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I started off with a pine 2x4 and a Harbor Freight mobile base kit (item#95288). The kit calls for hardwood, but I think the pine will do just fine.
I chopped 2 lengths of 2x4 on the miter saw.
Then to the tablesaw for a rip down the middle.
Next to the fun part. Lots of chips. Jointed all boards to finish dimensions of 1.25 x 1.5. Kit calls for 1.25" square, but the bottom of the brackets is open, so I left a bit extra on the height instead of turning it into sawdust.
The directions provided really do leave room for improvement. I gave them a quick read, but other than looking back at a picture once in a while just went from the hip. I ended up having to trim the long runners for wheel clearance, leveler clearance, and then once again for the big leveler pads when retracted. It was a bit of trail and error, but in the end not too much in the way of errors. Close to an error. Darn bolt heads stick into the region I planned on using. Fortunately I was able to get a little bit of wiggle room by removing the stock plastic feet from the base.
I can't say that I am overly impressed with the kit, but for the price it gets the job done. Mine was on sale for about $30. Only negative is that it requires 1.25in square stock, so you pretty much have to be able to mill lumber to size. So I guess you have to factor in time when you consider the savings over a kit that uses off the shelf 2x2 lumber. I had the 2x4 and wanted to work out the jointer so it was a good exercise for me.
I also posted this up on my blog with pictures if you are interested...
http://rollinglifestyle.blogspot.com...hips-fall.html
The Kit in question:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=95288
I chopped 2 lengths of 2x4 on the miter saw.
Then to the tablesaw for a rip down the middle.
Next to the fun part. Lots of chips. Jointed all boards to finish dimensions of 1.25 x 1.5. Kit calls for 1.25" square, but the bottom of the brackets is open, so I left a bit extra on the height instead of turning it into sawdust.
The directions provided really do leave room for improvement. I gave them a quick read, but other than looking back at a picture once in a while just went from the hip. I ended up having to trim the long runners for wheel clearance, leveler clearance, and then once again for the big leveler pads when retracted. It was a bit of trail and error, but in the end not too much in the way of errors. Close to an error. Darn bolt heads stick into the region I planned on using. Fortunately I was able to get a little bit of wiggle room by removing the stock plastic feet from the base.
I can't say that I am overly impressed with the kit, but for the price it gets the job done. Mine was on sale for about $30. Only negative is that it requires 1.25in square stock, so you pretty much have to be able to mill lumber to size. So I guess you have to factor in time when you consider the savings over a kit that uses off the shelf 2x2 lumber. I had the 2x4 and wanted to work out the jointer so it was a good exercise for me.
I also posted this up on my blog with pictures if you are interested...
http://rollinglifestyle.blogspot.com...hips-fall.html
The Kit in question:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=95288