Dan,

You may want to consider one of these as a temporary solution:
http://blumtool.com/?page_id=50

I picked up the “Original” version for $150 on CL to use as a bench to build my
regular bench. My main shop is at my property in Mendocino County, but I also
have an apartment in San Francisco, where the Blum now permanently resides. It’s
surprisingly very stable, although I sometimes add a couple of sandbags to the
legs if I’m doing heavy planing. The Baltic Birch top is and will stay dead flat
thanks to the torsion bar construction. It’s ideal for a small space as it can
be set up or collapsed in a matter of minutes.

I guess with shipping it’s not the cheapest, but just a thought. However, if
you’re not in a rush I’d search CL everyday. In the Bay Area, used benches
appear quite often. I was 3/4 of the way into building my bench when a near new
Ulmia Ott appeared for $800. A few weeks later an 8’ Diefenbach with cabinet and
drawers for $1100. Oh well.

Steve