Portable cutting table

[Hergy]

At the risk of being chastised severely, I use an EZ Smart table setup.  Rip a 2' x 4' piece of plywood, some sacrificial 1X's, screw it all together, and you're done.  It lays on top of 2 sawhorses, or in my case, I've started just using my MFT instead of the sawhorses.  Take a look, it really does work rather well AND I am a Festool user, not an EZ Smart marketeer, so don't even start down that road   ;D

I just finished building one of these EZ smart tables. I am NOT an EZ promoter in any way, shape or form. I participated some in the Festool/ EZ smart wars of the past over on Woodnet and don't care to exhume this subject again. This particular piece of equipment just happened to fit my space and needs requirement. With only a 2' x 4' footprint it fits on top of an assembly cart that I use. I just throw a 2' x 4' piece of 1/4" MDF on top of it and it still serves as a usable table top for finishing or assembly when not being used for cutting.

 

[semenza]

Hi

I made one recently - very much phase one of a work in progress!

I needed a narrow portable bench/saw table for when I'm working in/around peoples homes, but one that would also support longer and wider-sized pieces when I need it to, and also provide simple support for when fitting doors. Wooden 'hooks' pull out from the leg cross-members, and a hessian-covered metal angle on the end provides support for a door.

On the opposite side a full-width section pulls out on double-extension drawer-runners and very lightweight legs pivot down for stability. The whole thing's made from WBP ply, apart from the top which is 18mm MDF, drilled out to take clamps a la MFT. I deliberately built it low, to match the height of my 'standard' stack of a Sys 4 and two Sys 1s on a roll-board - 655mm or thereabouts - so longer/wider pieces can be supported with whatever stack happens to be around. Weighs in at around 22 Kilos, and I wouldn't want it any heavier, or higher - Festool MFT designers please take note!

I have some pictures if anyone's interested - and if I can figure out how to post them

Cheers, Pete.

Hi Pete,

  Yes, Yes. Pictures please! This sounds very interesting.    When you post- click the "browse" button to the right of the attachment  box below the post. That will let you open pics into the attachment box. Or just cut and paste the file into the box. Either way , then when you click the post button they will automatically upload.  There is also a how to post pics tutorial  http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=292.0

Seth

 

[Peterm]

OK, here goes. First, a bit of background. I run a carpentry/general handyman business in London and most of the properties I work on/at are Victorian or Georgian terraces with all the space restrictions that come with houses of that age. I needed a narrow portable workbench/cutting table and I couldn't find one to buy, so I made my own. I fit quite a lot of replacement doors, so some way of working on a door whilst cutting hinge pockets and mortices for the locks was a main requirement, but I also wanted the table to be able to support larger items/sheet material when required.

As I said earlier, this is just the first version of a work in progress - looks like this:-

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It's 1500mm long, 500mm wide (approx 60" x 20") and as I said above, built low to suit my standard systainer stack.

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Wooden hooks slide out from within the leg crossmembers - the top hook is a piece of builders metalwork/strapping covered in hessian.

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Door in place, ready for work. This is an area which needs a little refining - the top hook is only friction-held, and doesn't prevent the door from tipping over well enough; needs a way to lock it in place, maybe just a knob threaded into a t-nut or something...

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This is the other trick - the whole back section slides out on drawer runners to give extra support when needed - say cutting sheet materials, or for laying out larger flat-pack items like this. A couple of lightweight legs pivot down for stability when needed - i.e. most of the time when extended like this!

The whole thing's made from WBP ply aside from the top which is 18mm MDF set in flush with the sides. Very simple construction - as befits version 1.0 of anything - all glued and screwed apart from the top which is just held in with a couple of dominos at either end (didn't want any metal there if I was intending to cut on it) and the dominos are trimmed not-quite flush with the sides, so they can be pulled out with a set of pincers when the top needs replacing.

That's it - apologies for the quality of the snaps, they're just camera-phone quickies grabbed whilst working!

Cheers, Pete.

 

[Eli]

Great bench Pete. Love the hooks coming out from the legs. Are the legs a sandwich?

 

[Peterm]

Great bench Pete. Love the hooks coming out from the legs. Are the legs a sandwich?

Thanks. Yep, the legs are formed from a pair of 9mm ply 'outers' with a 12mm core / hooks. The hooks can also be positioned at the higher level crossmember as well, for smaller workpieces - or very narrow doors

 

[Dan Clark]

OK, here goes. First, a bit of background. I run a carpentry/general handyman business in London and most of the properties I work on/at are Victorian or Georgian terraces with all the space restrictions that come with houses of that age. I needed a narrow portable workbench/cutting table and I couldn't find one to buy, so I made my own. I fit quite a lot of replacement doors, so some way of working on a door whilst cutting hinge pockets and mortices for the locks was a main requirement, but I also wanted the table to be able to support larger items/sheet material when required.
...
That's it - apologies for the quality of the snaps, they're just camera-phone quickies grabbed whilst working!

Cheers, Pete.

Pete,

That's a great bench/work table.  And the pics are very good, especially considering they come from a camera phone!   

I liked the bench so much that I started a thread on the Journal of Light Construction forums (JLC Online) about your bench:http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41190.  You should check out the JLC Online in general and especially the Finish Carpentry forums:http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=7.  I think that the guys there will be interested in your ideas and vice-versa.

The moderator of that forum is Gary Katz.  He is a leading light among finish carpenters and a major driving force in improving the finish carpentry profession.  I've seen one of presentations and have met him.  Amazing guy.  Besides being the JLC Finish Carpentry Forum moderator, he has his own site:http://www.garymkatz.com/ that contains lots of resources for finish carpenters (reviews, tutorials, etc).

