The Folding Workbench
After completing the potting table, I knew that I needed a better work surface. I was able to build a table for my wife, I should be able to build something for me too!
The challenge I had was my work space. My garage is quite small, so I needed a work table that could be stored away when not being used. I did some research online and found a video for a fold-up workbench that stores on the wall. The link is here:
The table in the video was too large for the space I had available. I needed to shorten the table, which would result in the legs hitting the far side of the frame. This is where I needed to make some weird modifications. I needed to offset the legs so that they would sit beside the others. The supports also would be hitting the other legs, so I needed to notch-out the legs. I needed to buy some chisels to do that. What I didn't know was that I was creating a 'half-lap' joint in the legs. I just thought I had come up with a neat way to fold the legs. I would later buy a mitre saw, which would have made this work much easier and cleaner.
The table ended up being 3'x5'. It has a 3/4" plywood tabletop, which I then added a 1/8" sanded plywood top sheet. This surface can then be changed if its beat-up too much. I then added a thin coat of lacquer (just a single thin coat). This way, glue and paint could be cleaned off fairly easily (and it has worked so far).
The plans call for casters, which I installed. However, when the legs were folded, the casters got in the way. I replaced them with adjustable table feet.
This table is the surface used for all of the projects completed after. It hasn't been folded-up very often!
Completed August 24, 2020.
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