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I have an Erlewine Neck Jig that I have been using on a bench. I decided this setup was troublesome and I needed a dedicated pedestal. I looked at the ShopStand but price moved it many places down my priority list. 

I found myself in the usual quandary of weighting the pluses and minuses of doing it myself. 

I have a welder/plasma cutter but the thought of drilling numerous holes in 1/4" steel made me think prefab. This led me to the Harbor Freight Adjustable Pedestal Stand (item # 95357, *****) which I got for $35 as a display model.

Out of the box, you set the pedestal's height with a 1/2"x 4" rod.  Two 3/8-16 bolts do the vertical hold. 

I replaced the rod with a 5/16" bolt with 8mm ID bearings left over from a fret bender project; otherwise, I would have used 12mm ID bearings and bolt (1" = 25.4mm). I replaced the locking bolts with clamping knobs. 

I leveled the top edge of the outer tube to give the bearings a smooth racetrack and I dabbed a little lithium grease on it.

The finished product works great. It rotates smoothly and the two clamping knobs lock it firmly.  I have no idea if the swivel will be useful.

This project may be below the threshold of "duh," but it is time-sensitive. Harbor Freight is discontinuing the Adjustable Pedestal Stand. They are currently on sale for $50 (usually $80). Their club card gets you another 25% off.

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Good job Robbie .I Built mine out of an old floor modle hair drier .It has a spring inside the post and you can set it at any hite works wonderfull.Bill.

Nice work, Robbie!  Good tip on the Harbor Freight stock, too.... 

Great idea using skate bearings!

Thanks Robbie,

I'm looking at possible rearrangements of my tiny workshop to see if I can make room for this.  Love ideas that produce the same result, while avoiding the big price tags.

How are height adjustments made?

In terms of overall height, there are numerous holes punched in the top tube. Stick the bolt with the bearings through the one that suits your height.

Update: The stand came with a very large surface so I trimmed it to size. I used the angle vise to scratch an outline in the epoxy paint, used Mapp gas to loosen the paint along the line, scraped it off, cleaned the surface with a die grinder and sandpaper, then used the plasma cutter to cut it to size. I knocked off the slag and cleaned it up with the die grinder and a belt sander. My basement shop is under renovation so it's in the dining room. Unluckily, there's no longer a woman around to complain.

Very cool redesign & execution, Robbie. Kudos :)

Very good!

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