# Portable dead flat work surface



## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

Hi All,

I'm looking for ideas on building a dead flat assembly surface for my woodworking projects. I have limited space so I am thinking of just a table top or bench top that I could put on sawhorses or a couple of Worx Pegasus'. Of course if that seems like a bad idea I'd be open to suggestions. I just don't have the room for a stationary dead flat bench so it would have to have a removable top and be able to stow away somewhere.

I've seen a lot of chatter about torsion boxes. I've also seen a few butcher block workbench tops on Grainger that I assume are pretty true? I'm not looking for anything huge, probably just 3'x5' or 4'x6'.

Thanks~


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

I have a desktop from modular office furniture. It's a bit smaller than what you want at 1"x30"x48", but it's been very stable for many years. It's basically MDF covered on the top and edges with laminate and the back is steel, so it's a bit heavy. I picked up aeveral different sizes from an employer's downsizing a long time ago. I can mount it on my 35" square WorkMate for job site work. I made a folding outfeed table for my table saw using one.


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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

Trampis, where in NoCal are you? I'm in Alameda.

Because my "shop" is my driveway, I have faced this same issue, here's how I resolve it: I use a plywood cutting grid across a set of sawhorses. It is knock-down, light, cheap, replaceable. The grid is laid out on 12" centers, so when you need a table top, I must lay a piece of something like MDF on top of the grid. Mind you, the grid just sits on top of the sawhorses and a sheet of MDF will do the same, so clamping and vigorous work will require more involved solutions.

The assumptions are that 1) You can precisely cut the grid components and 2) that you can accurately level the sawhorse if/when you need that dead flat surface. If you can cut all the strips of plywood to the exact same width and then do the same with the interlock slots, then you'll end up with something that is incredibly strong and flat -- mine is made of 1/2" shop grade plywood, and I have stood on top of it and not felt any deflection or flex whatsoever.

My grid: Cut from a single sheet of 1/2" plywood, has ~7" wide strips, and the assembled surface measures 3' x 6', which gives me a 12" overhang all around for 4x8 sheet goods. The 3x6 size helps reduce the overall footprint in my tight quarters and makes reaching across the table easier.


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## Catpower (Jan 11, 2016)

A chunk of granite you can get them fairly reasonable from drop cuts off pieces when they are making counter tops


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

Scurvy said:


> Trampis, where in NoCal are you? I'm in Alameda.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Awesome! Do you have any pics? I live in San Mateo but my sister lives on Bay Farm Island. 


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

For portability, id say go with a small torsion box. If you want something to stay a dead-flat reference, you want thickness and stiffness. For those butcher block tops, they get this by going solid and thick, and a giant slab of maple is anything but light and portable. Same with a slab of granite, itll be a flat reference for sure, but itll break your back trying to move it. 

A torsion box is a great way because the way its constructed gives you the thickness and stiffness needed, but cuts the weight way, way down. A top with dimensions like what Scurvey suggested made from 1/2 MDF would weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 60lbs, not light of course, but still in the realm of a single person lift and gives you a very serviceable work envelope. 

Depending on how big a work surface you need though, you could shave a few pounds off that. Id recommend going more in the neighborhood of a 2'x4' top, with the web being about 3" thick. Should be plenty stiff, and if my quick math is correct should only way about 35lbs, plenty light enough to be portable. It may sound a little smaller than what you wanted, but that size will allow you to get away with a lot


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

A solid core door makes a good top. Also 1 1/2” thick plywood makes a good top.


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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

Toolman50 said:


> A solid core door makes a good top. Also 1 1/2” thick plywood makes a good top.


Toolman, you're on the right track here, except that a hollow core door is cheap, light, and just as flat. The key is that it needs to be topped with a sacrificial slab AND the door cannot be cut or modified, you get what you get.

Here's another real world solution: The Multifunction Slab 



 is pretty slick and designed around the ideas and tool environment of Festool stuff and particularly their MFT. The MFT has become a good jumping off place for many woodworkers who go outside the Festool universe.

