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Thread: Tasks, uses, differences between assembly and work tables

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisA Edwards View Post
    Adjustable height, watch these videos. I modeled mine on his design
    i saw how he added solid blocking to the corners to support the screws, if you're just making an adjustable height outfeed table, i would think 4 bolts would be fine, but if you're looking for true flat flat, I'm not convinced 4 inside a wobbly t-nut are going to be all that sturdy for an assembly table. (i feel like i've only gotten sturdiness from t-nuts when torque is applied to squeeze material together, in the way he's using it, the nut just rides on the bolt)

    or is the torsion box so strong, that it doesn't flex at all when only supported by just 4 bolts?

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    My big thing is have adjustable height work surfaces. I find that to be a lot more important than having dedicated arrangement.
    what range adjustment are you speaking of. 0-4" of adjustment, or are you talking about like 12" of height adjustment?

    what do you use to achieve this height adjusting?

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisA Edwards View Post
    Now my workbench, this is my general working surface. When I built it, these were the main design considerations. It had to be mobile, provide storage, be the same height as my SawStop for infeed support.



    After using my MFT a little, I found the crosscut capacity of the MFT just a little lacking. So I made a dog hole board out of 3/4" MDF and use this on top of the workbench. This MDF top is about 8" longer and wider than my workbench, so I can overhang it and use through dog hole clamps for work pieces. I clamp the opposite end of theMDF to the bench to stop it moving. If I was to build this work bench again, I would build the top as a torsion box with one end having a couple of feet of dog holes.



    Did you use the parf isometric setup with several rows of cross cut offset holes for the festool track?

  4. #19
    I don't think there is any standardized definitions of an outfeed table, assembly table or work table. In my little shop, they are all the same. I have a 3x7 foot table behind my table saw and 1/4 inch shorter than the table saw. It is built in the Ron Paulk design with an upper and lower top about 8 inches apart. I put often used tools on the lower surface to keep the upper surface clean. The upper surface is 3/4 plywood drilled with 20mm holes on 4 inch centers. They are 4 inches instead of the Festool 96mm spacing because I used a Woodrave router base and pegboard to make them. I use the upper top as a crosscut setup for my track saw with long dogs on my shortest track and shorter dogs or a fence to hold the work piece. I can crosscut 31 inches on it - accurately. My biggest square says cuts are exactly square. Clamping is by either fesstool or grizzly clamps using the holes. I plan to add a conventional vise but for now I clamp to the legs.

    I also plan to make a smaller bench for hand tool use. It will be heavier. This bench is not great for hand planing. It is great for power tool use. To me, that is the biggest separation in the design of these work shop tables. For hand work, vises and significant mass are important. For power tools, not so much.

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Steffen View Post
    what range adjustment are you speaking of. 0-4" of adjustment, or are you talking about like 12" of height adjustment?

    what do you use to achieve this height adjusting?
    I use the Noden Adjust-A-Bench solution which provides a 16" range. How much you need/want is really dependent on the nature of your projects. Cabinetry work really benefits from a very low assembly bench, IMHO. Detail work on small things really benefits from being able to raise the work surface up high so it minimizes bending. I set my main bench down really low for some detail work and sit in a chair...like painting signs, etc., which can take a long time. Height adjustability benefits are a combination of practical and comfort.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #21
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    Height adjustability is very nice to have and I love Jim's setup.

    I'm fortunate to have a motorcycle lift, that's slowly seeing less use for motorcycles. At some point I'll make a Paulk style Torsion box that sits on it.

    My outfeed table Torsion box top is heavy and although I can move it, it's not going to move by itself by being knocked or general working on it. I cut, drill, sand, glue and assemble on it. I put a couple of coats of Shellac followed by 3 coats of General Finishes Poly. Wood glue peels off when dry. After two years, I'm getting ready to hit it with a light sand and re-Poly it.

    On my other workbench, the permanent top is finished with Poly. Most of the time, I find I have a scrap sheet of ply on it, which I clamp around the edges. If I'm doing a lot of glueing, I sometimes use a plastic drop cloth sheet on top or a 4' x8' x 2" Pink foam sheet.

    I bought the Parf System II for doing the Bench Dog top from TSO Products. It worked great, but it's one of those tools you'll only need about every 3-5 years.

    Also when glueing up, I often lay Parchment Paper below the clamps to catch glue drips. When a glue blob dries, it falls right off the parchment paper, so it gets multiple uses.
    Last edited by ChrisA Edwards; 07-16-2020 at 10:09 AM.

