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Woodworking table

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usmc_noma

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Anyone out there have a dedicated table for woodworking? I'm more interested in a single table design that I can have my table saw, miter saw, and router set up on it. Ideally I'd like to have a huge table with different stations. Unfortunately I'll have this in a single car garage. Has anyone made a small one where you can have one dedicated area that can switch between the table saw, miter saw, and router? Right now I have my table saw on it's own stand it came with. My miter saw is on this long *** stand w/ extending arms, and my router has no table.

I thought I've seen where someone had each set up on it's own shelf and interchanged them but can't find it anywhere. My search on Google yielded nothing.

What setups do ya'll have and post pics if you have them?
 
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bww_mnm

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Chicago area
I just keep everything (TS, Jointer, Planer, SCMS, BS, Dust Collector) on portable stands and wheel in/out of my 1st and 2nd stalls. Mortiser, DP, Saner, Router Table stay on my 14' long 2x4/plywood bench. Stall 3 keeps above + the bikes, snowblower/lawnmower, strollers, wagons, etc. It's tight in there.

I swear I saw something like you are mentioning in wood magazine. I've also seen commercial version called tool dock (?). It can't be that hard to build/design ... find deepest tool, that becomes your "well".
 
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usmc_noma

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I started thinking about it within the past few days while I've been down after a surgery. I know a member had a sweet *** table saw he made for his Dewalt. Since I do have a single car garage I'm just looking for more space saving ideas. I currently have my table saw in a corner and the miter saw on it's stand is taking up so much room in the center. Granted I've been using it but there's got to be an easier way to take it apart and put together for each use.
 
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dansmurf

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Dickson Tennessee
I have been thinking about this and my plan is to make a few smaller tables all on casters. 2 or 3 about 4 to 6 foot long that are the same hight and then smaller tables for my different tools that would put each tool at the height of the bigger ones. That way I can put whatever tool I am using between 2 longer benches and leave the unused tools rolled off in the corner and out of the way. I was also thinking that with each tool having its own rolling base, it would allow me to build shelves or drawers under the tool holding its accessories like bits or blades.
 
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Jackfre

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In a single car garage you are going to be better served with the rolling stands at least initially. Getting one set-up that will work for you in a confined space is about impossible. It will depend upon the type of work you want to do, size of materials, etc. I've found, after 18 yrs in the same two car garage and basement, that the next project can totally blow out you carefully constructed lay-out. You have to be able to laugh at yourself when you have an 8' piece of oak in your hands and find taht you can't turn left or right with it and the way you got in doesn't work to get you out. It happens:bounce: good luck. Let us know how you make out.
 
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ddawg16

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I'm getting ready to make a rolling wood working table that will include my table saw.

One of the things you find in woodworking is that you need a lot of space to put projects together....so, unless you have a big area, stuff needs to be mobile.....

The table saw is one of the largest tools in the garage.....when your cutting large sheets, you need a large surface to hold it...when your done....you have all that table top space....makes a good wood working area.....
 
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shoot summ

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I've got the HTC PortaMate as a temp work station.

I have several of the machine mounts and use it for my planer, bench grinders, and scroll saw. I also devised a work table that mounts onto a pair of the vises. It is the same height as my table saw and makes a great out feed table as well.

I don't use it for my miter saw as the MSUV is a great stand and I had one before I acquired the PortaMate.
 
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sledzz

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Nebraska
I made a table from scratch and thought about integrating my chop saw. I also thought about making open shelves below the table to store it but ended up finding out I wanted to store all my regular woodworking tools in it instead. It didn't make sense to put a table saw in it, just make your table the same height as your saw and use it for an out feed. I need to get the vise installed on the right side yet.
 

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usmc_noma

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Nice build there. When I originally started I thought about making a small router table and just buying the insert and tracks for the fence and what not. Then I thought how much more room that small item's going to take up. Since my table saw already has a stand, I just needed it mobile but there's a lot of space underneath it I don't use since the stand doesn't have a shelf underneath and it's sort of enclosed. My miter saw stand is the same way except it's just longer.

Now, I basically want a rolling bench where I can put each item on a shelf if you will. The shelf will be the width of the largest saw. The actual "saw area" will be centrally located in the bench so I can interchange the saw. In this cavity will be several dados where the shelves will fit so the "table" portion of the saw will be flush with the bench.

I'd like the bench to be about 3'x2', at the most 4'x2'. I don't have space for 3' depth bench due to wanting to park a car inside. There would be removeable or collapseable extensions for the miter saw on each side, plus extensions for the table saw.
 
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Zeke

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Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
Most table saws these days have a mount for a router. That's 2 out of 3 on one surface.