Gary built his own door bench:http://www.garymkatz.com/ChartsDrawings/door_bench.html.  His bench shares many features of your bench and vice versa.  Take a look.

Also, Gary and Greg Burnet designed an assembly and cutting table:http://www.garymkatz.com/ChartsDrawings/assembly_table.html.  This table is similar to the EZ table mentioned above, but Gary and Greg grew frustrated with it.  So they redesigned and built versions with much higher quality components to meet professional demands.  That might give you some good ideas too.

One question, what is "WBP ply"?

Regards,

Dan.

 

[jonny round boy]

The question wasn't directed at me, but since I'm here, I'll answer 

WBP Ply is a common term in the UK. WBP stands for 'Water & Boil Proof'. It's hardwood ply, made with waterproof, high-temp adhesive. Technically it's the adhesive that's WBP, but the term is used for the plywood.

Slightly better than softwood ply for using outside, but not as good as marine ply.

 

[Ned]

Pete--

Nice bench.

The pics are good.  I wouldn't have guessed you'd used your phone.

Found on the web, after sorting through a lot of math information:

Burlap, also known as sack cloth or hessian cloth, is a dense woven fabric.

Ned

 

[Peterm]

Dan, thanks for the links - looks like another good forum; I'll hardly have time to do any work! Woah, Gary Katz's door bench is similar - or mine's similar to his!  :-[ I guess there's only so many ways to solve the problem; no plagiarism intended. On the contrary, I like his idea of (looks like) old carpet to cushion the door/workpiece. Interesting to see he keeps all his door-hanging tools in the bench; I was thinking of adding some kind of storage for clamps etc.. underneath the worksurface in the central section between the legs - there are full-depth cross pieces running front-to-back to help support the top - though I'm a little worried it might end up as a dumping ground, adding nothing but weight...

Re. WBP ply; sorry, maybe this is a UK-only term. WBP stands for 'Water and Boil Proof' - basically it's an exterior grade plywood, approx. one grade down from marine ply.

Cheers, Pete. (trying hard not to be separated by a common language  )

edit - Duh! JRB beat me to it! Must be having a POETS day (and I'm not even going to start trying to explain that one...)

 

[Dan Clark]

JRB, Pete,

Thanks for the ply info.  I can usually decipher "English", but sometimes people pop a new one on me. 

And yes, I think is a fair amount of convergence of ideas.  ;D

Dan.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Peterm,

Awesomely clever design!!! Please tell us more about the leg braces.  How are they attached when acting as braces?  How are they repositioned for transport or storage of the table?

Dave R.

 

[Peterm]

Hi and thanks.

The leg braces are simply attached to the leg and the cross-members (underneath the worktop) with hinges...

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As you pull out the leg...

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...the brace drops into place - they were hinged with a small gap (1mm) between the ends, so they straighten out slightly beyond the flat and gravity keeps everything in place.

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The braces work out so as you open or close them, they flex the central support they're attached to, and this makes the legs snap into place and stay put without any catches. There's probably an ancient mathematical formula for working this measurement out, but I did it with a long strip of paper and some sticky tape; works for me!

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The braces are attached towards one side of the legs rather than central, to allow space underneath for systainers, extractors etc... when the bench is being used.

Hope this helps, Pete.

 

[Texastutt]

If I did not already have a MFT this one just might get made. Fantastic work!

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Peterm,

Thanks, again, for the details of the folding leg construction.  I cannot help repeating myself:  Awesomely clever design!!

I think a variation of your leg brace design could be fitted to Festool's MFTs to mitigate racking that occurs when one tries to hand plane.

Dave R.

 

[John Stevens]

I cannot help repeating myself:  Awesomely clever design!!

Ditto, thanks for sharing your ideas here.

Regards,

John

 

[Gary Katz]

Peter,
GREAT BENCH!!!!  I love the leg design and the hook door supports with hooks that slide into those mortises so the door won't slip off but the support is flush with the leg so it folds up. Ingenious.  And the leg supports are really great. I'll have to figure that one out for sure!! Does the top come off so you can put tools in there and still lay your tools down flat to cut?
Gary

 

[John Langevin]

Petern, Nice work! regarding your comment on the second pic 'the top hook ....' What if you simply jigsawed a hole in the end of the benchtop apron so you use a 6" pistol grip style bar clamp?

 

[Peterm]

Gary

Thanks for your comments, much appreciated.

The top comes off, but not in the way you mean - I made it removable for replacement, rather than for regular usage. I think 'Version2' will have some kind of storage built into the central section between the legs (where the clamps are in the first picture on this page) if I can figure out how to access it, though I'd have to be strict with myself not to just dump stuff in there!

In the meantime though, it seems to be working out pretty well as it is - so far, anyway

Thanks again, Pete

 

[semenza]

Hi,
  I think that storage idea would be great for stuff used directly with the table. More clamps, measuring and layout, marking tools, and fixtures for the table. If you only keep those items in it, you might not be tempted to just dump stuff in. 

Seth

 

[Peterm]

Petern, Nice work! regarding your comment on the second pic 'the top hook ....' What if you simply jigsawed a hole in the end of the benchtop apron so you use a 6" pistol grip style bar clamp?

Yep, that would do it - or even just a quick clamp against the end of the bench to stop the metal hook moving. Be nice to have something a bit more 'built-in' that didn't involve clamps, though!

Cheers, Pete