I'll see if I can dig up some pix of my cutting grid, which would be a perfect base for the MF Slab. I'm in touch with a local CNC guy and am planning on getting one of these cut for myself (pretty inexpensive ~$90 total) and we could easily team up on it.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Scurvy said:


> Toolman, you're on the right track here, except that a hollow core door is cheap, light, and just as flat. The key is that it needs to be topped with a sacrificial slab AND the door cannot be cut or modified, you get what you get.
> 
> Here's another real world solution: The Multifunction Slab https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHuSkwqIxyw is pretty slick and designed around the ideas and tool environment of Festool stuff and particularly their MFT. The MFT has become a good jumping off place for many woodworkers who go outside the Festool universe.
> 
> I'll see if I can dig up some pix of my cutting grid, which would be a perfect base for the MF Slab. I'm in touch with a local CNC guy and am planning on getting one of these cut for myself (pretty inexpensive ~$90 total) and we could easily team up on it.


I made one of those. Love it. It has come in handy several times.
A pair of 2x4's, Two saw horses, and VOILA! Instant work area. I actually made two and left one at our kids house in Tulsa, OK.

I don't know what the OP is building that requires a dead flat surface, but this thing has worked well for me.


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

MT Stringer said:


> I made one of those. Love it. It has come in handy several times.
> A pair of 2x4's, Two saw horses, and VOILA! Instant work area. I actually made two and left one at our kids house in Tulsa, OK.
> 
> I don't know what the OP is building that requires a dead flat surface, but this thing has worked well for me.


That looks awesome! Mainly I need a dead flat surface just to have something I know is flat lol. I'm pretty much a newbie with woodworking but I learn quickly. I glued together a couple of cutting boards and ended up finding out that where I thought I had a flat surface was not. Maybe the pieces I used were not true but I did measure them and square them up before I glued them together. So the cutting boards rock a little. It was my first attempt at some cutting boards so I used some scrap maple, cherry, and walnut I had but I made the boards thick (1.5"). 

I'd probably use the flat surface for bookcases and other things that need to be dead on.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*portable and "dead flat" are antithetical .....*

... meaning they are direct opposition. Dead flat is achieved by machining, surface grinding cutting with diamond saws, as in marble slabs... etc. "Kinda flat" can be achieved by "luck", solid or hollow cores, interlocking grids, industrial high pressure glue ups or precise use of traditional measuring tools. Wood whisperer used some crossed diagonal strings to determine whether a work top he had built was flat, about 10 minutes in:





Usually, a dead flat surface will be fairly heavy and not very portable.
My assembly table is 30" wide and 10 ft long, covered with 3/4" particle board on both sides of a 3" pine core, a torsion box. It's quite flat, but weighs a ton. My other "kinda flat" surfaces are solid core doors, also 30" wide and 6 ft 8 in. long and 1 3/4" thick, very heavy.
Finally, my other "kinda flat" surface is a 30" wide X 7 ft long laminated Maple top which has been through a wide belt sander. This sander makes a fairly flat surface because the platen that move the material is a wide rubber belt and extends out on each side of the machine about 12".


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

woodnthings said:


> ... meaning they are direct opposition. Dead flat is achieved by machining, surface grinding cutting with diamond saws, as in marble slabs... etc. "Kinda flat" can be achieved by "luck", solid or hollow cores, interlocking grids, industrial high pressure glue ups or precise use of traditional measuring tools. Wood whisperer used some crossed diagonal strings to determine whether a work top he had built was flat, about 10 minutes in:
> 174 - Flattening Workbenches and Wide Boards With A Router - YouTube
> 
> Usually, a dead flat surface will be fairly heavy and not very portable.
> ...


Well, "kinda flat" would definitely be better than what I have now lol! I just threw out the "Dead Flat" because that's what I found Googling on the interweb. And we all know that everything you read on the interweb is true, right? :vs_laugh:

That multi-function table looks pretty cool and might be just what the doctor ordered. So would the MDF be a "kinda flat" surface?


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Don't expect to score a free stone counter top cut-off as big as you need.
There's faux stone polished to the same level and a lot cheaper than the real stone.
I live in the mountains where a lot of counter top slab stone is mined and cut.

I got free pieces, maybe 18" long at most, maybe sink-cut out in area.
50 freight pallets, each 10 layers of stone deep and nothing bigger than what I got.
I use them as supports for serious carving tool sharpening.

