Assembly table

In my new shop I will finally have room for an assembly/work table and had planned to make it 4' x 8' on locking swivel casters with a 12" vise in the center of one long and one short side with a Record 52 1/2d vise in the center of the other 4' side. There will also be a power strip on the remaining 8' side. Not sure what to make the top out of though and am debating between a torsion box with t-tracks or mdf with uniformly space holes or something heavier. I am going to incorporate a downdraft table into the outfeed table (3'x 8') for my table saw. Comments and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated. Thanks

Hmm, with vises and power is it an assembly table or a work surface? My outfeed/assembly surface is also multipurpose but, I find I need multiple heights for different projects.

My multipurpose table does have a small vise and the dog holes and clamping slots have really worked out well.

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I also have a pair of adjustable saw horses I modified the legs on that cover anything from about 18" to about 32". I use torsion beams as supporting surfaces of various elevations.

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Your version is larger than anything I could house but, the shared info may trigger some thoughts.

Assembly tables are great to have in the shop and a big one is nice for large project. The challenge you might face is that you may have to reach a long way for smaller projects with that 4' wide and 8' long footprint! Give some thought to what you really need for the kinds of projects you anticipate working on.

I'll also suggest strongly that you consider a design that permits multiple heights. A fixe height can make for some uncomfortable work when you have really short things and really tall things on the bench. While due to space constraints, most of my assembly work gets done on my regular bench...a 30" x 60" surface with a Noden Adjust-A-Bench frame under it, my auxiliary assembly surfaces (kinda torsion boxes without the precision at the moment) all get placed on various height supports, depending on what I do, to make the work more comfortable and suited to the specific project.

Here is my 4' x 8' assembly table, which also serves as one of my offcut tables. I would definitely NOT want it interrupted with tracks or holes, nor would I want casters. It is simply covered with tempered Masonite. Sometimes I screw stuff to its top to make bending jigs, etc. It has power strips on both sides. The side opposite the rollaway cabinets has one long shelf which is used to store smaller machines, such as chop saws, etc, and under which fit milk crates for storage.

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I've always done all assembly on the floor so this will be a welcomed change for my old bones. Having it on casters allows me to work around all 4 sides and it will be the same height as the outfeed table and miter saw bench (3' x 24'). Height adjustable would be nice but I want storage below each and as much open space in the shop as possible. I'll try to post a drawing of the shop later today.

My assembly table is a section of an old bowling alley that had a new phenolic, synthetic surface added at some point. It's flat, but Very heavy. The phenolic is on top of laminated Maple, which is on a Yellow Pine structure, which is held flat with heavy angle iron bolted to the Pine substructure. I forget what I paid for it, but it was less than 50 bucks.

I built my assembly table years ago when I built my first complicated project, a computer hutch. Made from one sheet of 3/4" 13 ply birch. Top is 30"x66" and sits 18" off the floor on an H shaped support cut from the same sheet of ply. Easily knocks down for storage. At times it has been too small for some of my projects, but my shop won't accommodate anything much larger. For short projects, I simply pull up a stool and sit.

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Here is the one I am working on. The Noden Adjust A Bench (AAB) base allows the same bench to serve many purposes. Mine is only 6’ x 22”. If I add a vise it will lengthen to around 7’. It is very easy to add all sorts of inserts, within the raised edges (not shown in this picture). Also easy to build a larger top that fits over the smaller one. I just figured out that it is relatively easy to raise or lower the bench with the bolts the casters are on. The actual notches in the base move the top up or down in 1 1/2” increments, so to use it as an outfeed it needed to adjust more precisely.

I have mine as part of my TS so the entire footprint is 6’ by 8’. I used 2 pieces of MDF glued up and the edges wrapped with maple. I have storage underneath with a 2-3 inch overhang to clamp. Finished with outdoor poly. Glue scrapes right up.

its in the middle of my 20x20 shop.

My combination assembly area / outfeed table / workbench / storage area is still a work in progress. The work surface is 4' x 8' and consists of two sheets of 3/4" plywood that is screwed together (no glue) with a sheet of tempered hardboard for a top that is held in place by trimmed down oak baseboard molding that is rounded for a softened edge and it allows for easy replacement of the top once the surface has become worn (double-sided tape can be used to secure the hardboard also if desired). There is a 30" x 30" drop-down area that I use for my spindle / belt sander, portable router table, scroll saw and for other uses. The base has 2x6 construction (the top extends out over the base enough to allow the use of clamps around the edges). There is a sheet of plywood at the bottom for storage and there is shelving on the long side for power handtool storage (not shown and the pictures were taken prior to installation). The unit is just below the height of my table saw (and a future upgraded table saw) and for stability it rests directly on the floor and doesn't budge at all when in use. The work surface is flat and level, and quite sturdy. A power strip is located next to the drop-down area and I have anti-fatigue mat on the floor in my main working area near the saws / jointer. My shop vac / dust deputy typically sits next to the drop down area for dust collection from the power tools and for work surface clean-up. I also like the smooth top surface and there is no concern about laying anything down and having it fall through a hole, or for things getting hung up on slots or so forth.

The next phase will be the installation of drawers on the drop-down side for hand tools and other woodworking supplies as well as the addition of a vice or two in the future. I am planning on running conduit on the floor and adjacent to the anti-fatigue mat for power (I am using extension cords now) and I will be installing an outlet on the table saw end for power there (prepped for 220v service). Due to budget constraints, my shop is lacking a dust collection (the shop vac / dust deputy is my present 'system') and once that is added, I will likely run a section of hose to the table saw whenever needed. Overall I am quite pleased with how things are turning out and for my personal use and purposes it has been a great addition to my shop.






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Thanks, you've given me a lot of great ideas and I'm going to have to rethink this table.

My assembly table is 4' x 8' plus 3/4" on both long sides. I made it a little wider because I store sheet stock on the shelves below, fed in from the end. The top in the picture is masonite, but I've since replaced it with a sheet of 3/4 plywood with about four coats of WB poly. The top is a torsion box, and the shelves below are 2x4s joined with pocket screws and topped with a sheet of 1/4" plywood. I can get a fair amount of sheet goods and odds and ends of longer lumber on the shelves, and the entire table is on six fairly heavy duty casters so I can move it to position it for loading or unloading sheet stock.

No, the shop's not normally that clean.

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Very nice!