Well, that parts was all designed on the fly. I had visualized a few solutions, but waited until I had the planer on the base and the main section of the outfeed tables built before I worked out the details for that.
The inboard end of each table (nearest the planer) is supported by two bolt heads - allowing the height of each side of the table to be adjusted to match the planer bed. The bolts go directly into the clamp mount - no threaded inserts or such - I just threaded them directly into the wood. The advantage is that they are very snug - they won't move from vibration. Since I do not expect them to be adjusted often, longevity of the wood thread shouldn't be a problem. The uprights on the ends are simply glued onto the clamp base - the toggle clamps are mounted here. The inside edges are beveled so the table drops quickly into place, sitting on the bolt heads. When not clamped, the tables would pull out and down, so there is a cleat on the clamp base to hold the table in place until it is clamped. When the toggle clamps are locked, they push the table tightly up against the edge of the planer.
This is one place I need to improve: the side of my planer that the table contacts is not perfectly vertical. This results in a gap - maybe 1/16" - that can catch a board. I need to add a shim to fill that space.
In designing a mechanism to adjust the leg length (to raise/lower the outboard end), I went through a myriad of designs...most of which I deemed too complex or too fragile...or needed fancy/expensive hardware. At some point I realized that I could achieve the same result by adjusting the mounting point at one end or the other. The result was what you see
in this picture.
The two squares with the wing nuts are "floating mounts.", for lack of a better term, that the top end of the hinged legs are mounted to. They can move about an inch in either direction - as defined by the slots. The long carriage bolts pass through a support rail (again threaded right into the wood) and provide the stops for the floating mounts. When you loosen the wing nuts, the mounts are solely supported by these bolts (gravity on the tables pushing them together). You can now use bolts to adjust each side of the outboard end up and down. When done, tightening the wing nuts will preserve the alignment. Note that the ends of the bolts contact metal strips on the edge of the floating mounts. The full weight of the table is on these points when stowed. I worried the pressure would eventually force the bolts slightly into the wood - requiring periodic re-alignment, so I added these as a preventative measure.
The other improvement I may need to make is bigger toggle clamps. I used the smallest I could find to fit in the somewhat confined area. But occasionally when handing a heavy board, placing it less-than-gently onto the infeed table will pop the clamps loose. The cleat still catches the table...so it is not a disaster, but it means putting the board aside and re-locking the clamps. When designing this part, I forgot how heavy a 8' long, 10in wide slab of 5/4 oak weighs
Chris