Fabricating a Mobile Cast Iron Surface Plate Workstation 

Keith the covers I have come across in my engineering life were wooden top with a lip around it so not to slip off and a durable cloth on the underside The top you have there would make a great cover to go inside the Woden cover Wood is just a better protector than just the thin cover you just put on your plate but it’s a great use of space in a workshop Watch each of your videos you put out and enjoy them all, keep on working

I remember when you acquired this surface plate and noted how people usually use it as a welding table. Great repurpose!

I love Keith. Stan was there probably to say hi and in like 4 minutes Keith put him to work! Nice

Hi Stan & Keith thanks for sharing

Thanks Keith

Nice job Keith and Stan. Thank you for sharing.

I love it when RU-vidrs collab it’s so interesting to see the diverse ways people approach things it’s taught me a hell of a lot I’ve been a light and heavy good mechanics for over 22yrs and I do a lot of fabrication as well and the fireball squares have been a game changer great video thanks for sharing

Excellent job, Keith and Stan. Looks top.

I was looking at those legs thinking Keith is going to be working at eye level on that plate. Glad you caught it in time. Nice setup.

I hate to be the lone voice of dissension in the room, but the Union Army were the good guys...

I would love to see Keith scrape in the plate. I've seen a few videos of re-surfacing granite plates to high standards, but never a cast irone one done and I'd like to see how he approaches it.

The blue surface plate topper looks like anti-static matting used for flooring/bench tops around electrical and electronics equipment. That stuff is good stuff.

Wonderful to watch 2 master craftsmen

Timely video. A message to all you welders, if you think your just gonna unsecure that gas bottle, weld in its bracket, and resecure it. I'm getting some metal work done on my leg bones next week. Listen to the little voice friends! I can only watch other people weld for the next 6 weeks

Hey Stan & Keith, great looking cart with perfect functionality. Nice work, always a pleasure to see your work.

What a nice little project to make a useful rolling work top. Another great video Keith. Thanks for sharing!

You're keeping up the video pace, Keith. Good on ya!

The table looks great, very professionally done! One suggestion, though with the wheels . I had a compressor that i needed to get into tight places and i originally had only two swivel wheels on one side; it turned out to be a pain to continually go forward and backward to line it up in the tight places. I eventually changed out all the wheels to swivel so that i could move at right angles in any direction

Very cool! That should be useful, both as a work table and a surface plate. I recommend adding wooden top to it, like a cheap sheet of lauan. I'm afraid that counter top material won't be enough to protect the surface plate from dings.

Nice idea! You didn't reveal the weight of the surface plate, but I would have welded in at least one diagonal at the back to resist racking forces, and reinforced at least the central support point for the plate. .

I have stopped using the two fixed wheel/two swivel wheel like Keith used here. In my smaller woodworking shop I find it difficult to get equipment moved around with only two wheels to steer. I have been changing out the straight wheels for swivel and now need to find a use for the mixed up mess of straight wheels, grin....

Keith is a great thinker. That is why he is also very creative.

Dude, that guy works fast!

Awesome shop addition Keith.

Nice build and good to see Stan in the shop.

I missed watching the paint dry. The most exciting part. (Snicker snicker…). Good job.

That's a great work bench.

Marvel made some very impressive and beautiful bandsaws ! I remember bidding on a marvell no. 8 and it was quite a piece of engineering !!!

Thank you Keith!

"In pretty good shape for the shape it's in..." So am I!

Another superb quality video by Keith Rucker!!! Thank you again!

Very nice shop made service cart Keith!.

Good morning, I think that I got it. It's just a couple of KEYSTONE COPS making a surface plate table! A nice build!

Saw Stan and immediately thought of Johnathon Winters in bib overalls. Good fun.

Nice add to your workshop!

Always a treat to watch you work your craft. thank you!

All we needed was the Benny Hill music.

Good morning Keith! thanks for the videos and have a great weekend.

Thank you for sharing. Very nice.👍

I was half expecting black or grey because you had some leftover from the last machine's restoration. That blue looks really nice contrasting in your shop!

Westward is the house brand from Grainger. Probably from the same contract manufacturer catalog making all the other house brands.

It is now fully ready to have more junk piled on top of it! :P

Thanks for the video Keith and Stan. Nice Job!

How about a couple of those castors being the type with a brake?

I love cast iron surface plates! have 3 myself - nice job Kieth

You can never go wrong building anything for your shop. Your time is Worth nothing and these pieces will continue to benifit the shop to the end of your days. Chuckle, Having you mention the oops on the carts heights is working all the tea in china. It is always a lot more fun when the boss screwes up, LOL. Looking great Keith. Will you be scraping the deck ?

