Assembly table is done!!! w/*PICS*

[Alan in Little Washington]

This weekend I finished the oak edging (with box joint corners) and legs with 3 coats of wipe-on poly. The laminate came yesterday, a day early, so I laminated the top. I glued the leg tenons in the sockets which made the table even more stable. I spent some time tweeking the ratchet arms. I reamed the holes slightly so everything moves more freely. I waxed the sliding dovetail parts of the legs - they slide easily with no binding at all. I added some bungee cords to the ratchet arms which allow me to release the ratchets to lower the table. Everything works great!!!!! (Link to original thread)



Here is the finished table:



Ratchet release bungee:



Close-up of bungee/ratchet arm attachment:



To lower the table, I grab the bungee:



While still holding the bungee I lift up on the end of the table. As soon as weight is removed from the legs (and ratchet arms), the arms swing away from the leg notches and allow the table to lower. To lock the table at any height while lowering, the bungee is released and the ratchets lock in the next notch. (You don't need to hold the bungee to raise the table, just lift to desired height.)



Close-up of released ratchet:



Table in lowered position:



I'm real happy with the results of this project.

[Ray Martin]

Alan,

... and the results are beautiful. What a great table. I wish I had a shop big enough to house stuff like that... <sigh...> maybe, if i sell the kids for medical experiments...

Ray

[RandyJ]

Nice job Alan. That is simplicity at it's best. Maybe you should consider submitting the idea to some of the wood rags for a free tool.....
Take care,

[Monty]

Fantastic! Thanks for the followup. I'll bet if you submit that idea to one of the WW mags, you'd be sure to win!

[Canuck]

Great Work, Alan!!!

The laminate sure gives it a finished look!!! The legs look like they work flawlessly!!!!! Good idea on using the bungee cords!!!!

I am sure that it will be very versatile indeed!!!

Fabulous design work and truly inspirational!!!

Wayne

[cskipper]

Now that's clever! I agree about submitting it.

[jeff...]

Your assembly table is one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time. You really should apply for a patten, it's not that hard to do. At the very least submit it to a few wood mags for free tools.

By the way, could you please submit your plans, I really want to build one of these. Well actually two of them, perhaps 2' x 6'. Insead of the 4 x 8 like yours. My shop just isn't that big...

[NCPete]

very clever solution, good looking, too.

[Alan in Little Washington]

Originally Posted by jeff...

Your assembly table is one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time. You really should apply for a patten, it's not that hard to do. At the very least submit it to a few wood mags for free tools.

By the way, could you please submit your plans, I really want to build one of these. Well actually two of them, perhaps 2' x 6'. Insead of the 4 x 8 like yours. My shop just isn't that big...

Sorry, I don't have any plans but can answer any of your questions. The top is a copy of the David Marks torsion box assembly table which is still on the DIY web site (though he is no longer on DIY). This link takes you to the first of a multi-section, illustrated write-up. I deviated from his construction method by using the box joint method for cutting half laps in the web parts. My 4' X 7' top is two feet longer than his.

The legs are all mine and were sketched on a napkin and built through experimentation. I actually made one set that I didn't like because I screwed up the ratchet notches. I recut and glued more stock on these to make the second and final set.

[D L Ames]

Excellent job Alan. I like the release mechanism you made using the bungee cords. Thanks for the follow up.

D L

[skeeter]

WOW!! Great idea and a really nice, sturdy looking table.

[sapwood]

Alan,

Utility and creativity at it's best

I'm proud to say "we saw it first on NCWWer"


Sapwood