Contemplating making a combo machine

[onlinename]

hey guys, so my workshop is pretty small and I keep on having to move things around quite a bit.

I recently bought a DW745 table saw with it's portable stand which is great however the stand legs do take quite a bit of surface area.

This is great when you're on site because it makes the saw rock solid however in the shop it's a bit of an issue. I will also be getting a small benchtop planer this week an ELU 1901 model and I am in the process of making a router table at an approcimate size of an 700 x 900.

I also have a Axminster hobby series belt and disc sander and a small SIP bin type extractor.

Rather than having these objects taking up static space I was considering making a whole cabinet on caster wheels which will house all of these.

I also do not have a workbench so I thought this would be a good opportunity to somehow use this unit as a workbench somehow..

I attached an image of what i think the plan will look like.

However my thoughts are that I have never seen a shop made Router/Table Saw/Planer thicknesser setup in one jig.

Has anyone got any pics of links of similar setups?
Is this not advisable to do?
Could I somehow use the same fence for the Router + Table Saw + Planer + Possibly belt sander?
If I rig up a static hose system for dust collection will I need a higher dust extractor than my 1.5HP SIP extractor due to distance travelled or split hoses?
What wood surface should I use overall? Laminated Plywood?
And as far as the base of this entire unit is concerned how thick do you think the timber battons need to be to carry all this weight?

Many thanks to any input you may have (hammer)

 

[G S Haydon]

This reminds me of when all the tranformers team up and make one big crazy one :lol:

Nothing wrong with the concept although my gut says to keep them separate. It could be a lot of work if it doesn't turn out right.

 

[Howie]

You don't say how big your workspace is or the dimensions, these may be helpful for possible configuration ideas. I had a small one car garage shop and was always altering the space to try and maximise it's ergonomics. However just some ideas for you to mull over.

I have seen plenty of examples of a table saw & router table in a modular unit and they share the same fence. If you add an outfeed table to the rear of the table saw/router table combo you can use that as a workbench.
I think the benchtop planer and sander could be stowed under the outfeed table and put on top of the work bench when required. Also the dust extractor could go under the outfeed table. I am imagining this configuration would be more square than rectangular as your drawing shows.
Perhaps also consider a torsion box base for this unit and some good quality locking castors to all you to push it around.

Everyone works differently and has their own methods of working, don't be frightened to try out your ideas, just don't spend to much money or time in case your next brilliant idea turns out to be a turkey, I say this from my own bitter experience. Most important thing is to enjoy the experience.

Good luck
Howie