My New Assembly Table is Done!

[Jon Farley]

This past week I finished up my new assembly table. It is the first "nice" thing I've built specifically for my shop. Consequently, it's given me the urge to upgrade my other various tables and work stations. Anyway, it is white melamine with walnut edging and legs (I thought it made for a nice contrast of colors). What you can't see is the torsion box innards, all made with 3/4" MDF. To achieve an extra measure of stiffness I sandwiched the 2" wide crossmembers between two layers of MDF. With the addition of the 3/4" melamine, the top is quite heavy. Overall dimensions are 36" wide by 72" long by 38" tall (a comfortable working height for me). And as you can see, it comes with one bench dog;) . Thanks for looking.

[Byron Trantham]

Jon, I see one major flaw - it's too purdy!:D Very nice work dude.

[Jim Becker]

Very nice, Jon! And it looks like you have an attentive shop supervisor, too...

[John Miliunas]

Good grief, man! You plan on parking your truck on top 'o dat thing???:eek: Lookin' good, Jon (too good!) and I'm sure it will be the hot tip for keeping your assemblies nice and straight! Good job. :) :cool:

[Keel McDonald]

Assembly table, we'd use that as a dining table! Nice job!

[Jon Farley]

Good grief, man! You plan on parking your truck on top 'o dat thing???:eek: Lookin' good, Jon (too good!) and I'm sure it will be the hot tip for keeping your assemblies nice and straight! Good job. :) :cool:

Actually, it was this recent project (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=30972) that brought to my attention the fact that I really could use a truly flat surface in my shop. When doing the glue-ups for these night stands, I had to use the only flat area I could find in my shop - my table saw! It's a good thing they were small.

[Peter Pedisich]

Jon,

Nice table, that melamine is great for glue ups, just wipe it down and even if the glue dries it scrapes right off with a putty knife and you can jot down notes in pencil and wipe them away.

Looks like a fine dog, too.

Pete

[Michael Adelong]

I just learned the same lesson, Jon.

I built my first "real" furniture project (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=28526) on my table saw, and it will be the last. I found that it is not a good idea to assemble a project on a surface with tools on it. Wood seems to act like a magnet for every dropped tool, rough edge, and everything else that can cause damage. :mad:

I bought the MDF for my torsion box table last night. Got any tips for those of us about to start building our own torsion box this weekend? Did you use the David Marks DIY web site method?

Thanks,
Michael

Almost forgot. All 3 of your tables look fantastic. Nice work!

[Richard Wolf]

Good looking table. Great looking pup.

Richard

[David Eisan]

RCA called, they want their dog back and they are suing for copyright infringment!

Nice table and very cute dog!

David.

[Dewayne Baker]

That's awfully nice for an assembly table. The torsion box design is the way to go. A good assembly table makes a BIG difference.

I built one a couple years ago, before that I had to do my large glue ups on the floor. I don't miss those days. :o

My shop is small so I made a mobile table. It's a drop down style similar to what I saw Norm build.

31543

[Tim Pursell]

I just learned the same lesson, Jon.

I built my first "real" furniture project (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=28526) on my table saw, and it will be the last. I found that it is not a good idea to assemble a project on a surface with tools on it. Wood seems to act like a magnet for every dropped tool, rough edge, and everything else that can cause damage. :mad:

I bought the MDF for my torsion box table last night. Got any tips for those of us about to start building our own torsion box this weekend? Did you use the David Marks DIY web site method?

Thanks,
Michael

Almost forgot. All 3 of your tables look fantastic. Nice work!

I've used a (cheap) hollow core door form the home improvement store. If they have a damaged one you can get it for really cheap. If you need it shorter than a standard door, it's not too hard to cut off one end and re-insert the rail. Laminate MDF to both sides, wrap the sides with a few strips of leftover hardwood and you have a quick, strong, flat table top. I usually fit the hardwood edging 1/8" above the mdf and add a reversable, replaceable piece of tempered hardbord.

[Jon Farley]

I just learned the same lesson, Jon.

I built my first "real" furniture project (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=28526) on my table saw, and it will be the last. I found that it is not a good idea to assemble a project on a surface with tools on it. Wood seems to act like a magnet for every dropped tool, rough edge, and everything else that can cause damage. :mad:

I bought the MDF for my torsion box table last night. Got any tips for those of us about to start building our own torsion box this weekend? Did you use the David Marks DIY web site method?

Thanks,
Michael

Almost forgot. All 3 of your tables look fantastic. Nice work!

Thanks for the compliments. I just designed the torsion box myself. I'm not familiar with David Marks' design, but I was familiar with several other designs I saw in various books. There really is nothing to it. You just attach a gridwork of "stringers" on the underside of your top surface. If everything is done with good tight fits on all the "joints," the result will be a stiff, flat surface. The only thing you need to decide on is material, the spacing of your gridwork and the width of your stringers (wider means stronger and stiffer). Since weight was not an issue with me (due to my Herculean strength;)), I chose heavy 3/4" MDF for everything and even added an extra layer on the underside to give it even more rigidity.

[Jon Farley]

I've used a (cheap) hollow core door form the home improvement store. If they have a damaged one you can get it for really cheap. If you need it shorter than a standard door, it's not too hard to cut off one end and re-insert the rail. Laminate MDF to both sides, wrap the sides with a few strips of leftover hardwood and you have a quick, strong, flat table top. I usually fit the hardwood edging 1/8" above the mdf and add a reversable, replaceable piece of tempered hardbord.

Many people go this route but personally I've never considered store-bought hollow core doors to be really flat, and even if they are, they are prone to warping - after all they are made of wood, and thin pieces at that. I feel the torsion box design made with extra-stable materials such as MDF and melamine will yield a better, more stable assembly table. Just my $0.02