# Fold-down Tablesaw Outfeed/Router Table Build



## Eric13 (Jan 15, 2012)

Hi all,

Mother nature decided that today was not a woodworking day, so I thought I'd start a thread on what I've been up to. 

I made a small outfeed table a couple of years ago for my Craftsman saw. I have no shop other than the carport, so when I'm done for the day I have to stow the saw away. I needed the table to preferably be portable, so this fold down design struck me as a good idea. 










It was just a single piece of 3/4" MDF with old door hinges attaching it to the "stub" part that is fixed to the saw. This stub allowed the table to fold down and clear the motor in the back of the saw. The legs were adjustable and were also attached with hinges, so when the table was folded down, they folded inward toward each other. This whole thing only added a few inches to the footprint of the saw in the back.










The supports for the stub were attached to the cabinet part of the saw and the outer left wing. When I made this table, I was in the bad habit of cutting everything on the left side of the blade, so my offcuts were between the fence and blade. That's why I never made the table extend all the way across. (Now I know better!)










One day when I was looking to make an angled rip I discovered that the right support was preventing the motor from swinging up with the arbor assembly. So I had to chop the crap out of the support for clearance. This only allowed roughly a 30 degree cut which was fine for the moment, but a full 45 degree cut meant the support had to be gone completely.










After this I decided a new table was in order. I also thought that doubling as a router table would be a nice addition. My current router table is a Wolfcraft aluminum thing which isn't too bad, but I've reached some limitations with it. It's in the backyard shed, so I have to go back and forth sometimes which is a pain.

The old table looked like a rickety piece of crap, but it was actually very stable when setup and doubled as an assembly table for me.










To be continued with the new build, thankyou for looking!


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## Eric13 (Jan 15, 2012)

Ok bear with me here I can't find the pictures I took on my phone now...


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## dwendt1978 (Mar 13, 2010)

Looks well thought out! Nice job:thumbsup:


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## Eric13 (Jan 15, 2012)

The first order of business was to make a new support for the right wing of the saw. There are four holes in the wing which are perfect for attaching it to. 

The fence rails use two of these holes for some brackets, so I chiseled a relief into the board (a mortise I think?) to allow it to lay flush against the wing. The board also has to be notched to clear the rear fence angle rail.










Temporary clamped to check the fit. The other two supports are from the old table and will be reused, although the left outer wing support will be doubled in thickness like the new one. These nice wide pieces will also make a good place to put some hooks for my fence and miter gauge when not in use! :thumbsup:










The thickness of the iron top is exactly 1 1/2 inches, so I will reuse the 3/4" plywood cleats from the old table. When the MDF is applied on top this makes it sit about 1/16" lower.










The new stub is 3/4" MDF which will be screwed down to the cleats. I am going to attach a board to the end of the supports and the MDF stub to help support the left section in this picture. I also still have to make the miter slots.










On the old stub I hadn't made provisions for taking the guard/splitter assembly on and off. A few minutes of looking at the "Let's see some damage" thread convinced me that I would use it from then on. It literally takes seconds to remove, loosen a thumbscrew and it slides off of a steel dowel. Much safer for me! 










Last weekend I laminated two pieces of 3/4" MDF for the top. I was worried about the cure of the contact cement because of a colder night. I tried to pull them apart today, but it wouldn't budge! And it is nice and flat! :thumbsup: I cut out the bottom piece of the MDF to let my router sit on the underside of the top piece. I placed the router closer to the edge for comfortable working. If I have larger pieces or panels to rout, I can always use the wider portion of the table for them, going in the opposite feed direction of course!










After much thinking about my options, I've decided to mount my router directly to the top. I know I will lose the 3/4" depth immediately. On my old table I had to make an adaptor plate from a piece of plywood and I actually lost almost an inch of depth with it. I still never ran into any issues with depth loss for any routing, so with the small gain I make here I will be okay for the time being.

If the weather cooperates tomorrow I'm hoping to get the laminate applied!

Thanks for looking. :icon_smile:


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## Eric13 (Jan 15, 2012)

dwendt1978 said:


> Looks well thought out! Nice job:thumbsup:


Thankyou dwendt! I hope the new one will be even more well thought out too lol.


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## Carvel Loafer (Dec 31, 2011)

Looks nice Eric. It's tough when you have to be portable but that is a great idea for an outfeed table. :thumbsup: Be sure to post some shots of the detail on how the swing portion is secured in the "up" position. If possible it would be nice to see a detail on the castor assembly you have on the base; it looks as though you have a swing type base that I assume has castors for moving the saw.


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## Eric13 (Jan 15, 2012)

Thankyou Carvel! It does suck sometimes to have to be portable, but a carport is better than nothing. Someday I'll have my shop. :yes:

Here is a closer picture of the cart. I saw a similar one someone had built online (I can't remember where now), it was the least complicated cart to make and I had most of the pieces for it already.

To raise it for transport, all I have to do is slide the pipe into the lag screw ring on the outer frame and push down. The pipe forces the hinged caster part down and then I just kind of let it roll through the opening on the inner lag ring. The casters are 3" size, and it rolls nicely on the concrete. 
The track is a little narrow, but as long as I'm not running around with it like I'm about to launch a bobsled it is quite stable. I will probably get some longer pipes to get some better leverage for raising and lowering.










Today I wasn't able to get my laminate put on the top due to more joyous wind and rain. So I did some more work on my supports. I was really sort of stumped on what kind of hinge I would use for the table. I finally remembered a hinge method my dad had used a long time ago using a piece of pipe. I did some measuring and figured it would work.

I drilled 7/8" holes in my supports and slid the pipe through them. The pipe ends are capped so the pipe can't slide around and I won't be able to rip my sides open on the threads. The pipe is quite solid and doesn't seem to have any flex to it. (I almost pulled the saw over on my head testing this)










The motor will just clear the pipe for bevel cuts! 










Since I'm putting a frame under the table top I think figuring a way to attach it to the pipe shouldn't be too difficult.
I had to go to Lowes today for some bolts, and I took a look at their selection of patio door hardware. There are some nice small pulleys etc. that should work for a router lift design similar to the one in the "This guy is a genius" thread in the video section.

I will also have to make some sturdier legs than the old ones that will support the end of the table. 

Thankyou for looking!


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## Carvel Loafer (Dec 31, 2011)

Now that's quite a hinge pin. Looks like it will work pretty good. Thanks for the close up of the castor lift. :thumbsup: Even though I'm fortunate to have some permant space things still have to be portable.


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