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At the shop he was working in at the time, Joseph Waldner says there wasn’t enough room to pull in the combine. That prompted him to craft a portable tool bench he could pull right out to the apron, instead. Waldner set out to include everything he could possibly need on it.
“As I tried to determine where to keep all the sockets and ratchets stored, I decided to mount a three-drawer tool chest underneath the bench. A couple of added loops on both ends make awesome hammer and pry bar holders,” he says.
The design evolved. Waldner says that “throughout the long, North Dakota winter months,” he kept adding features like a trouble light on a retracting 30-foot-long cord. Later, he added an overhead light positioned about 4 feet over the work surface. A vise came after that.
Of course, the finished unit creates additional and efficient workspace inside the shop, too. Waldner remembers it was constantly in use during seeding time.
“Finding all the tools became so easy. If only repairs were that easy, too,” he says.
6×3-foot Tabletop
The ¼-inch-thick metal-covered work surface is supported by 36-inch legs.
Power Ready
A 50-foot extension cord supplies energy for light and to power the outlets on either side. It wraps up out of the way when not in use.
South Dakotan: Waldner works in his home state on a large-scale, commercial grain and livestock farm near Faulkton.
Barley: At one time, the operation grew barley for Anheuser Busch. “When it made malting quality, it was a good premium,” he says.
Hobbies: “I go fishing about every other weekend for northern and walleye. The only thing is, it’s about a 30- or 40-mile trip to get there,” he says.
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