There's a gap between the back of the bench top and the back of the bench carcase. For stability, I needed a footprint at the floor that was wider than the 4x12 bench top - about 18" wide is what I settled on. BUT - I didn't want the sled legs sticking out 6 inches in the front - an inch or two I can work around, but 6 inches would be a stumbling block - literally. Having 3 or 4 inch between the back of the bench top and the inside of the carcase will let me sweep debris off the back of the bench top- eliminating the fun and games of trying to get crap out of corners.
So now I can sweep stuff to the back of the bench and into this opening - without messig with cleaning out corners. But all that stuff would end up UNDER the bench - where it's a PITA to get out.
Solution:
Add a dust ramp/chute that'll get the debris swept off the back of the bench top out to the bottom of the front of the bench - into my shoes (but we'll deal with that later).
Problem:
If I put in a fixed ramp/chute, then gettig to the rear leg levelers becomes the new PITA, to say nothing of getting anything that rolls/gets kicked under the bench out.
Solution:
Piano hinge the ramp/chute
Problem:
I want to have a shelf under the bench top for centers, a chuck or two and who knows what else. Max depth is 11 1/2" (the "4x12" is really a 3 1/2 x 11 1/2).
So now I'm working on how tall the opening can be and still allow me to raise the ramp/chute up enough to access the rear leg levelers (click here for top adjustable leg leveler) and/or get to anything that gets under the bench.
While looking at these pictures I saw something I'd overlooked. The open holes in the front and back of the sled base that provide access to the top of the leg levelers with an allen wrench will, on a lathe bench - FILL WITH CHIPS AND SHAVINGS. That would not be a good thing.
Ah - another unforseen opportunity to improvise. Turned Padouk stepped plugs. Solves the problem and they'll be a detail no one will probably even notice.