Folding bench or stool?

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Woodchipper

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My grandson is turning the last of three pens for his grandparents and uncle. He is standing on a milk carton with me right at this side. So far, so good. However, the pens are two piece Slimline pens. It is hard to turn one without having to move the milk carton to turn the other blank. He can't move his body to make good cuts. I did a search on the Internet but only came up with folding workbenches or step stools. Any ideas or suggestions are most welcome.
 
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Woodchipper

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That would work. I was in Lowe's today. Good excuse to back, look at the folding platform, and buy something. Plus, SWMBO and I have some projects for this winter- finishing some remodeling we started and some painting. Save climbing up and down the folding step stool every two minutes. Thanks for the link!!!!
Edit: Went into the shop and the 20 inch height is too high. Milk carton is 11 inches high, including the mat.
 
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Jolly Red

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Look on utube on how to make a 5 board bench. Can be made any height you want, and are simple to make. Just be sure it is wide enough to be stable, I would say at least 12 inches if you stand on it.
 

leehljp

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Make your own as a couple of people have mentioned. This way, The grandson will have a keepsake and maybe it will inspire him to do the same for his kids and grandkids some day!

I made a couple of rough sawn stools of different heights for sitting (according to the need) that my daughters are always begging me to give to them. I tell them - "After I am finished with them". :biggrin:
 

Woodchipper

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Rikon 07-050VS, 12X16 on a DIY stand. Not going to make a new stand or modify the stand for just a couple of pens.
Bob, I have a piece of 3/4 plywood that would make a platform that would go over two milk crates. I would fasten the PW to the crates for safety.
 
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dogcatcher

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For my Rikon I have a sawhorse with a 2x12 for the top that I use for a stand when I move my lathe outdoors on the attached deck. The saw horse gets a 100 uses when it is not a lathe stand. Built right, it could easily be a stand for the lathe. A table for assembly work, glue up of segmented blanks, a carving desk, and the list continues.

It takes about 5 minutes to switch the lathe from the workbench to the sawhorse. That includes removing everything that is on it from it's last use. It is also what our 9 year old granddaughter uses when she wants the lathe. You think this is for 2 pens, she has made dozens of pens, bottle stoppers and a "gadzillion" magic wands.

Personally I think a stand is an accident waiting to happen, unless it is huge with rails, eventually he will probably accidently step off the edge.
 

Woodchipper

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dogcatcher, I'm not about to lug the lathe around from one place to another at my age. I don't have the luxury to have the room for shifting tools around. The lathe is permanently attached to the stand. Plus, I don't do any WWing outdoors as there isn't any decent place to work that has an outlet.
My GS is very careful, does not move around when turning plus I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Did I mention that he is a lot smarter than me?
 
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I'll say this... I have one of those little aluminum platforms and I'd feel a lot safer having my kid on one I built. They're convenient, portable, etc but they are not overly stable. No need to overthink it but building one is probably going to be the best route. My son is 4 so I still have a bit before I hand him a tool (mostly because he still doesn't quite listen) but he's already 3' 8" tall so by the time he's turning I might be able to skip this step.
 

Woodchipper

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The aluminum platforms are too high. The milk crate is about 11 inches high including the mat. As he grows, I could always shorten the legs on a DIY platform.
 
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