"Dead Flat" will change with the time of day, the heat and the humidity.
So will your wood working projects over the next 100 years.
Pick a tolerance, +/- whatever and fly with that.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I don't know, I've never had any difficulty working on a sheet of 3/4" plywood on horses. I just use a full 4x8 and turn the good side down. Then when I need the plywood it gets cut into parts.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

More pics of the table in action...and yeah, it was cold in the son-in-laws shop. We were building pull out drawers for our daughters kitchen and a sitting bench for the bathroom...400 miles from home.

Note in the first picture the work area on the left is a solid core door I bought at a Habitat ReStore for less than $10.


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

Scurvy said:


> Toolman, you're on the right track here, except that a hollow core door is cheap, light, and just as flat. The key is that it needs to be topped with a sacrificial slab AND the door cannot be cut or modified, you get what you get.
> 
> Here's another real world solution: The Multifunction Slab https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHuSkwqIxyw is pretty slick and designed around the ideas and tool environment of Festool stuff and particularly their MFT. The MFT has become a good jumping off place for many woodworkers who go outside the Festool universe.
> 
> I'll see if I can dig up some pix of my cutting grid, which would be a perfect base for the MF Slab. I'm in touch with a local CNC guy and am planning on getting one of these cut for myself (pretty inexpensive ~$90 total) and we could easily team up on it.


I'd be up for that 

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## Bluenote38 (Nov 27, 2010)

"Dead flat" is for machine tools. Wood is WAAYYY more forgiving. I have both a heavy bench and sawhorses with a salvaged hollow core bi-fold door. Works great super light and portable and I can clamp close to the edges if need be. It is more than flat enough for assembly of boxes, chests, library shelves, even cutting chair/table legs. It also get pressed into service at our Summer Pig Roast.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

So am I right in thinking that all this means that hollow-core doors are similar to torsion boxes in terms of the way they are structured internally?

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## WeebyWoodWorker (Jun 11, 2017)

Chris Curl said:


> So am I right in thinking that all this means that hollow-core doors are similar to torsion boxes in terms of the way they are structured internally?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


Yeah pretty much. Most that I run into typically have a honeycomb type pattern of cardboard on the inside.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Here's a couple more pics from our visit to the kids new home in Tulsa, OK. where we built some pull out drawers for the kitchen and a bench for the bath room.

All done with the portable work tops and saw horses. :grin:


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

MT Stringer said:


> Here's a couple more pics from our visit to the kids new home in Tulsa, OK. where we built some pull out drawers for the kitchen and a bench for the bath room.
> 
> All done with the portable work tops and saw horses. :grin:




Awesome work!


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## kentucky tom (Feb 19, 2017)

Trampis said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm looking for ideas on building a dead flat assembly surface for my woodworking projects. I have limited space so I am thinking of just a table top or bench top that I could put on sawhorses or a couple of Worx Pegasus'. Of course if that seems like a bad idea I'd be open to suggestions. I just don't have the room for a stationary dead flat bench so it would have to have a removable top and be able to stow away somewhere.
> 
> ...


I use a 4' x4' board set on my table saw. Works great

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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

Trampis said:


> Do you have any pics?


Here's better than pix: A link to the original Festool Owners' Group (FOG) design that inspired my variation. http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/cuttingwork-table/30/

In truth, I first found the design on Ebay, where some joker straight out poached this guy's ideas and was selling them for $12, but since that dismayed my sharing sensibilities, I guessed it must have come from FOG and searched it out there.

For my variation, I opted to support the thing on saw horses, which meant that I could go with just 6"-7" tall slats, all cut the same, I could use 1/2" cabinet grade plywood, I reduced the top dimensions to ~3' x 6', and this allowed me to squeeze everything down to a single sheet of 1/2" plywood, which is cheaper and lighter and easier to store and transport.

You have some basic homework: First, you really should decide if you are more of a hand tool or a power tool kinda guy. Then you probably should ask yourself if you want to build furniture, be a handyman, or maybe if you're one who wants a trophy workshop, or wants to hotrod his tool kit; are you into design, building, tool setups, finished products, or making a living -- truly, there are many members here and on every forum that fill each of those roles. I started with hand tools as a kid and college student due to traditional training by my dad and a zero budget, then got sucked into the power tool arms race, and have now started a strong migration back to hand tools due to costs, flexibility, health concerns (dust), space limitations, noise (no late night work sessions in urban areas), vibration, aesthetics, control, and so on. Start exploring all the great ideas you've seen here, think about how you want to work, and then you'll be able to land at a good solution.

