The last pair of slides didn't show up last week so, in order to keep things rolling, I needed to move on to another project. Here’s a 80/20 assembly table I built about 5 years ago. At the time I wanted a larger table so I could use it in two modes:
1) I could lay a 3/4-inch sheet of material on it and fabricate full sized cabinets on it.
2) Swap out the sheet for a torsion box too that would allow me to use it as a super huge fabrication table/bench
The idea was great in theory but I found that it was just clumsy enough setting up and breaking down that I’d only use it in the really big projects where the garage would be in build mode for months. Now, it’s current configuration, it’s 6-feet long by 42-inches wide.
I was thinking that it would be cool if the thing was somehow attached to the wall in a way I could flip it down, use it, and flip it up. I started shopping around for some hinges that could handle the weight and found these builder heavy duty weld-on fence hinges.
Originally I had built this cabinet to just replace the smaller one that was there previously but the more I look at it, the more I think I’d like it to find a way to make better use of this space.. Most of this time I set up the miter-saw 2-feet off this wall but there’s no reason why it couldn’t be another work space if I had a bench top. If I did, it would need to fold down so I can get the Jeep in the garage.
I was really liking the idea but some simple measurements indicated that the fold down work surface, when in the up position, would be higher than usual for my benches and sit about 40-some inches off the ground. I kinda liked the idea of a higher work surface though. Quite frequently I find myself hunched over a 36-inch high top so adding 4 inches didn't seem like that big of a deal. I liked the idea so much, I just went for it and started disassembling the bench.
With the bench completely disassembled, I now needed to plan out where it would mount on the walls and how wide it could actually be.
I marked out all the studs and doodled some work surface heights until I found a good compromise which left it wide enough to be useful yet still clear the foundation when folded down.
Now to machine the attachment holes for the hinges. On one side I’ll have two which will attach to the extrusion. Two on the extrusion side because they’ll force the hinge to sit perfectly perpendicular to the extrusion.
A couple of gratuitous Mill pics - first one I’m center drilling the hinge for the extrusion side.
Now for the wall side. I measure the bolts I have and they’re 3/8-inch. I’ll drill a centered hole for just one so I can sink it right in the middle of each stud.
A flashback moment - I’m reminded why I enjoy wood so much more.
T-nuts are installed on the hinge.
And then the hinges are slid on to the bottom of the extrusion.
I then measure out and mark the spacing of the studs I noted earlier from the wall.
Slide the hinges down to the marks
And locate them so the hole for the lag screw is perfectly aligned with the hole (which are aligned perfectly with the studs).
Do this three more times until all of the hinges are in place.
After mounting it to the wall, I verify the plan is good by making sure the table can be as wide as I thought. I get out my Dewalt miter saw and set the stop. I’m cut down the table spreaders to 22-inched which should net me a total finished width of 25-inches
After cutting them down, I take a pass or two on the mill to ensure the ends are square.
Cutting them down requires that the shortened end gets the-tapped so I get out my impact, my tapping fixture, and knock ‘em out.
One by one I reinstall the pieces back to the main assembly.
Until I can add the front rail back.
Folded down. It’s just barely wider than the foundation lip.
It's easier to visualize now but the next trick will be in mounting the legs. At exactly 6-feet in length and about 36-inches off the ground, the legs will be too long to fold up in either direction. I'm going to have to do something special here to make it all work.