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Dwight View Post
    I don't think there is any standardized definitions of an outfeed table, assembly table or work table. In my little shop, they are all the same. I have a 3x7 foot table behind my table saw and 1/4 inch shorter than the table saw. It is built in the Ron Paulk design with an upper and lower top about 8 inches apart. I put often used tools on the lower surface to keep the upper surface clean. The upper surface is 3/4 plywood drilled with 20mm holes on 4 inch centers. They are 4 inches instead of the Festool 96mm spacing because I used a Woodrave router base and pegboard to make them. I use the upper top as a crosscut setup for my track saw with long dogs on my shortest track and shorter dogs or a fence to hold the work piece. I can crosscut 31 inches on it - accurately. My biggest square says cuts are exactly square. Clamping is by either fesstool or grizzly clamps using the holes. I plan to add a conventional vise but for now I clamp to the legs.

    I also plan to make a smaller bench for hand tool use. It will be heavier. This bench is not great for hand planing. It is great for power tool use. To me, that is the biggest separation in the design of these work shop tables. For hand work, vises and significant mass are important. For power tools, not so much.
    Thanks for the info Jim. I've got a couple of festool through table clamps, I love em on my MFT. Those longer crosscuts would sure be nice. MFT is too short.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    I use the Noden Adjust-A-Bench solution which provides a 16" range. How much you need/want is really dependent on the nature of your projects. Cabinetry work really benefits from a very low assembly bench, IMHO. Detail work on small things really benefits from being able to raise the work surface up high so it minimizes bending. I set my main bench down really low for some detail work and sit in a chair...like painting signs, etc., which can take a long time. Height adjustability benefits are a combination of practical and comfort.
    Cool, I stumbled across the Noden Adjust-A-Bench product last night. Saw the one that Sam Blasco made with it like 7 years ago on Noden's FB account. Do you ever with your table could be lower than the 28" of the Noden? like when assembling some kind of chest of drawers? Or is 28" all the lower you want to go?


    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisA Edwards View Post
    Height adjustability is very nice to have and I love Jim's setup.

    I'm fortunate to have a motorcycle lift, that's slowly seeing less use for motorcycles. At some point I'll make a Paulk style Torsion box that sits on it.

    My outfeed table Torsion box top is heavy and although I can move it, it's not going to move by itself by being knocked or general working on it. I cut, drill, sand, glue and assemble on it. I put a couple of coats of Shellac followed by 3 coats of General Finishes Poly. Wood glue peels off when dry. After two years, I'm getting ready to hit it with a light sand and re-Poly it.

    On my other workbench, the permanent top is finished with Poly. Most of the time, I find I have a scrap sheet of ply on it, which I clamp around the edges. If I'm doing a lot of glueing, I sometimes use a plastic drop cloth sheet on top or a 4' x8' x 2" Pink foam sheet.

    I bought the Parf System II for doing the Bench Dog top from TSO Products. It worked great, but it's one of those tools you'll only need about every 3-5 years.

    Also when glueing up, I often lay Parchment Paper below the clamps to catch glue drips. When a glue blob dries, it falls right off the parchment paper, so it gets multiple uses.
    Thanks for the tips on the poly, pink foam and parchment paper. I had a 2 post baseplate lift in my dad's apartment building garage about 10 years ago. I made a stand to work on my scooters. Looked awefully funny having a tiny scooter held up by a big 2 post lift. Worked wonderfully though.

  8. #23
    "Do you ever with your table could be lower than the 28" of the Noden? like when assembling some kind of chest of drawers? Or is 28" all the lower you want to go?"

    I like 32" high for flat panel work and 24" for assembling and installing hardware in typical base cabinets. 24" allows for working inside the top drawer without standing on a stool. Taller projects call for lower bench heights. If you have a bench top that is light enough to maneuver you can set it on whatever boxes or horses you care to make. I have a pair of lightly built boxes 20"x28"x36" that put the top of a 4" x4'x8' torsion box at 24" or 32" depending on orientation.

    The cabinet shop I used to work at has 4'x8' benches with a typical height of 36". The ceiling height in the old dairy barn is only 100". When I go back there I often see a shop hand standing on top of his bench hunched over performing some task that would be far easier with a hydraulic bench base, painful to watch

    P-lam and melamine coated board are durable work surfaces, easy to maintain with a scraper and occasional coat of wax.

  9. #24
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    Cool, I stumbled across the Noden Adjust-A-Bench product last night. Saw the one that Sam Blasco made with it like 7 years ago on Noden's FB account. Do you ever with your table could be lower than the 28" of the Noden? like when assembling some kind of chest of drawers? Or is 28" all the lower you want to go?