Honestly, I suggest you start out with a basic kit of quality hand tools (no power cords) because you will need those no matter what; even fancy power tools leave surfaces that need tuning up. Understand that so many of the power tools have been developed for working with sheet goods (plywood) and in industrial/production settings, which are dreadful design and construction limitations, and you really need to ask yourself what it is you plan on making in order to choose your path wisely. Also know that there's an amazing amount of marketing that goes into the world of tools, and this includes minor annual tweaks to existing tool lines that are presented as being "huge" changes that the consumer just cannot live without -- resist the Siren call of the ad men and you will have more money and satisfaction in your pockets.


-- Bradley


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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

Besides his great demonstration of the value of simplicity, MT had another awesome idea...in his photo! Look up "Ron Paulk Bench" on Youtube. That is probably one of the best solutions to your needs: If you get a temporary surface, like a cheapo door, make it dead-flat/level on top of sawhorses, then you'll be able to build a Paulk style bench that will be dead-level all the time, and it will function very well as a bench.

BTW, you are on the right track by seeking something close to a dead-flat work surface as your goal -- the workbench is the number one tool in the shop, other than your brain, as nothing will ever turn out right if you build from a warped surface, really, really. (dead-level is different and not so important for woodworking)


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

Catpower said:


> A chunk of granite you can get them fairly reasonable from drop cuts off pieces when they are making counter tops


Definitely nothing beats granite for portability except everything else except granite.
Have you considered a 4" thick slab of stainless steel? That would be slightly less portable..maybe more.. I've never carried one around my shop personally..


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## Catpower (Jan 11, 2016)

allpurpose said:


> Definitely nothing beats granite for portability except everything else except granite.
> Have you considered a 4" thick slab of stainless steel? That would be slightly less portable..maybe more.. I've never carried one around my shop personally..



Yeah I sort of glossed over the portability part of the post LOL

But it would be dead flat


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

allpurpose said:


> Definitely nothing beats granite for portability except everything else except granite.
> Have you considered a 4" thick slab of stainless steel? That would be slightly less portable..maybe more.. I've never carried one around my shop personally..





Catpower said:


> Yeah I sort of glossed over the portability part of the post LOL
> 
> But it would be dead flat


I know it is a joke, but we actually used a steel plate for glue-ups of oak panel door frames for a kitchen remodel. We used half-lap joints on the door frames. The steel plate worked well to make sure the doors would be flat. It was a long time ago, so I don't remember how thick the steel was, but it wasn't 4 inches thick, which would be impossible to move without aids.


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

Tool Agnostic said:


> I know it is a joke, but we actually used a steel plate for glue-ups of oak panel door frames for a kitchen remodel. We used half-lap joints on the door frames. The steel plate worked well to make sure the doors would be flat. It was a long time ago, so I don't remember how thick the steel was, but it wasn't 4 inches thick, which would be impossible to move without aids.


I had actually looked at a stainless steel workbench but don't have the room.


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

Scurvy said:


> Here's better than pix: A link to the original Festool Owners' Group (FOG) design that inspired my variation. http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/cuttingwork-table/30/
> 
> In truth, I first found the design on Ebay, where some joker straight out poached this guy's ideas and was selling them for $12, but since that dismayed my sharing sensibilities, I guessed it must have come from FOG and searched it out there.
> 
> ...


Well, since I'm a journeyman mechanic by profession I usually opt for power tools haha. My dad was a cabinet maker by hobby and showed me how to use woodworking hand tools and I took woodshop back in high school. I would call me a "handyman/DIYer/try anything once" kind of woodworker. I've got the usual collection of power tools (compound miter, table, router, planer, jointer, sanders, etc) but am mainly just looking for a good portable, break downable true/flat work surface for assembling and cutting, etc. That Ron Paulk table actually looks pretty good. I'd probably downsize it a bit but having something like that with a couple of adjustable sawhorses would probably do the trick. I don't think I'd incorporate tools like he did with the router and table saw and instead just go with a top like that other one mounted to his box system with the holes for the hand tools.


