Kerry Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Since I'm just starting out I need to make some shop furniture. I'm looking to do a router table and a small drill press stand as well as a small workbench. I have little room to store anything and when I work I have to move it out into the driveway. You see I don't own the house I just rent the basement half. The homeowner has agreed to give me a small piece of the garage to store my things in but not work in it as he keeps his car in there. So everything has to be mobile. What I'm considering doing for the router table and drill press stand is making them out of construction 2x4 materials and mdf. Basically it would be 2x4 fro the "frame" and mdf for the "panels". I was going to use a stub tenon of 3/4" thickness by 1/2" long for the cross pieces and just groove out the legs the whole way instead of individual mortises as that would let me just use 3/4" mdf panels. I hope that makes sense. I'm working on a sketchup model of the router table at the moment. My main concern is that the tenons on the cross pieces wouldn't be strong enough and they don't have any shoulder on the top and bottom. Am I just over-thinking this too much? Would this be fine? I guess I'm mainly worried that this would have problems since they will be moved around a lot. The workbench I'm still thinking about but I'm leaning toward a double 2x4 leg with the cross pieces set in with a through tenon (think it's called a bridle joint but I can't remember right now). The long stretchers would be mortised in with a stub tenon and a long bolt through the through tenon. Does this sound strong enough? Actually does that even make sense to anyone? I still don't know how to make it on wheels and yet not roll away when I'm using it. Wish I could think of a way to make the wheels retract and it sit on the legs when in use, but so far I'm drawing a blank on that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimV Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi Kerry, I've done the exact same thing you're talking about, using 2x4 materials to make simple and quick shop stands. For the router table, the structure underneath isn't important. What is important is the working surface, the top. Just make sure that is flat and the rest is to satisfy your own desires. You mention a very common way for constructing the workbench. That will work fine. You called it correctly, a through tenon. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWC Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Kerry, just remember that you're making something for use right now. Remember you can always upgrade in the future. Don't overthink what you're making as if it has to last you forever. If it gets you through now and into the future then great. Perhaps you'll find yourself making raised solid wood panels on your current mdf and 2x4 route table for your next new router table with aluminum top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin57 Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 I make bases out of 2x4 studs and pocket screws. Plywood and/or OSB for tops and shelves. The one exception was my router table where I bought a table top with router lift insert. (I square up the studs first by trimming 1/8" off each side before cutting to length....gives me a better fit) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerry Posted February 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Well it's good to hear that I'm basically worrying over nothing. I guess I was mostly concerned over the stub tenon thing cause it seemed that it was mostly used for things like cabinet doors. I was worried that I'd get it built and it'd fall apart 5 minutes later as I rolled it around . I do tend to over-think things a lot though. Justin57 those pics look very similar to what I'd initially saw that gave me the idea for the router table and drill press table. Only difference was that the shelves were set into the sides in a dado instead of on stretchers. I just modified that idea to something that put the shelves into dadoes and grooves all the way around and panels in the sides. That also gives me a way to put in a drawer in each for router bits or drill bits, wrenches, etc. Thought that way would be nice since then each table would have all associated things stored right in it. The router table top is 2 pieces of 3/4" mdf glued together each 2' x 3' and the base will have multiple cross braces under the top to help keep it flat. I think that should work really well. I was also going to put plastic laminate on it to help the work pieces slide (both sides of top of course). The drill press table is just going to be one 3/4" mdf layer as it'll be much smaller and I don't really care if that sags a little since that's just holding the drill press up. The workbench top I was thinking of being 2' x 4' mdf with two 3/4" and one 1/2" piece glued together to make the top 2" thick. That should stay flat as it will also be heavily cross-braced underneath. Anyone have any ideas as to how to keep the workbench from rolling around and yet movable? Best I can come up with is 2 wheels attached to one side so they are slightly above the ground on some platforms attached to the legs and then just lifting the non-wheeled side up until the wheels contact and rolling it that way. I'm not sure that will work though as I wanted to have some storage on that as well. Wish I could think of a way to do it like those mobile bases work for large tools. Then I could wheel it easily and yet retract the wheels too. Now that would be really sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Wish I could think of a way to do it like those mobile bases work for large tools. Then I could wheel it easily and yet retract the wheels too. Now that would be really sweet. I've attached a couple of pictures that show how I put my planer on wheels. I'm not sure this exact idea would work well for a heavy workbench, but maybe you can adapt it somehow to handle the extra weight. There are also a few similar ideas here: http://woodgears.ca/mobile_base/index.html -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerry Posted February 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 I've attached a couple of pictures that show how I put my planer on wheels. I'm not sure this exact idea would work well for a heavy workbench, but maybe you can adapt it somehow to handle the extra weight. There are also a few similar ideas here: http://woodgears.ca/...base/index.html -- Russ rmac that's great! So simple too! I'd have never thought of something like that. Your pics give me some ideas to think on. I think I can make the wheels integral to the bench base using a variation of what you did, just need to spend some time thinking it through. Thanks for the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Good! You're welcome! Seems like you have two things to worry about. One is making it heavy-duty enough to handle the weight. When the wheels are down, all the weight is hanging on the screws that hold the hinges in place. That could be a problem with a heavy workbench. The other is maybe getting the handles out from under the workbench to a spot where they're easier to reach. With my planer setup, they work fine where they are because it's easy enough to reach in between the legs and grab them. With a workbench, that might not be the case, especially if you include a low shelf or some drawers under the bench for storage. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jab73180 Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 that woodgears.ca guy is pretty clever. check out his jigs and tools he has made. his finger joint jig is brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Wood magazine has a plan (which I followed ... sorta) for a Basic Built Tool Stand. It's 2x4 and 3/4" MDF, with 1/4" peg board. You actually trim the 2x4 down to 1 1/2 x 3, and do half lap joints. I only have one photo of the bench, taken before I attached the top to the bench or even laminated the two MDF pieces together. It does not show the base shelf or the "adjustable" shelf because I goofed on the sides, which meant I needed to get creative on the shelf. (My creative solution was to remove it.) I plan on adding a power switch and outlet to it which will go to the lathe and the dust collector. **Edit: Sorry about the size.... didn't realize it would come through that big... or get that close to some of my scr.... design changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsabiker Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 I know all about moving my tools into & out of a working area. I live in a mobile home park. As you can guess, no garage or work space. I have all my tools on Rocklers Power Tool Mobile Basees. I have to push/pull the tools into a small storage shed to store them, & out again to use them. I designed the cabinets to hold 2 tools each. Except for the table saw. I have 4 cabinets that I string out long the driveway, and a workbench that is a drop leaf typ attached to the side of my mobile home. The Rockler mobile bases are over 5 years old and none have givin me any trouble. I think they go for about $50.00 each on the Rockler.com sight. Good luck on your new shop. Oh ya - I forgot to say that you just step on the lever over the wheel on one end, and the cabinet is as solid as a rock. No movement at all if you set it up right. And all of my tools are bench top typ, not full size. So their good for light tools and heavey tools as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.