Has anyone built Gary Katz's assembly and cutting table

B

B_Swanson

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I'm looking to step up from pink foam insulation on a folding table for a station to cut sheet goods and also do some face frame and wainscotting frame assembly, so I bought the corresponding Katz series of instructional videos.  Gary uses a table he built for joining the frames of the wainscotting assembled in the video.  The design can be found here.  http://www.garymkatz.com/ChartsDrawings/assembly_table.html  Do any FOGers have experience building this table or something similar?  If so, do you have any tips or suggested modifications?  Thanks.

Brad
 
I built one but used 2x4's as the verticals  and made them one peice, dado in the bottom to fit over the T-track rather than use miter track.  Check out Tom C's link on the website, my version is a hybrid of both designs.  I have star knobs, not hex cap screws to tighten the verticals.

Not sure if I used his dimensions exactly, but also made mine so it would fit on top of my work bench and be able to be held by the bench dogs and vise dog securely.

It folds up nicely and stows between my bench and tablesaw when not in use.  

Someday I'll add folding legs underneath, but for now it goes on my bench or on a pair of saw horses when I need to use it.

 
Matt,
Gary's version is much more sturdy than the commercial version.  I had concerns about the plastic parts on the commercially avaialble table.  On Gary's design, the verticals extend less than 50% to hold a 4' sheet of plywood.  I imagine you could bend the T-track and miter track, but it would take alot of force.

 
built one .do not use it very much but when i do it works very well .clamped up a door on it recently .allows room to put clamps underneath but also i could explore the underside for glue squeze out and also joint line -up . i found it made the job easier then my flat table . i used redwood .  because it is light weight and i had some from a deck i removed . plained the boards to 1 1/8" and oiled hopping glue run-out would remove easier.  I am having trouble post ing pictures but i will give another try .
 
I do something similar with the MFT and 8020. Basically I have several +/- 3' lengths of the 1515 (1.5") profile that I attached 2" strips of 1/2" MDF to. They can be attached/removed from the MFT with the t-bolt/knob assemblies in seconds. Then I can adjust the arms to whatever I need to support. I can securely support a full sheet of ply on the MFT.

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My shop is quite small and one very useful aspect of this system is that the arms can pivot around to let me angle material to make it easier to access for a 4' cut. Shown are photos starting with 1/2 sheet I was cutting over the weekend:

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The also come in handy for assembly:

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That last photo shows the weekend project, quick and dirty drawers for shop cabinets, Sandy got my old ones so I am taking the opportunity to clean out the shop (amazing how much clutter 3' of water can clear out of a shop) and upgrade the layout.  This honker, with 2-pair of 100# full extension slides, now holds my hand tapper, 1-ton arbor press and bench vise, clearing the bench top until I need them.

The Festool clamps slide into the t-slots on top. These are, hands down, one of the most used fixtures in my little shop.

RMW
 
RMW very nice and compact . Please let us know where the "T bolt/knob assembly can be bought as well as a supplier for the 1515 rails.
Thanks
Ed Surowiec
 
Ed Surowiec said:
RMW very nice and compact . Please let us know where the "T bolt/knob assembly can be bought as well as a supplier for the 1515 rails.
Thanks
Ed Surowiec
Click to expand...

Ed,

The t-bolts come from 80/20 (#3299) available on eBay as is the 1515 profile extrusion. 80/20 has their own eBay store, it started out with mostly overstock but they have been adding to it and seem to have nearly their entire catalog available there now.

The spacers are from www.aluminumspacers.com (.75" diameter, .75" long with 5/16" holes) and then add a 5/16" fender washer and any 5/16" knob.

Alternatively you can use a 5/16" carriage bolt but that has to slip in from the end, the nice thing about the t-bolts is they drop into the slot anywhere and turn to engage. Either one works fine.

I found a few old photos showing other uses. The maple clamping dohickies work great and only need about 1/4" of contact to provide a death-grip on the material. This came in handy when I was fairing the curve on some bubinga I had roughed out on the table saw. Almost no interference with planing or sanding. The RO90 did an awesome job on this, I love that little sander!