An out feed table is pretty much necessary and can incorporate a chop saw. This can be detachable. In fact, if you move it away from the table saw, you can handle long stock resting the lengths on the saw.
 
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csp

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Franktown, CO
Yes, see if you can incorporate the router into the table saw and use the saw fence for the router fence.
 
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usmc_noma

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That thing without a doubt is very promising. I'm still trying to find where I saw the type I'm describing but still have no luck. If I can't find it, I'm probably going with the same setup.
 
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LennyTheLizard

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Oct 25, 2010
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Southeast MO
That table is awesome! Gotta have one. First, I'm going to have to get some tools to go in it. Any suggestions on tools that are the best fit for it? or best quality / value?
 
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usmc_noma

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Your best bet is to scour CL to find used tools. I've had my router and miter saw for a number of years, but I picked up a decent, to me, table saw for next to nothing. For $50 I got one that has the going rate of over $250 for something similar at Sears. Granted it's not the old school belt driven heavy Craftsman from back in the day but it'll get the job done on small stock. Once I get a table going like the one above it should be fine to handle full sheets.
 
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slickgt1

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Yea I am pretty sure I will make this table. It is perfect. This will be after my garage is done though, but I already printed out the entire site lol.
 
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onething

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TEXAS
I found a couple of used cabinets from a breakroom and used them for storage, mounted them with my saw on a 4x6 piece of plywood and put casters under it all. I topped the cabinets with 3/8 plywood and a sacrificial piece of 1/4 hardboard even with the surface of the table saw.

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As someone else has already mentioned, the outfeed surface works great as a work surface too.

Later, I decided I wasn't using the table saw enough and sold it to a neighbor. I mounted the cabinets on a 2x8' piece of OSB with the same casters and topped it all with the other half of the OSB. I now have a moveable cabinet that can be used for my miter saw.
 
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mastiff0

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usmc_noma said:
. I know a member had a sweet *** table saw he made for his Dewalt. Since I do have a single car garage I'm just looking for more space saving ideas..
Click to expand...

I'd like to think you were talking about the stand that I built for my table saw:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88968

When I built this, I had been thinking about the "one table to do everything" concept like what you'r talking about. Even found a site where I guy had attempted to do this, a table with room for a table saw, miter saw, outfeed table, and open space for other work. I'll try to find a link.

But looking at his build, I realized that its better to do 2-3 compact setups instead of 1 large table. For starters, your table will have to be pretty wide or boards on your miter saw will intefere with your table saw blade/guides. Turns out the table you need is pretty big. But you can make a few small, efficient tables that will do everything you need and still be easy to move around. For instance, you add a router table to the table saw platform I created. And you can make another general purpose table that can also hold your miter saw. I think this design posted earlier is awesome:
http://christophermerrill.net/ww/plans/UTS/Tool_Stand_1.html

A easier option would be to buy that cheap HF woodworking table ($120 on sale), add casters, and build a stand for your miter saw on it. Thats what I did and I use it for a miter table as well as any glueing, assembly, or routing.
 
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usmc_noma

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Mastiff, the second bench would be good if it could be kept to the same 2'x6' foot size of the ultimate tool stand one. What may be even better is if I modified the ultimate stand on one end to take the table saw, but make the table saw moveable from the end location to the center location. It would almost be a combination of the two you posted. I guess I've got nothing but time for now. I've got quite a list of things I want to do to my small garage and to the home for that matter but in due time.
 
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mastiff0

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usmc_noma said:
Mastiff, the second bench would be good if it could be kept to the same 2'x6' foot size of the ultimate tool stand one. What may be even better is if I modified the ultimate stand on one end to take the table saw, but make the table saw moveable from the end location to the center location. It would almost be a combination of the two you posted. I guess I've got nothing but time for now. I've got quite a list of things I want to do to my small garage and to the home for that matter but in due time.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I think I'm picking up what your putting down. The width of the 2nd table I think is pretty much the minimum you can do for a table saw- they are pretty wide themselves and then you need extra space for supports, as well as extra surface to support boards. You could make it so that the table saw could be rolled from the end location to the center location, but then the table is probably not wide enough to be a good outfeed table. In fact, if you want to do that, it might make more sense to follow the have the table saw and the miter saw attached to boards that you could easily slide in and out of the center location. and when your not using them you just store them underneath the table. It might not seem as elegant as having an individual stand on rollers that integrates into the table, but I think its very functional.

Thinking about this more, I feel even more confident that the table saw should be a stand alone unit (unless you want to add a router). You can make the flip up surfaces and extendable outfeed supports, use build another table of the same height to act as outfeed. But the size of space a table saw needs really limit your options for a universal table.
 
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slickgt1

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Or you can have the Jawhorse. I have one, and for portability, you really can't mess with it.
 
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