My Adjustable Height/Swiveling Tables, Basically Finished

plant_dr

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I rescued a nasty old office chair from the dumpster by my work today. I took off the nasty chair part and got the start of a turn table for myself. Best part it was right in my budget...
 

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Tieball

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I rescued a nasty old office chair from the dumpster by my work today. I took off the nasty chair part and got the start of a turn table for myself. Best part it was right in my budget...
I tried to make a chair like this work once for an adjustable table height. A not-to-old Steelcase model. Gave up finally, abandoned the plan due to the challenging extra strong effort required to take the chair down in height. Not easy. And, it actually didn’t raise the surface up that high. I think the chairs are really meant for a weighted person to be sitting with that weight on the top to push it back down. Forcing it down by hand was problematic. Went up easy though....sometimes to fast though. Not to discourage you...it was just a problem for me.
 

BigBen

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I FINALLY got to use my tables a few days ago, when I sat in our Sunroom and potted my new baby Tridents.

I'm happy to report that the tables worked out perfectly, as I just needed to put them on their lowest setting while I sat and worked.
 
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Hi All,
Being that I really didn't want to spend several hundred dollars on just ONE of these tables, I decided to try and "build" them on my own.

The rest of the parts & tables arrived yesterday, and I simply swapped-out one of the flat bases with the base that has the inline-skate wheels.
I do most of my work in the backyard, and this thing travels over the grass with no issues at all.
Or I could just use the flat based table.

The flat-based unit adjusts from 27 1/2" to 36" fully extended.
The wheeled based unit adjusts from 29 1/2"" to 38" fully extended.

According to the product description, the cylinder is rated to 110lbs., which IMHO is great for bonsai work.
Anything larger than 110lbs., might pose an issue when trying to compress the cylinder (in order to lower the table). You have to push-down on the top, to lower it.

Next Step(s):
I might also add a 24" wooden table-top (shown in one of the photos) to at least one of the tables, because the existing black table-tops are MDF with a coating/covering on them. Naturally, I'd treat the wooden top prior to installation.

I'm now looking for thin rubberized matt material that can be placed on top, to prevent sliding of the pots.

The tops also swivel 360 degrees, but they don't "lock" (YET). So I'm working on an idea to add some sort of a locking mechanism. Possibly a magnetized device??? Then again, I might just leave them as they are.

Might add several screw-in "eyes" or brackets, to enable tie-down capability.

Suggestions on improvement features/feedback is always appreciated.


Final Thoughts So Far:
At this point, I am extremely happy with the results.
And if anyone would like further information on these handy goodies, I'll be happy to share it with you.

Best Regards,
BigBen

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Try IKEA, their Pannå place mats are what I'm using, though they don't work for large pots over about 13" wide.

1550588398563.png
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70351136/

Glue them down with contact adhesive (or not) and they are great for keeping the pots from sliding around as you turn the trees.
 
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