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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

Well, it sounds like you've got a good foundation going and I think your variation on the Paulk bench is the right one — that's what I'll probably end up with too. One thought: If you tack down a sheet of 1/4" MDF, w/ doubl-stick tape, right on top of the structural top, then you can freely cut directly into that skin and replace it after it gets chewed up because it's sacrificial. Then your structural top stays pristine.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Scurvy said:


> Well, it sounds like you've got a good foundation going and I think your variation on the Paulk bench is the right one — that's what I'll probably end up with too. One thought: If you tack down a sheet of 1/4" MDF, w/ doubl-stick tape, right on top of the structural top, then you can freely cut directly into that skin and replace it after it gets chewed up because it's sacrificial. Then your structural top stays pristine.


Since my work bench is based on the Paulk version, I use one or more pieces of 3/4 inch rigid foam insulation under whatever I am cutting. Been lucky so far.

All of my holes are 3/4 inch. If I had something on top, the holes would have to be larger so the clamps would fit through.


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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

MT, that's a great point. Perhaps I should have been clearer, duh, but I am a radial arm saw guy, and we often use scraps of thin stuff like you guys use the foam as backers for cutting in order to preserve the surface/effort of the Paulk build. The double-stick tape is intended to help keep the sacrificial skin scrap(s) from skittering around. I prefer sacrificing wood based products as opposed to foams (oil based) due to cleanup and environmental considerations -- geez, I HATE how the foam chips/dust sticks to things.


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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

There is one thing to consider about the Paulk build, or anything else with the holes, and that is that I suggest you use as FEW holes as you can get away with. Each hole is another opportunity for imprecision and of course is another hole for small parts and dust to fall through during really inconvenient moments....

Here's another YouTube idea that has some very good ideas, plus an add-on skirt vid, plus a DIY tracksaw vid. 



 The vid producer, Dave Stanton has named Ron Paulk as a mentor, so his design is not far off from Paulk's work. If you were to go with this design, I suggest attaching the skirt to the top via plywood "L" brackets so that there is back clearance for the use of clamping appliances that need access to the backside of skirt (offers better options).


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

Off topic but I'm gradually learning that anything with "Festool" on it equates to BIG BUCKS! I suppose Festool is like the Snap-On equivalent in woodworking tools?


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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

Big bucks, oh yea. I don't know enough about commercial grade Snap-On these days, but Festool has created its niche by coming up with innovative tools that claim to be high quality too, but especially are intended to be safer, cleaner, faster, more efficient. Their target buyer is the contractor for whom time is money and is willing to spend quite a few more bucks if he/she can produce more quickly.


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

Scurvy said:


> Big bucks, oh yea. I don't know enough about commercial grade Snap-On these days, but Festool has created its niche by coming up with innovative tools that claim to be high quality too, but especially are intended to be safer, cleaner, faster, more efficient. Their target buyer is the contractor for whom time is money and is willing to spend quite a few more bucks if he/she can produce more quickly.


Same thing with Snap-On, Mac, or even Matco. High quality for the working professional so you don't have to worry about breakage and running to the hardware store for a replacement. My Snap-On toolbox with all the tools in it is worth over $75K. Granted that's over a 35 year career but I get the picture with Festool.

As much as I'm a tool nut and love my power tools, as a DIYer I can't justify spending over $500 for a circular saw. I think my Festool spending will be a sticker :wink:


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

Trampis said:


> Same thing with Snap-On, Mac, or even Matco. High quality for the working professional so you don't have to worry about breakage and running to the hardware store for a replacement. My Snap-On toolbox with all the tools in it is worth over $75K. Granted that's over a 35 year career but I get the picture with Festool.
> 
> As much as I'm a tool nut and love my power tools, as a DIYer I can't justify spending over $500 for a circular saw. I think my Festool spending will be a sticker :wink:


$75K ... holy crap.

mine is more like $75 ... total. :vs_laugh:


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Chris Curl said:


> $75K ... holy crap.
> 
> mine is more like $75 ... total. :vs_laugh:


I still have part of a set of Craftsman wrenches/sockets I bought in 1967! Had to have something so I could uncap the headers on my Chevelle! >


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

So I had a local cabinet shop make this from the plans I got from Rise Construction's multi function table design. Very stable on the sawhorses with the 2x4 stringers even in my driveway.

