Replies

1. 
   TomT226 | Apr 11, 2008 01:42pm | #1

   I use cheap 3/0 luan hollow core doors.  Hit'em with some poly or lacquer so glue won't stick.  Do FF's on them.  Put it over a couple of saw horses, or short MDF boxes for larger glue-ups.  Not quite 4'X8'.  Stack'em up against the wall when finished.

    

1. 
   cwc09 | Apr 11, 2008 02:01pm | #2

   Yeah that sounds good. You said do "FF"s on them. Im not sure what that means

1. 
   Sphere | Apr 11, 2008 02:47pm | #3

   Frequent Flyers and Fast Freddies, he's funny that way.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   "Welcome to Poo-ville, can I have your socks?Seriously Folks, I need a home for 3 lovers of your life.

2. 
   TomT226 | Apr 12, 2008 01:30pm | #21

   Face frames.  Sorry for the delayed answer as our phone line was cut for the third time this week. 

2. 
   Henley | Apr 11, 2008 02:54pm | #4

   Sometimes you can't beat China.
   How about one of those plastic jobs with
   the fold out legs?
   Light, can't say how flat it would stay tho.
   BJ's has some pretty cheap.

3. 
   YesMaam27577 | Apr 11, 2008 03:20pm | #5

   Make a torsion box out of two sheets of 1/4" ply, and dedicate two sawhorses. Maybe even put some bosses on the underside of the top so it will grip the horses.

   Bingo, a flat, stable table that is 4 X 8.

   Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.

4. 
   oldfred | Apr 11, 2008 03:55pm | #6

   I made mine out of three - 6 foot 2 x 4s and five - 3 foot 2 x 4s.

   I gang-cut dadoes half way through the 3 1/2' depth of all pieces so the three footers would drop into the six footers and form a flat grid six foot by three foot by three and one-half inches deep.

   Set the six footers, dadoes up, on two adjustable height saw horses and drop the three footers into the six footers. This gives me a sacrificial grid to cut on, plus a perfect base for a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood to make a workbench.

   It took me about an hour to make the dadoes and the grid was complete. Takes maybe five minutes to set up two horses , assemble the grid and throw on a sheet of plywood. Done. Since the grid comes apart, it's easy to store or transport by hooking the 2 x 4s together with a couple bungee cords.

   I've used it for three years and find that it stays flat. If the plywood curves up a bit, I zip in a couple piffen screws.

1. 
   ANDYSZ2 | Apr 11, 2008 04:06pm | #7

   One of my most unique was a a front porch handrail I demoed.

   It was a 2x4 top and bottom with 2x4's between.You could clamp work down easily and cutting on it was great.

   It worked really well and when I was  painting the siding I stood two sections up on end to store my painted siding.

   Then trashed them at the end of the job.

   I may build me another set in the future out of scrap treated lumber I have.

   ANDYSZ2WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?

   REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST

    

5. 
   BossHog | Apr 11, 2008 04:07pm | #8

   I made a sort of frame frmo some sawhorses for cuttnig lpywood. But if you put a sheet of plywood on top it would maek a pretty good work platform:

   http://forums.taunton.com/n/find/findRedir.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&mg=A505063A-B6D0-4E05-B874-B2628F4DB2E2

   He who is wrapped up in himself is a very small package
6. 
   Catspaw | Apr 11, 2008 04:38pm | #9

   You can see my table along with some other ideas here:

   http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39539

   -Rich

1. 
   BossHog | Apr 11, 2008 04:47pm | #10

   You can't see images over at JLC unless you're a member...
   Whether a man winds up with a nest egg, or a goose egg, depends a lot on the kind of chick he marries.

1. 
   rez | Apr 11, 2008 05:56pm | #11

   Ya, what's with that.

   He should have copied and placed them here.

   Click here for access to the Woodshed Tavern

   Edited 4/11/2008 10:57 am ET by rez

2. 
   Catspaw | Apr 11, 2008 07:30pm | #13

   Sorry, I will copy it here:

   I've got a homemade work table that has served me well for the past several years. It's a wooden frame with adjustable banquet table legs and a separate removable top.The frame without the top is used for ripping sheet goods with a circular saw and cutting guide. If I'm cutting a bunch of plywood in the shop, I'll throw a sheet of 1" styrofoam on top. The foam has some blocks glued to the underside to keep it from sliding around.Size is about 3 1/2' by 7 1/2'. This allows the plywood to overhang enough so I can clamp my cutting guide to it.

