# Table saw Outfeed table



## boatbuilder

Im trying to decide on a final plan for my first full blown woodworking shop, and to me, it realy makes sense to have a permanent 8 foot long outfeed table behind my table saw. It seems like that would make alot of long cuts much easier. Why do I not see many people taking advantage of this? Is there a dissadvantage Im not seeing?


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## bob sacamano

8 foot is a long outfeed table. i think my is 40 inches and thats plenty. 

if your outfeed table is 3 feet past the tablesaw that means you can cut a 6 foot length ( pushing it past the blade ) without it falling on the floor. 

what kind of work are you doing that you need an 8 foot outfeed table ? how big is your upcoming full blown shop ? 
alot of noobs overdo it in the beginning. 

let your work tell you what you need


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## Lola Ranch

boatbuilder,

You simply do not 8' of out feed. I think 4' is the perfect length. You still can handle 16' long stock with ease but with 4' I can allow the far end of the board to "fall" away so that I can lift it away from the blade more easily. 8' would just make it more difficult to handle stock.

I do think it important to have a left side table extension which wraps around to even with the front of the saw and about two feet wide. this is very helpful in managing sheet good and gives you an area to stack your workpieces while working them through the saw.

The photos show my table saw set-up. I find this ideal and there is not much I would change about it. I have designed and built several shops and this saw table-workbench combo has evolved to it's present form. You will notice that there are two saws built into it as well as a homemade pipe clamp vise and lots of storage.

Boy, the shop looks pretty clean in the photo.

Bret


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## boatbuilder

Well the shop wont neccecarily be that big, but the operation for the business involves ripping 8' sections of 1x6 into a 3/4" wide stock with a 30 degree side. Then those pieces will be cut to length on the miter. So I want to have support to run the 8' pieces through, and on a second note, I thought I could really save space by creating a long outfeed table with the sliding miter inset flush. This wa, if its stored with the blade up and slid all the way back, The table could be used for outfeed. And then with the blade dropped on the table saw, Ive got a versatile location for the miter. The down side would be that to rip plywood or something similar, I would have to temporarily remove the miter


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## boatbuilder

I posted that before seeing those pics. If you can easily handle 16' with that set up, Im sold. I understand a right side table to increase capacity, but left?


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## Lola Ranch

boatbuilder said:


> I posted that before seeing those pics. If you can easily handle 16' with that set up, Im sold. I understand a right side table to increase capacity, but left?


Well, if you were to rip 12" or so off the end of a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood, what's going to hold up the left side? The two foot left table extension make it a one man operation and much safer than a "so called" helper holding up the end.

Actually the right side need only hold up the fence and is less important than the left side, which is crucial in my opinion. Helpful for cutting long stock to length with a sled also.

All my set ups are designed for easy one-man operation. The last thing I want is an inexperienced person to try to "help" me operate dangerous power equipment. If I have someone in the shop with me, I ask them to help by staying completely out of my way and do not "help" me unless I specifically ask you. 

Bret


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## Improv

The easy answer is you only need to support just past the center of mass of the piece you are working on. Its when the center of mass overloads one side that the piece gets unstable/more dangerous to work on. An 8' board needs support just past 4' from the front end of the blade, 10' would need just past 5', ect. 

My personal preference for a permanent outfeed table would be 2.5 to 3', with the addition of a pull out support to ~5', then have a roller stand handy in case I'm cutting something really long. Currently I have a 2'x4' table on castors at a height of 40" .. which coincidentally matches the height of all of most my other tools on mobile bases (router table, miter saw, jointer, thickness planar), so I tend to use the most convenient piece of equipment as outfeed and support.

Regards,
Steve


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## sanguo

Lola Ranch said:


> boatbuilder,
> 
> You simply do not 8' of out feed. I think 4' is the perfect length. You still can handle 16' long stock with ease but with 4' I can allow the far end of the board to "fall" away so that I can lift it away from the blade more easily. 8' would just make it more difficult to handle stock.
> 
> I do think it important to have a left side table extension which wraps around to even with the front of the saw and about two feet wide. this is very helpful in managing sheet good and gives you an area to stack your workpieces while working them through the saw.
> 
> The photos show my table saw set-up. I find this ideal and there is not much I would change about it. I have designed and built several shops and this saw table-workbench combo has evolved to it's present form. You will notice that there are two saws built into it as well as a homemade pipe clamp vise and lots of storage.
> 
> Boy, the shop looks pretty clean in the photo.
> 
> Bret


The pipe clamp vise looks great! Can u show how u make it?


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## Domer

*Out Feed Table*

My shop is in my garage. Occasional, my wife likes to put the car in the shop (garage) so all of my tools have to be mobile. 

My garage is not level so my out feed table has to be attached to my saw and is a fold down. About 18 inches fixed and 2 1/2 feet that folds down. 

I found the plans on the internet. I don't remember where.

When I am doing longer pieces I have a roller. 

Hope that helps.

