Table Saw Mobile Workstation #6: Finishing up

Here is the last segment on my mobile workstation. Overall I’m very pleased with it, but I would definitely make some changes if I had to do it again (due mainly to my screw-ups, not a problem with the design).

First, as many of you know a typical contractor saw has a large number of gaping holes that make dust collection difficult. I used some 1/8” hardboard and magnetic vent cover sheets to block most of the holes. The back’s attached with velcro so it can be removed if I need to make any bevel cuts. Since 99% of my table saw cuts are straight cuts it shouldn’t be a big deal. This definitely made a difference and now most of the dust gets sucked into the vacuum instead of blown across the garage. You can also see the power switch I took from my router table in the basement. I use it for both the table saw and the router (of course, you probably want to turn whatever device you’re not currently using off).

As I mentioned before, I had a ton of laminate left so I went ahead and laminated the door fronts.

Here’s the router attached to the insert and a hole in the back for the power cable.

Attaching the hinges to the door fronts. Let me take a moment here to mention what a poor choice these hinges were for the doors. They really need more than 3/4” to attach to the frame, since it leaves a small gap by the hinges. I had to cut the doors down to fit. They also offer about zero adjustability. If this wasn’t shop furniture I’d have gone with an inset adjustable hinge and redone the doors.

Doors and drawer fronts attached. I attached the drawer fronts with double sided poster tape and then drilled holes in the back and screwed them together. I also cut down all the drawer fronts since my initial design had everything pretty-much gapless and I didn’t really want to try to achieve those tolerances. Here you can also see I’ve leveled the table saw with the top. I used a piece of 1/8” hardboard and 1/4” oak ply along with a washer or two to shim the table saw flush.

Here’s one of my screw-ups. I failed to take into account the fact the fence rails sit lower than the top and block the top doors and drawer. I cut the doors and drawer to clear the fence and attached the cutoff piece with magnetic catches to maintain a somewhat consistent look. I cut the pieces on the bandsaw to minimize the curf. It worked-out ok, but I’d recommend measuring better in the future. ;)

Here are some pics of the finished workstation. I got the pulls at Lowe’s for $.28 each on clearance, and they happen to match the hinges on the doors.

Here’s the back. The extension top was another oops of mine. I didn’t take it into account when I initially designed the workstation, so it would initially be too long to fit under the outfeed table with it attached. I had to remove the two triangle braces and redrill the hinges to allow it to sit flush to the side. I then attached a triangle brace to the back that flips forward and holds-up the top. It works pretty-well, but the extension can’t maintain a ton of weight. It shouldn’t be a problem with what I use it for.

A shot of the router table in use.

Workstation stored under the outfeed table and out of the way.

Overall, a great project and I’m glad I built it. Here are the Sketchup files and material list in an Excel file:

Cutting Diagram

Dimensions

Workstation

Material List

A couple notes:

1. The design is setup for 3/4” material. If you use 3/4” ply for the base like I did you’ll need to adjust the measurements for the 11/16” material for the base.

2. Pocket screws aren’t enough to hold the 2×4 bottom together. The material is just too soft. I had to glue and clamp it as well as use pocket screws. That is the only thing glued on this workstation (except for the laminate).

3. You may want to cut-down the drawer fronts and doors since I left no gap in the design.

4. Of course, you’ll probably need to resize everything to fit your particular circumstances.

If you have any questions or comments let me know.

Thanks,

Greg

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