When I built my workbench, I didn’t skimp on materials. As a result, the bench weighs around 300 lb. Because my shop is small, I occasionally need to move the beast—not an easy task for one person.

To make life easier, I came up with this design for a rolling lift, which uses wood scraps, a small car jack (picked up for $10 at the scrap yard), four heavy-duty swivel casters, and six butt hinges.

Click to enlarge.

The mechanism consists of two lift plates made from plywood and 2x6s, attached to the bench legs with hinges. Two casters are secured to the base of each lift plate. A 2×4 crossbar, attached to the lift plates with hinges, lifts the bench onto the casters when the car jack is opened. Closing the jack drops the bench onto its own legs. The mechanism is simple but effective.

Drawings by Jim Richey.

Drawings by Jim Richey.

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