Domer


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## Steve Neul

I have a 5'x8' catch table behind my table saw that has a plywood rack in the end of it. The front end angles down in case I cut thin material like masonite or formica it doesn't hang on the table.


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## CenCal_Sawyer

Lola Ranch's saw setup (which looks good by the way) is very commercial. If you have the space to give, it is super handy for cutting large sheet goods, high pressure laminate, veneers, or anything over sized. So if you find yourself using those kinds of materials a lot its a very smart and safe move. Most hobbyists just don't have the space or have to sacrifice the space where a workbench/assembly table would go. Simply put most woodworkers would probably love an out feed table on that scale however the shop footprint it creates makes it prohibitive. I personally started in a commercial shop and it has been one of the luxuries of a large shop space that I truly miss. Now I use my handy circ saw and saw horse to buck the larger materials down to a more manageable size before I go to the table saw with them. The guys are right about not needing more than half the length of whatever you're ripping to support a safe cut.


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## eaglea1

I too have a small shop in the garage (If I had only made it 10' longer LOL) and my outfeed table is a combination downdraft/work table/outfeed. I put an old furnace blower inside of a framed enclosure and drilled 1" holes for the downdraft. I put 4 replaceable furnace filters in and it works great. I will start looking for the plans I had on this.


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## Spilperson

If you google "Workshop island", one of the first links will be an article and a video about a shop layout where all the tools are fairly logically spread out around the perimeter of a small island. They are all set at the same table height, and all support each other for infeed//outfeed. I am thinking about a similar layout for my garage based hobbyist shop.


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## farmall

wow. that is amazing. I think it is time to revise my shop plans.


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## woodnthings

*like this?*



farmall said:


> wow. that is amazing. I think it is time to revise my shop plans.


http://www.finewoodworking.com/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=23974


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## Woow

Nicely looking workplace


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## gstuartw

I want him to adopt me.


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## TJames

Wow what a space!


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## farmall

I am getting ready to build one of these islands for my shop. What would be the best material for the top? I see plywood and particle board used.


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## Rick C.

I couldn't see having 16' of out feed taking up my floor space. Moveable outfeed is easy,whether it's a table height workbench, roller stand or a really nice island.


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## eaglea1

farmall said:


> I am getting ready to build one of these islands for my shop. What would be the best material for the top? I see plywood and particle board used.


I used 3/4" MSD, and drilled my 1" holes on 3"centers. The MSD works real nice in that it allows everything to slide nice. Good luck.


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## RSKelchner

Bret: I like the use of pipe clamps for the bench vise. How did you connect the open end of the pipes and how do you adjust the rough opening width?

Thanks, Bob


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## jharris2

Steve Neul said:


> I have a 5'x8' catch table behind my table saw that has a plywood rack in the end of it. The front end angles down in case I cut thin material like masonite or formica it doesn't hang on the table.


Interesting Steve. How 'bout a photo?


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## Spilperson

Yeah, I really like that idea. Ironically, or maybe providentially, my garage/shop was flooded by Hurricane Isaac two months ago (along with the rest of the house, two cars, and a good sized camp).

I am definitely going with the island lay out, but I have a couple of other issues. First, in addition to the normal slate of woodworking machinery, I also have a pretty nice 12"x36" metal lathe, and a medium sized milling machine. Plus I have health problems, not a lot of stamina, so I like to have a place to sit and work, which usually means a big open table. 

Oh, well, I am still planning the shop while the house takes first priority....


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## jharris2

eaglea1 said:


> I too have a small shop in the garage (If I had only made it 10' longer LOL) and my outfeed table is a combination downdraft/work table/outfeed. I put an old furnace blower inside of a framed enclosure and drilled 1" holes for the downdraft. I put 4 replaceable furnace filters in and it works great. I will start looking for the plans I had on this.


Yes please!

Jeff


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## rrbell

farmall said:


> I am getting ready to build one of these islands for my shop. What would be the best material for the top? I see plywood and particle board used.


Farmall, I used MDF, sanded and coated with polyurethane. I usually paste wax once a week, both outfeed and tablesaw top. Makes a nice slippery surface to slide your materials on.


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## Lola Ranch

RSKelchner said:


> Bret: I like the use of pipe clamps for the bench vise. How did you connect the open end of the pipes and how do you adjust the rough opening width?
> 
> Thanks, Bob


I have small square cut-outs in the bench top which is what the far end of the clamp pushes against. The cut-out is also just big enough for me to reach in with two fingers and loosen up the clutch allowing the pipe to slide in or out.


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## ewryter

If you've got the space an 8' table is a great luxury. If you don't you can get away with a lot less. The best shop I ever worked in had 16' of table that could be used as run out but mostly it was used to glue stuff up and as general work space. I always had to clear stuff off if I needed the full 16'


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## garryswf

Will be interesting to see what outfeed system you go with. For my tablesaw i thingy i would prefer an outfeed table that was attached to the saw and have the capability of folding down when it is not needed due to space issues.


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