Homemade Work Tables

Hey Guys,

I'm looking to tap into the collective wisdom of this forum to get some ideas for portable work tables. I often work by myself and I would like to make some portable work tables that will collapse or fold-up - you know something that I can easily throw in the back of the truck and carry into a customers house. I would be doing lay out for face frames, doors, sanding and all of the other things that a job site work tables are useful for. I realize there are tables you can buy like the Festool MFT table but it's a bit out of my price range.

I'm sure a lot of you have come up with some ingenious ideas for work tables. I would very much appreciate if some of you would share your ideas. Thanks!

We use hollow core bi-fold closet doors on saw horses.

These have been salvaged from previous jobs. Its nice in as much as you can have a 32" wide table but only need 16" of storage space for it. They are light and easily set up or moved by one person.

like double-a said, old doors work great, piece of ply...i keep a sheet of ac 3/4" in the shop for cutting on, don't want to damage the nice work tops i've got built!

plastic folding sawhorses with a piece of 3/4" OSB about 3'x4' on top. I have a cleat screwed along one end of this "tabletop" as a stop for sanding. If you have to sand the edges of some face frames, then screw a 1x2 edge up along one edge of the "tabletop" and use a clamp to hold the face frame vertical against this 1x2, as it rests on the ground.

As for sanding smaller items edges, such as cabinet doors, you have to put something on the ground to hold them up. This might be a bucket or milk crate or another sawhorse-whatever it takes to get the edge up to the level which you can sand at.

I seem to use this same "tabletop" for drilling dowel holes in door parts and face frames, glueing up, and sanding. There is also some paint and poly on it, so it's been used for that as well.

I use pieces of 3/4 ply now and even have two hollow core doors hinged together for a large layout table. I'm thinking of more of a self contained unit - something with built in fold up legs maybe some clamps built in or holes in the top for bench dogs or something. Something self contained that can fold up and I can carry easily. I just wanted to see if any of you guys have bothered making something like this. Maybe I have too much time on my hands lately!

Hollow core doors and saw horses.
The hole where the door knob should go makes a nice cup holder....NOT for coffee, but for pens; pencils; ruler; highlighters; sharpies; razor knife...that sort of stuff.


I like the bi-fold idea...smaller is better here

What size were you thinking about?? I paln on building a self contained 2'x4' for jobsite use, just haven't gotten around to it yet..

Something around that size. Maybe 2' X 5'. I saw one a guy built which got me thinking about it. It had legs that folded underneath, a perforated top for clamping, integrated wood "hooks" that slid out from the legs for setting a door on to mortise hinges and here's the kicker - an extension that was mounted on drawer slides that you could pull out for a larger work surface. It was very ingenious and got me thinking about making something like that to fit my needs.

I really like the Festool MFT/3, the price is a bit steep, but it will work great with all my other green tools. They have some awesome clamps and such for it as well. My only problem with it is it seems just a bit too big to drag around every day.

EDIT: Put a http in front of url below, I can't post links as a newb.
I know the one you are talking about, it was on the FOG ://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=159.0" Down around 20 posts or so. I don't do much custom door work so that is a little more than I was looking to do myself. That bench is pretty fantastic, but not something that I would find useful when I'm doing deck work for instance, just not beefy enough for the scale of work I do. I'm a heavy handed knuckle dragger, I'd kill that thing in short order.

I was looking for a worktable to use next to my other setups to avoid having to always put my current tools in use on the ground. I hate all the lifting and bending.

http://www.sturdyladder.com/

Click on the sawhorses link at the top.

$75 Cdn each...I love 'em

Lately I've been using the lifetime white plastic tables from h/d.
They are light stack anywhere and last if you take a little care with them.
For $30 they make great plan tables or light work benches

steves-

I have a few of those things.
When I need a bunch of small had tools, bits, tips,
cordless nailers, pinners, pins, blah, blah, I set up one or two of those "tool tables" thats what I call them.
They can be a litttle slippery though, I'll tune 'em up a bit with a rotary sander, maybe 36 grit.
Then when use them to play games on, during the weekends!


That Festool table can take a good lickin'

We call those "Triggers" around here. And they are nice nice nice to have. I like the 300lb rating on them.

Thats it exactly. Thanks I forgot where I saw that at.

They look like some really nice horses.

I like the table but man, by the time you get the table and the optional clamps you're talking over $700. I can't get my head around spending that much on a table - even with the bells and whistles.

I like the double-decker effect:


Work on top...storage below

MY GOODNESS...HOW MANY SCREWS DO YOU HAVE IN THAT DRYWALL?

Never mind the screw job, look at the rest of it!
Celtic, please tell us you did not hang that.