QuiltGuy Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi All! For those of you who have installed the hydraulic lift...did you put your table at the lowest height before doing so? It seems to make sense to me as If I wanted to sit I would need it to go fairly low...and since I have fairly short legs I believe the standard travel height of the lift would be enough to get me to standing. This is not addressed in the manual, but makes sense to me. I thought I would ask here in case anyone had found a problem with their lift installation afterward...I am not so certain I want to adjust the height manually after the lift is installed! I don't think it matters but Millie also has casters...so she is already 4 or so inches higher than a table without casters. Thanks for any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaC Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Dave, Les also installed my hydraulic lift. I sent you a PM with my email; send me your email back if you want to talk with Les direct. I have some photos of mine; but I don't have casters. Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuiltGuy Posted January 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Just PM'd my e-mail to you. Thanks! I don't think the casters make that much of a difference except for the height. They actually had one at the Road Show I attended set up with both. The advantage is that you can still move the machine. The disadvantage is that the casters won't fully rotate. In my situation I need to be able to easily move the machine as it is right in front of our wine storage area...and blocking entrance to that would be unacceptable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaC Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I emailed you, Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitepinesquilter Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I've often wondered the same thing about the height issue (and cutting legs down) when installing hydraulic lifts. Could someone answer here if it is not uncommon (or not recommended and why) to do so. Thanks for sharing any experiences! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I installed mine with the table down to the lowest point. I don't have casters. If I need to move the machine I put furniture sliders under the legs and away we go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheagatzi Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I would install them with the legs at floor level. My hydraulics lift the table approximately 9". This is going to be difficult for me to explain: I installed mine with my legs about 4" raised and it doesn't seem to make a difference either way. With my hydraulics, my table then only lifts an additional 5". I say that, because the hydraulics have to mount to the white portion of your frame, not the screw/extended part of the leg. (please tell me if it can be done another way) So, if you have your legs raised, the hydraulic leg extends to the floor (when you push the button to raise it) and then raises the table higher. I hope that made sense? I can take a photo if you need it.I'm trying to figure a way to re do my hydraulic lift so that I can get another few inches higher. I'm 6 feet tall, so the highest level is fine, but there are times when I'm doing detail work that I would like to have just a bit higher. It was suggested to me to lower to the lowest setting and use a chair....which I may just do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I'm not really familiar with the APQS power lift system. I built my own. I completely rebuilt the leg system for my table. I made the new legs 2" shorter than the originals. I put levelers in the new legs so when they sit on the floor the table top is at the same original 30" height. I've attached retractable wheels to the legs, so when I use the machine the leg levelers sit firmly on the floor. When I want to move the machine, I lower the wheels which lifts the table off the floor and it rolls on the wheels. When it is positioned where I want it, I retract the wheels which lowers the legs to sit on the floor again. BTW, I've marked the original leg position on my floor so when I move it back where I use it, I won't have to re-level the table. I made the new legs shorter for exactly the reason Dave mentioned. I felt at the lowest position in the lift cycle, the table would be too high to sit comfortably. I was using an office chair at the time to sit on, and it was too low. I've since gone to a saddle stool which adjusts to a max height of 31", and so the high height wouldn't be a problem now. I think APQS's hydraulic cylinders simply bolt or clamp to the legs, don't they? I know a friend has a Gammill, and the cylinders on it fit inside the legs, but most of the others I've seen attach to the leg from the outside. If that's the case, chooseing the beginning height you want would simply be a matter of how high, or low, on the leg you attached the cyinders. Dave: I'd consider replacing the castors with retractable wheels. It would take a bit of tinkering, but I think the results would please you. I never liked the table setting on castors regardless of the height, because I feel the table moves when you sew. even with them locked. I made the set I used several years ago for a table saw stand. I no longer used them, so I fitted them to Zelda's table. I believe you can buy commercially made retractable wheel systems for stationary tools like table saws, or if you like, I can explain to you how I made mine, if you do wood work. They're made all from wood except for the non-swivel castors I used for wheels. Andrea: E-mail me a photo of your table leg with the hydraulic cylinder attached to it. Maybe I can figure out how you can lower them to get more table lift. