Saw benches with foldable top

[DonGreen]

Thought I would give everyone a look at my latest project. I made a bench each for my 18V saw and my sliding compound miter saw. The saw are each on a plywood tray, which folds up and fixes with a barrel bolt underneath either side, and folds down to allow fitting of a lid, giving a flat bench top beside one or other of the saws. The levers underneath actuate castors which are mounted on a hinged board, and lift the benches off the floor to allow them to be moved easily.

The designs are not mine, I got them from various YouTube sources, but the overall result makes such a useful workbench I am amazed how much I use it. The plastic tubs are for wood screws and metal screws.

[EricL]

Hello @DonGreen

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's a pleasure to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your multipurpose saw bench.

That table build is just awesome. So much functionality in such a compact space and is mobile too. What size framing timber did you use? How thick are those plywood pieces that you used on both saws? What is the overall size of the table and how tall did you make it? I know these are a lot of questions, but I'm sure our members will appreciate any other extra details you can share about your project. I'm sure a lot of our members will be inspired to build their own version.

You may have gathered different ideas from multiple sources, but it takes ingenuity and know-how to join them all together and to make it work.

Again, thank you for sharing this super useful project. 

Eric

[DonGreen]

Hi Eric

Thanks for the comments.

The frames on one bench is 90 by 45 treated pine, the other is 90 by 35 glulam that, all of which I had in my stock pile. The ply is 17mm structural from memory, I think one full sheet was almost enough to complete the 2 benches. I have since made a second set of shelves for the storage containers from 90 by 35 treated pine lags and more of the 17mm ply. I had to busy a second sheet to complete the one shown, and a second one the same.

Finished benchtop height is 800mm, which is the same as the heavy glulam bench that you can just see on the LHS of the first image. Once each saw is raised and the 17mm tray is secured with a barrel bolt each side, the saw tables are in line with the benchtop (Hint: plastic from ice-cream cartons makes a good shim between the saw bases and the ply tray for getting the saws at the same level as the benchtop). The barrel bolts hold the ply saw trays surprisingly securely.

The smaller table for the 18v Ryobi saw is about 600mm deep and 800mm wide. The bigger bench is about 900mm wide, and a bit deeper, as you can from the images. I don't mind the different depths, I have even made the second set of shelves shallower again, to fit my home-made cyclonic dust extractor (2 large buckets and a Thien Baflle) between it and the wall.

[JJMac]

@DonGreen 

Great build Don

I have a small garage and constantly looking for bench space.   

I was wondering if you drew up any plans, and would be happy to share them with others?

[EricL]

Hello @JJMac

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about the saw benches.

Let me tag @DonGreen to make sure that they are made aware of your kind words and questions. The saw benches are an awesome build. I believe the table sizes were based on the dimensions of the drop saws. The cabinet frame sizes were mentioned in the last post so if you wanted to build your own frame you could.

Basic frames were built, but you can clearly see all the smart ideas integrated into the table frame. The fold-away wheel system, the pivoting tabletop, the cross brace that does double duty as brace and catcher for the pivoting tabletop and the square brace at the top on either side. It not only serves as extension arms for the drop saw but as a catcher for the removable tops to create another flat work table.

I am curious though as to how the pivot system was built and am also wondering if there is another timber brace behind the table. 

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your version of the saw benches with folding tops.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[DonGreen]

Hi JJ

thanks for you comments. I didn’t draw detailed plans, but worked out the dimensions based on

1. Height of existing workbench

2. Base to saw table height of each saw (both 93mm) (ice cream container plastic makes great shims for perfecting the height)

3. Width of each saw plus a gap of about 60mm each side

4. Depth of each tray deep enough to drop the whole saw(or most of it, for the 240v compound mitre saw, below the finished bench level.

5. Hinges are piano hinges for strength, barrel bolts in RHSide are cut out for easy one handed operation while supporting the saw and ply tray with the other hand.

  

 

  

Frames are made from 90 by 45 and 90 by 35 MGP10 pine, most of the rest from 17mm ply.

[Mellybean]

Just wanted to say well done! love the multitasking design and now I have to build it!! Been trying to think of where/how to store my big sliding ryobi saw but still have easy access and bobs your uncle...you are a champion!!!👍

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Mellybean. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for jumping into the discussion.

I'm so pleased to hear that you found inspiration in this project. It certainly is a magnificent build. Please let us know if you need any help with the construction or have questions we can assist with.

We look forward to seeing some images of your completed project.

Mitchell