Oriel optical table for garage
- Thread starter Thru-hika
- Start date
minke
Well-known member
MacMcMacmac
Well-known member
$$$$$$.
They are hollow, so they wont take a lot of beating on.
If you can pick them up cheap as surplus, they are a good light duty surface for working on.
They are hollow, so they wont take a lot of beating on.
If you can pick them up cheap as surplus, they are a good light duty surface for working on.
RMERR
Well-known member
I thought about one of these as a work table. Being made for optical testing they are nearly dead flat, which really appeals to me. Usually have tapped holes in a precise pattern, might be great to bolt things down. The downside for a workbench would be they're hollow as mentioned, The holes are usually only 1/4" threads (a bit small for general shop use and mounting things) and the top surface is typically only 1/4" thick. I picture the threads getting gummed up with dust, small chips, etc. Ultimately decided it wouldn't be a good fit in my shop, but might be fine for a light table for "cleaner" operations than I do.
Thank you all for the insight. I seen one on Fb but an hours drive away so wanted to get some info before making the drive. There isn’t a lot of info online for this particular table for the company name changed a number of years ago. I hadn’t heard of an optical table before yesterday but it looked like a table that could be useful for my garage shop. I ended up purchasing it and was surprised how heavy the top was and very rigid. Like previously mentioned, it has threaded holes every 2” and I’ll be picking up some hold down clamp for it. Super glad to get it. Thanks!
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Quarter-inch thick aluminum--6061?--ain't exactly whimpy. I wouldn't be hammering on it, but it's an awful nice and very flat platform. Non-magnetic can come in handy, too.