Travels with Terry

Mechanic’s Stainless-Steel Shop Table
The Kenosha (Wis.) Country Club remodeled their clubhouse kitchen and they were given a discarded stainless steel table, which was recycled by Scott Verdun, golf course superintendent, Nate Keller, former assistant superintendent, and Dann Steltenpohl, mechanic, and transformed into a mechanic’s stainless-steel shop table. The legs were cut-off of the 8-by-3-foot stainless-steel table top and the new wooden frame below was built using 7-foot-10-inch-long and 2-foot-by-10-inch-wide dimensions. The main wooden frame is made of 2-by-6-inch construction pine with 2-by-4 boards for additional support every 10.5 inches. The frame is held together using 16d 31⁄2-inch nails. 4-by-4 posts makeup the table legs, which are anchored to the main frame using 7-inch lag bolts. An additional shelf was made 18 inches above the floor, supported by a 2-by-4-inch frame covered with 3⁄4-inch plywood, which is commonly used for tools and parts storage. The top of the wooden frame was covered with 3-by-4-inch plywood with two 1-by-4-inch holes drilled in all four corners to slide the original table leg supports into. With all its sturdiness, this table can easily support the weight of two walk-behind greens mowers in addition to a 210-pound superintendent, who tested the stability and safety. This table is quite heavy and sturdy, which does not require it to be bolted to the floor, so it can be moved whenever necessary. The total material costs were approximately $80 and it took about 11⁄2 hours to build.

Equipment Lift Table

The 4-foot-by- 4-inch wooden lift table is placed on the lift arms on the Trion Equipment Lift, which is held in place by gravity and it can be easily removed as required. It is used primarily to elevate the walk-behind green’s mowers and small equipment for daily service and preventative maintenance. The table top is made of ¾-inch plywood. The bottom of the table is supported by three 44-inch 2-by-4 beams screwed to the plywood and three additional 44-long inch 2-by-4 beams at 90 degrees for additional support and stability on the lift. All screws on the surface were countersunk so moving equipment around would not catch on the screws. The front rollers of the walk-behind mowers are placed on the platform then the handle is lifted to place the rear roller and transport wheels onto the table in lieu of using ramps. All of the materials were already in stock. If they were purchased the project would have cost approximately $35. Total labor time was about one hour. Scott Verdun, superintendent, former assistant superintendent Mike Kudrna, and mechanic Dann Steltenpohl are the innovators at the Kenosha (Wis.) Country Club.