling his estate.
I kept one piece that is 1 3/4 × 14 × 24 and it weighs 17.8lbs
There's a good chance i just stick with the plywood, but if i catch a really good deal on something, I'll grab it. I'm really not using this as a workbench (it's mainly a platform for my 3d printers) so durability isn't critical
JerseyBoatBuilder
Well-known member
I did a Butcher Block Counter top 24×78 for my bench 4 years a go it was $156 at the time. Don't know what prices are now though.
The problem here is size. I need 76x26.25
The depth requires island-size, but those all stop at 72" wide. I got a quote on custom at about $600. And I don't need better than the current plywood by that much.
Depending on what I do for the hutch, I may be able to eat up a little space and a standard size could work, but that's TBD
Lassen Forge
Well-known member
The butcher block pieces my buddy gave me were too far from the right dimensions to work easily and I don't have the time or space to piece it all together, so I hit the easy button and used a piece of 3/4" birch plywood. 4 coats of water based poly on the bottom, 6 on the top.
I'm on the lookout for a deal on a big enough piece of something hardwood (larger countertop, bowling alley, etc) to hopefully upgrade from this later on, but for my use case, this will work just fine
IDK - that looks pretty slick as it is. I guess it depends on what you have plan to use it for.
I've used everything from 1" HDPE (cutting board material) which was tough as hell but slippery-ish, to Horse Stall Flooring (tough but a pita to keep clean), to some subfloor plywood - may have been birch or oak or something - which looked good until it didn't... scarred it up too much. Also none of those liked hot stuff - I had (still have, actually) a hunk of steel plate (heavier than a fat effing elephant) that I cut down to fit, durability wise it was excellent. And yeah, not adverse to steel heated to a medium red.
For my use (3d printer stand) a piece of granite or quartz would probably be best. My printers are currently on quartz counters and they will **** the heat out of a build plate really quickly.
But I'm not dropping a grand for that. Maybe I'll get lucky and see a 1'x1' piece of thick aluminum plate on the drop rack at my metal supplier...
Pour a concrete counter?
Cruzan80
Well-known member
If you aren't worried about dropping stuff on it, maybe slate chalkboards? We did a countertop out of them at one of our earlier houses. You just treat it as a giant tile, and get some edging to protect it. The edging was actually the most expensive part ...
alinc100
Well-known member
bas157
Well-known member
Downloaded the file, no idea if mine are the same or not. My box is an MB7535 so the might use the same slides, just a tad bit shorter? If I even need new ones, I'll check on these. Actually maybe I'll print a couple and throw in the back of one of my drawers, just in case.
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The feetless feet are installed. It dropped the work surface to about 42", which feels about perfect. The last one is printing now and once that it installed, I'll level it.
The casters are in rough shape. The springs that hold the locks up are not working, so I had to tie them up to be able to move it at all. The paint is peeling, they are rusty and at least one is losing ball bearings. They are branded "faultless"
I'm torn. They barely function as is but I don't intend to need them. If I ever have to move the box, furniture dollies are probably easier or I could get 1/2-13 stem casters. I should.probably just toss them. Thoughts?
The casters are in rough shape. The springs that hold the locks up are not working, so I had to tie them up to be able to move it at all. The paint is peeling, they are rusty and at least one is losing ball bearings. They are branded "faultless"
I'm torn. They barely function as is but I don't intend to need them. If I ever have to move the box, furniture dollies are probably easier or I could get 1/2-13 stem casters. I should.probably just toss them. Thoughts?
alinc100
Well-known member
Feet/levelers look great. I've used the McMaster-Carr stem feet on several past projects.
Is it possible Matco will warranty/replace the casters? You may not need them ,but a new set ,boxed and ready for the future.
larry4406
Well-known member
Faultless is a name brand (top shelf?) caster supplier.
I would think they would likely have repair kits.
I would be inclined to hang on to them.
I would think they would likely have repair kits.
I would be inclined to hang on to them.
Snapped-off
Well-known member
Nice work so far.The feetless feet are installed. It dropped the work surface to about 42", which feels about perfect. The last one is printing now and once that it installed, I'll level it.
The casters are in rough shape. The springs that hold the locks up are not working, so I had to tie them up to be able to move it at all. The paint is peeling, they are rusty and at least one is losing ball bearings. They are branded "faultless"
I'm torn. They barely function as is but I don't intend to need them. If I ever have to move the box, furniture dollies are probably easier or I could get 1/2-13 stem casters. I should.probably just toss them. Thoughts?
I'd atleast keep them, never know what the future holds. Toss them in a box and keep it underneath if they fit.
It's leveled. I wish I actually measured my floor for level before printing as I could have done each leg at a different height. I quickly checked and figured it would be close enough to be good enough, which it was, but I needed an inch of adjustment on the right side...more than I expected.
It's level side to side and front to back.
Now to move the tools and printers
It's level side to side and front to back.
Now to move the tools and printers
badmatt
Well-known member
For the top, can you get a cut of richlite or phenolic?
I can do anything I want... At least that's what my momma told me
Going to try to grab this on Saturday. Top Is 32x106 and I have a use for the cabinet elsewhere
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But then what will you use for a top?
Looking for some help with Matco box slides. This appears to be the spot. Anyone familiar with these? I think they sit inside the rail for the slides to glide over. One on top and one on bottom. Not sure cause they were laying in the box and the slides were broken when I took the drawer out.
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Wamsutta
Well-known member
So just use a pallet jack if you need to move the box?First foot is done. I wish I could get a load cell to test one of these to failure while measuring the force. I bet this one foot could handle the weight of the entire box, and there are 6 of them
Twisted Sid
Well-known member
Yes those are from the drawer slides. Over time the plastic deteriorates and gets pushed out of the slides. I'd hit up matco as see if new slides are available.
I have bought some cheap slides from Amazon and used just those parts to replace the broken or nonexistent bearing holers on the slides on my work tool box. New slides are not available.