    I'm not sure what my main bench's lowest point is (and top thickness obviously affects that, too) but it pretty much goes low enough that it would be rare that I'd need something lower for assembly unless I was building something unusual for me to do. I have both the original Adjust-A-Bench (all steel - my main bench) and the new Craftsman Hardware Package version ( steel hardware combined with wood products structure - auxiliary bench) and have threads about them here at SMC. Geoff lives close to me and I was fortunate to be an "early adopter" for both.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  10. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Jenness View Post
    "Do you ever with your table could be lower than the 28" of the Noden? like when assembling some kind of chest of drawers? Or is 28" all the lower you want to go?"

    I like 32" high for flat panel work and 24" for assembling and installing hardware in typical base cabinets. 24" allows for working inside the top drawer without standing on a stool. Taller projects call for lower bench heights. If you have a bench top that is light enough to maneuver you can set it on whatever boxes or horses you care to make. I have a pair of lightly built boxes 20"x28"x36" that put the top of a 4" x4'x8' torsion box at 24" or 32" depending on orientation.

    The cabinet shop I used to work at has 4'x8' benches with a typical height of 36". The ceiling height in the old dairy barn is only 100". When I go back there I often see a shop hand standing on top of his bench hunched over performing some task that would be far easier with a hydraulic bench base, painful to watch

    P-lam and melamine coated board are durable work surfaces, easy to maintain with a scraper and occasional coat of wax.
    Nice! Great visual of the guy hunched over. =)

    What's P-lam?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    [/COLOR]

    I'm not sure what my main bench's lowest point is (and top thickness obviously affects that, too) but it pretty much goes low enough that it would be rare that I'd need something lower for assembly unless I was building something unusual for me to do. I have both the original Adjust-A-Bench (all steel - my main bench) and the new Craftsman Hardware Package version ( steel hardware combined with wood products structure - auxiliary bench) and have threads about them here at SMC. Geoff lives close to me and I was fortunate to be an "early adopter" for both.
    How tall are you?

    I'm 5'7", just curious, because if you're 5'11", your 28" would feel like a 24" for me....kinda. I'll search for the threads.

    Which do you like better, the original version, or the craftsman version?
    Last edited by Jon Steffen; 07-17-2020 at 11:39 PM.

  11. #26
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    I actually am 5'11" or so. On your question about the options, both perform well. The original version of the Adjust-A-Bench is heavier (for obvious reasons) and could be the better choice for a bench that will be larger or heavier. The Craftsman Hardware version is more flexible in that it could easily be incorporated in a creatively designed base or cabinet structure, etc., and it comes at a lower cost. Geoff designed the latter to make it a little easier for folks to buy the system without compromising on height adjustability, etc.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    I actually am 5'11" or so. On your question about the options, both perform well. The original version of the Adjust-A-Bench is heavier (for obvious reasons) and could be the better choice for a bench that will be larger or heavier. The Craftsman Hardware version is more flexible in that it could easily be incorporated in a creatively designed base or cabinet structure, etc., and it comes at a lower cost. Geoff designed the latter to make it a little easier for folks to buy the system without compromising on height adjustability, etc.
    it would be neat to build it in such a way that only the foot pedals would be the give away that it wasn't a normal cabinet/bench. i'll put that down for project 723 ideas after my shop is built.

  13. #28
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    At the same boat

    Quote Originally Posted by Anuj Prateek View Post
    I have only one table - workbench. It has vises and dog holes. Search for Roubo workbench, you will find various variants and plans.

    This has thick top (4") made of Doug fir. Maple, SYP etc are other wood types people use. Basically, whatever you can find and afford.

    I chisel, hammer, saw and do everything on this bench.

    I keep it as flat as possible - by planing. It being flat serves as a assembly table as well.

    I don't have a space and separate assembly table so don't know much about it.
    That is also my situation and I imagine it is common for most of woodworkers: one single workbench for everything.

    As you are going to a bigger shop, take care to not fulfill it also. Temptation is big but you have the risk to return to the present situation...

  14. #29
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    My workbench is the hardest working tool in the shop. 3 inch thick maple handles hand tool use, routing duties, panel glue-ups, drafting and constructing plans, holding my drinks and cigar ashtray. It also handles assemblies. I would love to have a large enough shop to have both a standard workbench and assembly table. But shop real estate with lots of tools and cabinets makes having both difficult.
    However I am thinking of adding the Festool MFT since it folds up. Good luck and have fun.

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Osvaldo Cristo View Post
    That is also my situation and I imagine it is common for most of woodworkers: one single workbench for everything.

    As you are going to a bigger shop, take care to not fulfill it also. Temptation is big but you have the risk to return to the present situation...
    Yeah that's why i'm thinking of making a work/assembly hybrid table to begin with. If a while down the road I find i've got enough space, maybe a dedicated assembly table, but i'm very annoyed with tripping over my shop as is, I do not want to repeat that.

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