Capgains

My Feedback: (4)

Has anyone seen plans for building a work table, or articles regarding the subject? I am designing a table for my shop, but would like to see more ideas to make sure I am not forgetting something, or building suggestions like how to make sure the thing is perfectly flat. Any sightings would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

MinnFlyer

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Dan, are you looking for a free standing table, or one that's against a wall?

Capgains

My Feedback: (4)

I'd like a free standing table, I was even thinking about putting it on locking casters so I could reposition it easily.

Dan

RSands

Hi Dan,

Consider glass. 1/2" thick or better. It's perfectly flat, and you can put ceiling tile on top of it to build with pins, or glue jigs directly to it (a razor scraper and/or 000 steel wool will clean anything off of it). It's also the perfect table for covering; you can get it perfectly clean so you have no dust/debris issues, and there's nothing better/easier for cutting covering on. If you go to a local glass shop and ask if they have any scrap with scratches or stones in it, it's relatively cheap. Wanna check to make sure it's perfectly flat? Use fishing line or piano wire streched tight across the surface, resting on 1/4" ply blocks. With a small steel rule you can quickly and accurately check for high/low spots.

Mike James

http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...ght=work+table]

G1K

Have I got a good workbench design. It's about $100 in supplies from HomeDepot, and about a day to build, but it's really nice. A friend of mine has built one, and we plan on making one for myself next weekend. I will take pics of the build process as a "how to"


Ryan

razorback11

My Feedback: (9)

RSands has nailed it. Glass is a great solution. I build on 3/4" tempered glass 8' long and 3' wide. It was a custom door that the customer never picked up so the glass shop gave it to me for $35. I use two steel saw horses as legs. Weighs a ton but stays very flat at any temp/moisture level. I do not push pins into my balsa any longer to hold it down. instead, I use various sizes of lead ingots. You can put an entire assembly together dry, hold it together by placing the ingots on it at strategic locations. adjust and measure until it is plumb and perfect, and hit it with CA. and you are good to go. I use a glass scraper with a straight edge razor to clean glus/paint off the table. Takes about 4 seconds. You can even find smaller pieces of glass to build things like tail feathers on to keep them off the main building surface. razorback11

Borzak

My Feedback: (2)

Look down the length of "perfectly flat glass" next time with a good light in a dark room.

Glass is not flat - even good quality 3/4"+ tempered glass isn't flat at all.

Wood products that are pressed into shape like MDF wind up flatter than glass. Not only is glass wavy it's almost always thicker on one end than the other due to the nature of the way they make glass.

Just my opinion.

RSands

Sorry Borzak but I work QC in a glass plant, know all the standards, ASTM specs and tolerances, etc. Your opinion doesn't hold water. A good piece of 1/2" TEMPERED glass may have 1/16" bow in it over a 72" span (3/4" would be about half this), but the structure that supports it could easily correct this or make it worse (and just about any material you choose can be bowed by incorrect support at this length). If the piece you use is ANNEALED, it will be so close to perfectly flat that there's very few gauges that can accurately measure how flat it actually is. The wave you speak of? It's is typically .001" or less. How much is that going to effect flight performance? BTW the reason you can see these "waves" is due to the reflectivity of the glass surface, and the angle you're viewing them from. If you could make wood as reflective, you'd see way more distortion in it. Before I built my table I studied MDF, particle board, doors, countertop, etc. and they aren't even close to being in the same league, not to mention the dimensional stability advantages glass has over these materials with temperature and humidity fluctuations. As far as thicker at one end than the other, maybe glass from the 1800's, but modern glass is floated in a molten state on molten tin to make it flat. Sort of like how oil floats on water. Given that a run lasts a couple days or more, and the thickness target is going to change at most .010" over the run of several thousand feet, the average thickness change is pretty much nill. This last point is actually mute. The surface flatness is what controls how straight your building will be.

Capgains

My Feedback: (4)

Thanks for your help guys, I took a look at the thread of workshop pictures, and got a few good ideas there. I was also impressed at some of the environments that we modelers can build in.

Ryan, would like to see your design, I have drawn something out on paper, framed out of 2x4s and a solid core 32x80 door, on rollers. Is that similar to what you are framing yours with. Don't think mine will use $100 in materials because I already have the door.

I am planning to look for a glass top, (check out Dave Platt's building videos) but was concerned about the glass bowing. I have only looked at 1/4 inch thickness though, and only as a topper to a wood surface (door).

Thanks again,

Dan

SST

My Feedback: (2)

I'm making a multi-purpose building/layout table that will use 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood laminated into a top work surface and another sheet as a bottom shelf, with a steel frame, on 6 10" pneumatic tire casters from Harbor Freight. I have to be able to use it for all kinds of building and fabricating projects, so will use removable surfaces like ceiling tiles when building planes on it. At 4' x 8' my wife and I will be able to work at opposite ends simultaneously with room to situate things like jigsaw and small drill press in the center. I will use a cord reel and power strips to give semi-portable power at the table, and attach drawers arount the edges. Screw jacks in the corners to stabilize and level it with those stick-on bubble levels they use on RVs. Yeah, I know it'll be heavy, and that's why I went with the big pneumatic casters. I'll be building everything from models to trailer frames on it and need it strong and rigid.

G1K

I'll get somethig together. It has 1/4" or 1/2" threaded rod in it to adjust for bow's and warps. I'm not sure of exactly what it's made of (other than wood), I think the top is MDF?

I will try to get some pics early next week.


Ryan

bighawg

A "hollow core door works great for a building surface and you ca n hammer the t-pins right into it while laying up your wing. I've used this method for years with much success. I've tried glass too. Works ok.

bighawg

A "hollow core door works great for a building surface and you ca n hammer the t-pins right into it while laying up your wing. I've used this method for years with much success. I've tried glass too. Works ok.

Capgains

My Feedback: (4)

Ryan,

Great. You can email the pics if you want to [email protected]

Threaded rod sounds like a good idea. A friend of mine tells me that he saw a construction article in a recent magazine that had adjustable points to flatten a work surface, but he hasn't been able to find it.

Thanks again

Dan

G1K

I have now finally gotten to start on the table. We framed the front leg section tonight. I will bring my camera and take pics of the rest of the construction. The table will support a sherman tank and not sag...

I found a few work arounds to get the price a bit cheaper also. I am currently working on plans for the table. I will post up some pictures this weekend.

4*8 work surface, metal edges, flat, adjustable, storage underneath... it is even wired for electricity.

Ryan

dr_wogz

My Feedback: (3)

I've got a design on our site..

under 'downloads'

www.aerotech-rc.com

grinder-RCU

My Feedback: (1)

Here is a link for my table which uses 2 pieces of slate and homasote.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_27.../tm.htm#272704