   With the top on, it becomes a work table and table saw outfeed table.Size is also just right for preassembling door casing.Top is 1/4" plywood set in a one by frame.-Rich

   
1. 
   Jim_Allen | Apr 11, 2008 08:43pm | #14

   Interesting. It looks heavy. I'd probably try making one out of 1x4's instead. Do you need it that heavy or just made it that way because that's what you had laying around? Bob's next test date: 12/10/07

1. 
   Catspaw | Apr 11, 2008 09:32pm | #15

   Jim,

   The base frame is made of 1X3's that I ripped to 2 1/4". The top is a 1X3 frame that is rabbeted to accept the 1/4" plywood. When the top is put over the base, the bottoms are flush to provide a wide clamping surface.

   I'd guess that the base with the legs weighs about 20 pounds and the top less than 10.

   -Rich

   
2. 
   Jim_Allen | Apr 11, 2008 09:39pm | #16

   Nice! Thanks for the explanation. I like light and 20# is light enough for me! Bob's next test date: 12/10/07

2. 
   MSA1 | Apr 11, 2008 10:15pm | #18

   Wow. Never seen that table saw with a blade guard on it. I have two table saws and neither have a brand name on the guard so I cant figure out which is which.

7. 
   JDRHI | Apr 11, 2008 06:12pm | #12

   cw....I use the fold up plastic saw horses and a home made benchtop.

   Initially bought the horses for light duty work such as painting doors. I've come to find that they can handle more than I had planned for them. Plus, they are weather resistant, lightweight and portable.

   The benchtop is simply a 2 x 4 frame with a piece of 3/4" ply attached. I used PT lumber and galvy deck screws, so that it is impervious to the weather as well. Not incredibly light weight, but I think its strength makes up for what the horses may lack.

   All relatively inexpensive....completely portable.....sets up and breaks down in seconds...stores easily (outside)....and has lasted for many years longer than I had ever intended.

   J. D. Reynolds

   Home Improvements

   Pp, Qq

    

    

    

   
   

8. 
   MSA1 | Apr 11, 2008 10:12pm | #17

   My aunt gave me an old 36" door she had used as a wallpaper cutting table. That thing is stronger than you'd think. It holds my 95lbs DW planer just fine.

   Stays nice and flat for assembly and is easy to move.

9. 
   IdahoDon | Apr 12, 2008 05:27am | #19

   I use 8' 2x4's in my Trojan saw horses and two sheets of mdf for a flat table that is easily shimmed as flat as you like.  It's as easy to move as two sheets of mdf.

   Cutting sheet goods with a festol saw and guide is easily done on this table and if there are a few shallow saw kerfs in the top it won't hurt a thing.  Drill it, cut it, screw into it, and when it's trashed just replace one sheet and you're back in business. 

   While I like the idea of a big hand crafted flat table, the disposible mdf sheets are hard to beat and never need to be stored if you don't have the room.  For anything approaching 4'x8' I can't imagine a glued up top being all that portable or easily stored.

    

   Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.

10. 
    LIVEONSAWDUST | Apr 12, 2008 05:28am | #20

    i carry 2 24" bi-fold doors that came off a remodel job. very light & they fold to only 12" wide. Put them on plastic sawhorses

11. 
    gordsco | Apr 12, 2008 03:15pm | #22

    I'm with "Oldfred" on the 2X4 grid set on sawhorses.

    I make my outside frame about 6' by 3' and screw the center 2X4's in place at 1' oc.

    Great for cutting sheets of ply with a circular saw and with router work, all of the sawdust falls to the floor.

    If the top gets too cut up, just flip it over. Throw a sheet of ply on if you need a solid top table.

    If the job requires alot of table saw work, I set the framework with a plywood top slightly lower than my tablesaw. There's nothing sweeter than a 4X8 table at the back end of a table saw. 

    "Perfect is the enemy of Good."    Morrison