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Spread out as shown 3 sections give plenty of support for 8' or longer stock.

Have fun!

RMW
 
Hi Ed,
RMW has some great ideas. (Thanks RMW).There is a good deal on the 8020 profile right now, ebay item 370737788674. I have ordered profiles and other parts to copy his design. ;)
If you check ebay, you just might find some other of his creations.
Les
 
LZ said:
Hi Ed,
RMW has some great ideas. (Thanks RMW).There is a good deal on the 8020 profile right now, ebay item 370737788674. I have ordered profiles and other parts to copy his design. ;)
If you check ebay, you just might find some other of his creations.
Les
Click to expand...

Thanks Les.

I did just recall one detail I had left out regarding the aluminum spacers. I made mine from 2 spacers (I did not have the .75" one I mentioned below on hand), I used a .75" OD .5" ID and slipped a .5" OD by .312" (5/16") spacer inside it. The problem was that the shoulder on the T-bolt hit the spacer slightly before it snugged down to the extrusion. I corrected this by grinding a 1/16" or so off the smaller spacer, you can see it in this photo:

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If you already ordered the one-piece spacer you can either file/grind the whole thing down a touch or use a 3/8" or 7/16" drill bit and slightly counterbore one end of the 5/16" hole so the t-bolt shoulder has clearance to slip into it. You can also order the spacers as 2 pieces and get the smaller one in 5/8" length rather than 3/4".

Sorry I forgot to mention this earlier.

RMW
 
After some hassle I finally got all of the parts on order for RMW's extensions. Many thanks to RMW for his couching and recommendations. Also need to thank Alex at 8020 Inc. for his phone support. The ebay catalog for 8020 store is not user friendly and out of date.
Hopefully in a few weeks I'll have my extensions.
Ed
 
I ordered the extrusion and also found the T-bolts on eBay.

T-bolts are item: 

8020 T Slot Hardware Drop In Studs 15 S 3299 (12 pcs) N ( 220314066502 )

I had to go to the 8020 store and use their left hand navigation to find fasteners and then go through them to find this one.

Looks like a great addition to the MFT!

neil
 
Rocky said:
Do we have a part # list?  I'd like to copy this.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Try this:


The rest of the hardware you can get anywhere. 5/16" knobs, fender washers, and cap screws.

RMW
 
Hi RMW,
  Noob question here.  How do you attach the MDF faces to the 8020 extrusions?  Thanks.

Brad
 
Appreciated the link. Great price.
Also great idea from RMW.

LZ said:
Hi Ed,
RMW has some great ideas. (Thanks RMW).There is a good deal on the 8020 profile right now, ebay item 370737788674. I have ordered profiles and other parts to copy his design. ;)
If you check ebay, you just might find some other of his creations.
Les
Click to expand...
 
B_Swanson said:
Hi RMW,
   Noob question here.  How do you attach the MDF faces to the 8020 extrusions?  Thanks.

Brad
Click to expand...

5/16" flat head cap screws and t-nuts (parts list below), countersunk into the MDF to give me a flat surface. This way I can clamp something vertically to the side for assembly, planing etc.

RMW  
 
Tomorrow I need to do some work inside the house, cutting down some assembled pantry cabinets to re-purpose them. Caused me to acquire a PS 300 and, for the first time ever, disconnect my CT-26 from the dust deputy and haul it inside. I also needed sawhorses, and the only ones I have are currently supporting my lumber stock until it gets a post-Sandy home.

Rather than making new sawhorses this caused me to look around for something I already had that could be adapted, these MFT extensions caught my eye. I basically took some excess 80/20 extrusion, made a few new t-plate adapters (I already had a few I made for another purpose) and WA-LA, modular sawhorses!

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They are held together using the same 5-16" t-bolts.  I made them the same height as the MFT for obvious reasons. When not in use they break down for storage.

RMW
 
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