Out feed support is something that I have been wanting for some time now. It allows you to concentrate on other things in regards to the cut. You know that saying about best laid plans? Well, that is exactly what this project turned out to be.
You would think that something as
simple as attaching a piece of ply with a hinge would be
simple. However, there were a lot of
different factors that had to be taken into consideration.
I have learned from past experience that building something
based on plans alone and not with an eye towards your specific circumstances
usually leads to a waste of time and materials.
You have to look at what is important to you. What is your current situation. I always make a set of criteria for a
project. I list them in order of
importance and I never trump an item on the list.
This particular project’s list looked something like this:
1
1. Low
profile when not in use.
2
2. Support legs touch the ground.
3
3. Set up in 2 or 3 steps Max.
Why were each of these things important in this
project? Well, the workstation is mobile
and is stored against the wall in my garage so the profile needed to be
slimming and not take up a lot of space so the station did not protrude any further
from the wall than it already did.
The support legs needed to touch the ground to prevent the
possibility of tip over. I did not want
to run the risk of one of my children coming by and trying to see over the top
and toppling the unit. I take great care
in teaching my children about the dangers of daddy’s tools but they are
children and I am not all seeing at all times.
Plus, things happen, lets just eliminate that possibility.
Set up in 3 steps max.
I know how I work. I don’t like
to go through a lot of steps to set something up and I tend to avoid doing it
if I feel it is a hassle. I want to be
able to set it up, make my cuts, fold it back down and call it done.
So with these things in mind I thought long and hard about
how it should be done. I had a plan and
plans are what every woodworker says is vital to the success of your
project. So I went out to the garage one
morning with a steaming cup of joe, stared at the workstation for a while, then
did what any red blooded woodworker would do.
I promptly threw my plan in the trash and winged it.
For starters, I changed how I was going to attach the out
feed support to the workstation. I had
planned to attach furring strips along the sides of both the out feed and the
workstation that extended about 1 1/2” out, then connect both with carriage
bolts. However, I had reservations about
the gap that would be left between the back of the main workstation top and the
out feed support. Then I just happen to
look up and see the hinge I had used on one of my work shop cabinets, piano
hinges. I had this
“AH HA” moment. Then
I felt like a goat because I hadn’t thought of it sooner.
The legs I had planned to attach in a similar fashion with
the carriage bolts so that they could flip all the way around and store flat
against the out feed when folded down.
However, I failed to account for the height of the legs. The out feed is 24” wide. The legs needed to be 35”. That left almost an entire foot that would
store above the workstation’s top when I folded the legs around. This was simply unacceptable. So I had to rethink what to do with the legs
but still work within the confines of my three criteria.
The original legs were to span the entire length of the out
feed support which would provide needed rigidity to the ½” ply and keep it from
sagging in the center. You can somewhat
see them in parts of the video when I used them to support the out feed table
while I attached furring strips that would be used for support instead of the
legs.
The redesigned legs are about as simple as simple will ever
be. Just some scrap 1x4s that I attached
some utility hinges to, then mounted to the underside of the out feed
table. I also attached a scrap piece of
pine to the front furring strip of the out feed table. It rotates in to
hold the legs up as I lift and fold the top.
Well, I have made good progress on my new and improved
workstation but I still have a few things to do.
Next up, DIY bench vise
Got a question. When you attached this to your table, how did you put your fence on it at the same time? Doesn't look like there are any gaps for the fence to clamp on.
ReplyDeleteHow did you put your fence on the table with the out feed up?
ReplyDelete