Measure to length, beat it to fit, paint it to match

Great job.

Looks nice

4:19 - Notice a Keith Fenner 'flag' on the wall. ^1. 14:37 - You are not alone! 20:14 - Do not EVER put 4 swivel casters on anything but an office chair!

I see now that you're retired you have time to organize, cleanup and just get some internal shop projects done. It's what I spend a good amount of time doing, slowing rearranging and organizing the shop.

Looks top-heavy

Great job Keith 👍nice to see you getting a hand from Steve . Oh you should scrape in the surface plate Keith 🤔to complete the fantastic job you and Steve have done!!! thanks for the great video/videos 😊

Good Morning Keith And Stan. It is so important to learn history, or we are doomed to repeat it.

Awesomeness

Great work! I have found that for bench and tool covers the belts cut from discarded treadmills makes great work pads.

Good to see you can now afford to take on a new, young, assistant.

Keith, I am quite familiar with that countertop "plastic" you have put on the surface plate. You might consider some thin double-stick tape, say--two pieces 1" X 1" on the centerline to keep it from slipping off at the wrong time. Not too much, so you can easily remove it though. Cheers

Table looks great 👍

I was stationed at NAS Pensacola in the Marines for A school, AVA-I Strand MOS 6492, from 1999-2000. Small world! USMC 1999-2007

Those fixed wheels come with an ample supply of regret

Thanks Keith!

I liked when the second cup of coffee kicked in.

Great video Keith.

NICE!! I’m gonna make one for my shop!

when visiting Florida be sure to enjoy a cool refreshing Pensa Cola

I haven't watched this video yet, and wanted to let you know what joy it is to see a new video so soon! Will let you know more after I watch it!

Keith, are you concerned about moisture getting trapped between the cast iron and the plastic top and causing rust? I had something like that happen to my table saw. you might want to put a layer of felt or other material that would let the moisture wick away and dry out

Casters looked a bit light to me !! However I'm just a random commenter on youtube!!

You might of used the "Tom Sawyer" method tricking him into working, but he dropped a few ball bearings in the square tubing to drive you crazy. :)

👍

Happy Friday Keith! 😊🚂👍👍👍👍✌️

👍😎

Thanks for sharing 👍

Stan is a great guy and I love how you ‘Tom Sawyered” him.

You have a guest and put him to work! A willing to work guest at that!

Super nice Surface plate, cart. However, I don't believe the metal plates that hold the casters is thick enough to hold the weight. It's highly possible I'm wrong. 😮😊

❤️‍🔥

Thanks Keith and Stan. Nice job. I have always liked Stan but I like him a little bit more now that I know that he is Southern and has an appreciation for our history.

For me it's always going to be Fort Benning, Bragg, Hood, etc. PC is for Komrade Kamalalala et al.

Nice Keith

Wow, it's not every day that you see Keith just supervisin' ... LOL.

Love the video's!

Hope Keith remembered locking casters?

I like watching Stans channel, but Boy, Keith is a nice guy to let him come in and take over the video the project, etc I couldnt do it, and I'm not even filming my projects!

Maybe buy a stack of 50 letter sized magnet sheets and cover the topper. This way it will stay put. Those sheets aren't that magnetic as to make any trouble.

Your big surface grinder couldn’t grind that to perfection?? Keith it’s time for a bigger grinder!!!

i spied the stoker engine in the background, soon to be worked on?

Interesting change of pace from the more complex stuff. That was an easy, satisfying win. Though sheesh Mr. Rucker, you could use an apprentice to help move such an unwieldy construction around. Still, impressive how you man-handled that frame off the saw horses. I'd have pulled a muscle for sure. heh For sure that mobile surface plate is gonna be a nice addition to the shop.

Fun to see Keith using a tape measure instead of a micrometer 😂.

Pretty cool how Keith’s stand became Stan’s project. Lol

I literally 2days ago were looking for and idea for a table and 3d model myself table for 120x80cm ( around 47.25 x31.5 inches) granite surface plate. Yesterday prepared material and today will start to weld it :) Nice coincidence 😅😂

We’re is the guard on the grinder

Never enough storage.

Kieth, probably good if your guest didn’t glorify the confederacy?

Nice would have liked to see some gussets in the corners

Good morning Keith! I don’t want to second guess the master, but being a believer in making everything mobile, I think you will find that the casters you used just aren’t up to the job. It looks as though you are pushing their weight limit. Thanks for your great content.

WOW, Stan smiled!!!!!!! Will the surface plate be scraped in?

Nice 😎😎😎👍👍👍

Grittin of teath while you still work in imperial measure..