My Adjustable Work Table for Building Rolling Ball Sculptures

That one super cool tool that’s as awesome as you thought it would be.

That one super cool shop tool that’s every bit as awesome as you thought it would be.

I’m talking about an adjustable-height work table that raises and lowers with the push of a button. Even better, the top rotates on ball bearings, so I can easily turn a rolling ball sculpture around while I’m building and welding it.

Working at the bottom of a sculpture, squatting and bending down like a chump? Not anymore. I can raise the sculpture to a comfortable working height and bring whatever section I’m working on right up to table level. The rotating top also lets me work around a sculpture without constantly repositioning the entire piece.

I had dreamed of having a table like this for a long time. A good, tall motorized lift table can be expensive, so for years I made do by propping sculptures up on blocks or standing on a step stool when I needed to work higher or lower. It worked, but it was slower and a whole lot more deliberate.

Then I was out “thrift shopping” with my girlfriend when we met a woman who was clearing out a storage unit full of equipment, mostly upholstery-related. Right up front, buried under some boxes, was this table. It had originally been used for upholstery work, looked practically new, and I got it for a great price.

It has turned out to be an incredibly useful tool in my sculpture studio. I can raise or lower a rolling ball sculpture as I fabricate the tracks and mechanisms, rotate the entire workpiece when I need access to another side, and move the table around the shop on its casters when it’s fully lowered.

Anyway, check out the short video below to see the table in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3-NKBlZIfw&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Frollingballsculpture.com%2F&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ&feature=emb_imp_woyt