FlipTop Tool Stand - Phase 1
(date: april 10, 2010)
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So far I have built 3 mobile tool stands. Two of them are similar to each other, it is a simply design with the bench top tools mounted to the top and drawers/ shelves below. And the third mobile tool stand is based on a design in a magazine with a flip top table. Basically you have 2 bench top tools mounted to both side of the table and you could rotate the table to access either tool.
| Here you can see the two halves of the plywood table top with the dado edge. In the dado I will attach a strip of hardwood to give the table top some added support. |
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| In between the two table top is the shaft it rotates on, I used a dado to cut the notch. |
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| This is how the flip tip looks like; there are still a lot of work to be done. |
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Looking back at all the problems I encountered and the lesson learned is; make sure you buy a piece of plywood that is flat.
You can pretty much use any plywood and I found the cheapest and thickest thing I could find at Home Depot. The wood that I got is called Sturd-I-Floor that is 23/32 thick and it is smooth on one side and rough on the other. The initial problems I had with wood being warped is the cutting on the table saw, especially with the dado cuts. I did not know the cuts was so off until I started to glue the pieces together. And the worst part is the 2 walls that the fliptop table rests on was so warped that the ends rub against the table when I rotate the tabletop. If you look at the table from a birds eye view the 4 comers was curved inwards causing it to touch the rotation table. In the picture below the problem has be eliminated because I add the extra wood to flatten the wood, preventing it from warping inward. |
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| Here is the bad dado cuts, I though the depth of the cut was even though out the plywood. But the warp in the wood causes the depth to vary between the middle and ends. |
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... continue to next phase >>
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