--- In FestoolOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, Jill Gaddass
wrote:
> on a large piece of plywood over some workhorses aswell !?
You want more stiffness than a simple piece of plywood would provide,
and you'd like the big cutting surface to be as light as possible
(assuming you need to move it around).
My solution is a flat-faced hollow-core door. It's the usual cheapo
door you see at the big box stores. You want one without any lock
holes in it. Get a 36" wide one.
Also get a 4x8 sheet of rigid foam insulation, like styrofoam.
Anything 1/2 inch or more in thickness will do. Foam faced with
plastic or foil is better than unfaced.
Put the door on sawhorses at a comfortable height. Trim the
insulation to fit the door, and stick it together with a
(non-permanent) spray adhesive like 3M 77. If you want, cover the
edges of the foam with duct tape.
The result is stiff support that's very light. While the surface is
smaller than a full 4x8 sheet, it's big enough to support the sheet
well. I've never had a case where I felt the table should have been
bigger.
The foam is sacrificial. You'll be cutting little grooves into it
constantly. Eventually you'll want to replace it, which is why you
should use a non-permanent adhesive.
This solution works very well, is reasonably cheap, and goes together
so quickly that you won't spend all your time getting ready to build
what you wanted to build in the first place.
wrote:
> on a large piece of plywood over some workhorses aswell !?
You want more stiffness than a simple piece of plywood would provide,
and you'd like the big cutting surface to be as light as possible
(assuming you need to move it around).
My solution is a flat-faced hollow-core door. It's the usual cheapo
door you see at the big box stores. You want one without any lock
holes in it. Get a 36" wide one.
Also get a 4x8 sheet of rigid foam insulation, like styrofoam.
Anything 1/2 inch or more in thickness will do. Foam faced with
plastic or foil is better than unfaced.
Put the door on sawhorses at a comfortable height. Trim the
insulation to fit the door, and stick it together with a
(non-permanent) spray adhesive like 3M 77. If you want, cover the
edges of the foam with duct tape.
The result is stiff support that's very light. While the surface is
smaller than a full 4x8 sheet, it's big enough to support the sheet
well. I've never had a case where I felt the table should have been
bigger.
The foam is sacrificial. You'll be cutting little grooves into it
constantly. Eventually you'll want to replace it, which is why you
should use a non-permanent adhesive.
This solution works very well, is reasonably cheap, and goes together
so quickly that you won't spend all your time getting ready to build
what you wanted to build in the first place.