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I took the wind up feet out of the inside of my table legs before I installed my hydraulic lifts. So the bottom of my table legs can get to 1.5" from the floor with the hydraulics attached. This means my hydraulic lifts sit directly under the table legs and I can lower my table so that it is only 27.5" from the floor to the top of it. the front roller is then only 36" from the floor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuiltGuy Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Great answers! I am less than 6' tall so I won't have the upper height issues but Andrea's explanation made me realize something that I had not considered...based on that I am going to lower to minimum height. I love the idea of retractable wheels as that would get to the same height as Lyn has (for sitting) and still allow maximum elevation. I know of some commercial retractable wheels (my router table and an old Shopsmith I have both have them...). Thanks for all of your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Andrea: If your set up is like Lyn's, maybe you can take the black bracket off the hydraulic cylinder, turn it end for end put it back one the cylinder and re-clamp to the leg. Inverted you could raise the table several inches higher than it is in Lyn's photo at the lowest lift setting. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheagatzi Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Thanks Jim, I will take a photo. From what I can see the threaded table leg is a narrower diameter (so it can fit into the white leg) and I don't think the hydraulic clamp will hold in place firmly because of that. I will take a photo to show and send you a message tomorrow. Thanks for the advice! Dave I'm glad my explanation made a bit of sense. I had a hard time explaining that for some reason! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheagatzi Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I thought I would post my photo here to show how mounting the hydraulic to a raised table leg really makes no difference, the hydraulic needs to extend to the base of the table leg anyways, due to the way it is mounted on the frame. photo 2 by Millions of Thoughts, on Flickr I'm trying to figure a way to mount the hydraulic to the frame in a different way. As you can see, the u-shaped mounts are attached to a rectangular plate on the hydraulic mechanism. If I were to lower the plate, I'm not sure if I would be able to firmly secure the u brackets properly. The bottom u bracket has to mount in between the white base of the leg and the large hex nut. (according to the instructions) photo 1 by Millions of Thoughts, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Andrea you may be able to get a toolmaker or sheet metal worker to make you a longer bracket that fixes to the back of the hydraulic lift. On my photo it is the black part. It could have a longer drop at the bottom and you could have this in the bottom hook so that it fits under the screw in section of the extended legs of your table. I would n't change where the lift bolts to the table legs just extend the bottom part of the lift bracket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunningThreads Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Andrea I can't quite tell how the hydraulic leg is attached to the bracket. It looks like it is bolted in two spots. Maybe you could drill a couple of new holes on the bracket an inch or two lower. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotch Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Sorry Andrea, this isn't going to help you, but it may help someone requiring hydraulics with a higher lift. Prior to ordering my Millennium I had a ton of questions about aftermarket hydraulics and how to attach them to the table. There was a lot of feedback and several creative ways to mount the system .... thanks everyone! So, I went with a hybrid system. Heidi M. convinced me to go with 16" legs and I'm glad she did, I purchased them directly from SUSPA. I wasn't comfortable with making my own brackets for the legs and pump/control units so I order them from APQS. In the end I got a custom system that looks like it came from the factory at a substantial savings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 Andrea: How much more lift do you need? If you simply want to regain the lift lost to the levelers, I think I have an idea that might do the trick. The levelers appear to be threaded (I can't really tell from the photo). Buy yourself 2 more per leg, of the large nuts that capture the hydraulic assemblie bracket. Remove the leveler, thread the first nut all the way down to the "foot". Slide the hydraulic bracket on the leveler, thread the second nut on the leveler until it captures the bracket immediately above the first nut, then re-install the leveler like you currently have it. Don't tighten the 2 new nuts until the leveler is back in place, then tighten them locking the bracket in place. The hydraulic assembly will then be almost the entire length of the leveler lower than it is now. It might be necessary to reposition the lower U clamp higher up on the bracket. Do this by drilling a new set of holes for it high enough so it can clamp the leg. If you need more lift than the height of the levelers, the legs of the table will neet to be modified. Let me know if that's required, and I'll make some more suggestions. Good luck. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheagatzi Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 McGyvers is in the house!!!! Jim, I will certainly try your suggestion, this may work, thank you! fotch - if I knew that there were different sizes of hydraulics available, I certainly would have invested in the larger one. But, hindsight, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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