JayStPeter
02-08-2008, 11:52 PM
I just completed a neander type workbench for my shop and the place was a disaster. So, I've been deep cleaning it for a couple weeks now. Along the way I built a shelf to store some jigs that were piled in the corner. It quickly became clear that I relied heavily on the temporary stand that my workbench top has been on for a while as an outfeed table. I have a small fold up outfeed table (about 18" deep), but the bench added another 30" when I clamped a piece to the edge (which was pretty much always there). I've decided to remove the folding outfeed and make a larger one that doesn't fold and gives me a full 48" of outfeed plus can act as an assembly table when necessary.
With all the mentions of the Wood Whisperer outfeed table, I checked that out. It looked good, but I wanted it a little smaller. 4'x4' seemed like a good size after some quick measurements, so off I went to get some ply. Bzzzzzt. The only place in town that used to stock decent stuff at a decent price now has the same China made junk as all the other places. Bummer. I can't bring myself to pay $50 for that junk that just makes working with it painful. I've made a point to clear out all the scraps I had of it so I wouldn't have to deal with it again. Plus, with the shelf on the bottom that's $100 worth of ply. Not as cheap as I want. There's no more $30 sheets that work decently for shop furniture, seems like since Katrina.
So, I hatched a plan to build a similar table from four 8' 2x8s and a sheet of MDF. Total cost around $45 plus some levelers that I'd need anyway. Pic1 is the materials ready to go. I had cut the 2x8s in half on the way in.
So far, the 2x8s are in pretty good shape. A couple passes over the jointer and through the planer and I was sawing them into the blanks (pic2). I cut them into 4 4" wide pieces, 4 <3" wide pieces, and 8 3.5" wide pieces. The basic frame will be similar to the wood whisperer version, just out of 2x materials. The "legs" will appear to be 4" square and the supports will all be 3.5" (pic3). All the blanks are slightly oversized right now. I'll let them acclimate overnight and make some final passes over the jointer and through the planer just before I join them. If I don't allow the wet borg wood to dry in the shop for a couple months, I like to get it all joined up within a few hours of coming off the jointer.
I went ahead and attacked the MDF. I decided since I have some extra structure over the wood whisperer version, I'd go ahead and let the top overhang a few inches so I can get some clamps on something if I want to use it as an assembly table. So, the overall dimensions of the frame will be 42"x42". The lower shelf will match those dimensions. First, I cut the ragged end off the MDF sheet with the Festool saw and rail. Then I used a jig made from a piece of scrap clamped to another piece of scrap to set the rail in place 42" away and perfectly parallel to the cut side (pic4). Using a known good framing square with a Veritas square fence on it, I set the rail perpendicular to the first cut and cut another edge. A combination of the framing square and the original jig makes the piece into a perfect square. It actually wound up around 42 1/16", but the diagonals are spot on (pic5).
So far I have about an hour and a half in the shop. I'm hoping I'll have enough time to get this thing together tomorrow.
With all the mentions of the Wood Whisperer outfeed table, I checked that out. It looked good, but I wanted it a little smaller. 4'x4' seemed like a good size after some quick measurements, so off I went to get some ply. Bzzzzzt. The only place in town that used to stock decent stuff at a decent price now has the same China made junk as all the other places. Bummer. I can't bring myself to pay $50 for that junk that just makes working with it painful. I've made a point to clear out all the scraps I had of it so I wouldn't have to deal with it again. Plus, with the shelf on the bottom that's $100 worth of ply. Not as cheap as I want. There's no more $30 sheets that work decently for shop furniture, seems like since Katrina.
So, I hatched a plan to build a similar table from four 8' 2x8s and a sheet of MDF. Total cost around $45 plus some levelers that I'd need anyway. Pic1 is the materials ready to go. I had cut the 2x8s in half on the way in.
So far, the 2x8s are in pretty good shape. A couple passes over the jointer and through the planer and I was sawing them into the blanks (pic2). I cut them into 4 4" wide pieces, 4 <3" wide pieces, and 8 3.5" wide pieces. The basic frame will be similar to the wood whisperer version, just out of 2x materials. The "legs" will appear to be 4" square and the supports will all be 3.5" (pic3). All the blanks are slightly oversized right now. I'll let them acclimate overnight and make some final passes over the jointer and through the planer just before I join them. If I don't allow the wet borg wood to dry in the shop for a couple months, I like to get it all joined up within a few hours of coming off the jointer.
I went ahead and attacked the MDF. I decided since I have some extra structure over the wood whisperer version, I'd go ahead and let the top overhang a few inches so I can get some clamps on something if I want to use it as an assembly table. So, the overall dimensions of the frame will be 42"x42". The lower shelf will match those dimensions. First, I cut the ragged end off the MDF sheet with the Festool saw and rail. Then I used a jig made from a piece of scrap clamped to another piece of scrap to set the rail in place 42" away and perfectly parallel to the cut side (pic4). Using a known good framing square with a Veritas square fence on it, I set the rail perpendicular to the first cut and cut another edge. A combination of the framing square and the original jig makes the piece into a perfect square. It actually wound up around 42 1/16", but the diagonals are spot on (pic5).
So far I have about an hour and a half in the shop. I'm hoping I'll have enough time to get this thing together tomorrow.