Question for you guys: I want to morph it with the Paulk table design by having a 1/2" sheet of ply under it supported by sides and a stringer in the middle. That way I have a place to throw tools when I'm not using them. 

My question is do you think just using 1" dowels about 4" tall to connect the top and bottom would work? I was thinking of 1 at each corner, with 1 in the middle of the short sides, 2 along the long sides and a row down the center.

Any other suggestions would be more than welcome!









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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

Morphing this into the Paulk Bench is easily accomplished by simply substituting your top for the one Ron shows. However, I sense you wish to have your top be removable from the base bench, and that is a very different animal.

The Paulk Bench is a "torsion box," which can only work thru the combination of the 2 face skins that are uniformly and continuously affixed to the internal framing. It sounds like you want a 2-piece system of the complete torsion box plus your new top, and that seems like it will be in conflict with itself, because there are many functional conflicts behind morphing these 2 systems. No one here can or will design a workable solution for you on this, you need to do some homework on the whole concepts behind these gridded out dog hole type tables, which are all derived from Festool's MFT. It's time to navigate over to the previously posted Festool Owner's Group forum and search for their MFT Guide article -- it is a very informative resource that will help you understand what you now possess.


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

Scurvy said:


> Morphing this into the Paulk Bench is easily accomplished by simply substituting your top for the one Ron shows. However, I sense you wish to have your top be removable from the base bench, and that is a very different animal.
> 
> 
> 
> The Paulk Bench is a "torsion box," which can only work thru the combination of the 2 face skins that are uniformly and continuously affixed to the internal framing. It sounds like you want a 2-piece system of the complete torsion box plus your new top, and that seems like it will be in conflict with itself, because there are many functional conflicts behind morphing these 2 systems. No one here can or will design a workable solution for you on this, you need to do some homework on the whole concepts behind these gridded out dog hole type tables, which are all derived from Festool's MFT. It's time to navigate over to the previously posted Festool Owner's Group forum and search for their MFT Guide article -- it is a very informative resource that will help you understand what you now possess.




Scurvy, no, not looking to remove this top. But I don’t want the whole assembly to be as tall as Paulk’s. His sides are 9” tall. 


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Something to consider is what size are the tools you might store inside if you make the torsion box? Seems to me that would dictate the actual size. You might build it with 4 inches of clearance to find that your ROS or other tools won't fit. 

My thinking is you can do a lot with what you have. Use it for awhile and then make the decision.

BTW, I have those same saw horses. Work well on my angled drive.

Note: Check out Earl's work bench. I used his method of creating the openings for the drawers. That has worked well for me also.


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

Thanks to all for the great suggestions! I took your advise and just started using the table as is. So far it's been awesome. I've started a nice collection of clamps for the dog holes and have been experimenting with things. Today I edged the table with some 3/4" maple strips I had and laid down a sheet of laminate on top. Very happy with the way it came out but holy crap what a task routing out all those dog holes lol.

Anyhoo, I guess it's an ongoing learning and experimenting experience. I realized that I didn't need the Paulk style table with storage underneath and this slab has been working out great.

Again, thanks to all the great suggestions here!









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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

Trampis, I'm sorry to say this, I sooo wish it weren't true, but you'll probably use that nice "bench" for a while and then figure out that you did something you just don't like and then head back to the drawing board for a fresh version! LOL, this is the way of our workshops. Have fun and try not to cry too many tears when you discover the inevitable warts....


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## Trampis (Jan 16, 2018)

Scurvy said:


> Trampis, I'm sorry to say this, I sooo wish it weren't true, but you'll probably use that nice "bench" for a while and then figure out that you did something you just don't like and then head back to the drawing board for a fresh version! LOL, this is the way of our workshops. Have fun and try not to cry too many tears when you discover the inevitable warts....




Hey it’s all good! Always a learning experience and being a sort of newbie I expect it. This forum is such a wealth of knowledge that I’m confident any problems I encounter there will be an answer from someone!


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