Mobile Workbench

 

This past week I finished this woodworking project. Here are some details:

1. The project initially was supposed to be a mobile chop saw table with extendable arms.  I came across a nice table on Reddit that served a similar purpose, but was just a nice table with a smaller table that laid on to of the left hand side which functioned as a board-support.  (see photo below) As I was thinking about how to keep that top board in place, I thought about using "dog holes."  After some research, and a visit to Harbor Frieght, which sells a workbench with dogs, I decided to go in that route.  I found the Bora Centipede table top (MDF board with both dogs and T-track) which is designed to fit their mobile base.  Then I sprouted the plan to build a mobile table around it.   At this point, the mobile chop saw station with extendable arms was almost completely gone! 
2. I used a Bear-Mountatin Builds (YouTuber) design for the base because of the strength of the build -- T- joints?  -- the legs are two 2x4s laminated and screwed together; the cross piece supports 1/2 the leg -- it's not just hardware.  There are no screw holes on the front side.  The front-to-back pieces are pocket-holes.
3. I bought a pocket hole jig for the project... some original plans had the top attached with pocket holes.
4. I spent a good deal of time figuring out I wanted the top to fit on.  I wanted some overhang (for clamping).  I wanted to make some kind of frame to protect the edge of the MDF board. I didn't immediately figure out how I could support the top in a removable way to the frame.  I played around with routing a base or gluing a board all the way around.... I had to make sure I wasn't covering the dog holes.  I thought of constructing it upside down on a surface.  The top left picture shows this.  The pocket hole jig comes in handy here, as does the pipe clamps.  I decided to have the top fit on the base, like a baseball cap on a head.
5. The finished project is 36"... which is the same as the radial arm saw (which is now next to it in the garage).  If I want to use it as a extra table for the table saw, I'll need to add wood to the top or put it on blocks (bc dad put my table saw on casters).  It currently fits UNDER the right hand extension of the table top of the table saw (otherwise it would have been too big).
6. It's roughly 48x24.  The Bora board is just UNDER 48x24, the 2x4 frame wraps around that.
7. I didn't buy any wood for it -- this was (almost all) leftover wood in the garage.  I had garbage picked some wood during garbage amnesty day (a broken 4x8 sheet of 1/2 playwood, a couple 3/4 plywood tops) but didn't use any of it... except the 4x4 sheet of plywood as a base for almost all of the project.  I bought the Bora tabletop for 1/2 price (~$100) from Amazon.  I bought two different dog/clamps from Amazon (total $50) to just see if I needed to make sure that the holes needed to be voids underneath.
8. I learned about joinery, pocket holes, sanding the scrap wood before I used it, how to use clamps to make sure there are tight fits for screwing, especially with glue.  I learned about T-tracks (probably from this other Bear-Mountain Builds , overly complex, table)
9. I used dad's old croner frame clamp to make sure that the top frame corners were square.
10. I used my brain for putting together the entire plan and figuring out on my own how the top fits.
11. While researching the project, I learned about this interesting Canadian/German engineer Matthias Wandel.  Wandel is kind of mad scientist.  Love his ethos.  He did a project/week for awhile it seems.  I was led to that by another YouTube guy who ended his video with "I was inspired by Matthias Wandel for the hardwood sliders for the drawers and Y for the idea for the frame" which I liked.  

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