welcome back to Fix This Build That I'm Brad and today we're building a
simple out feed and assembly table
okay so this is the current outfeed table and
it has been great I built this thing over a decade ago but the top is now
dished out I want this to be able to pull double duty as an assembly table as
well I think I might even want to put some tea track in the top but I'll get
it assembled first and then we'll see where it goes from there now this design
is nothing new and many other makers have similar styled outfeed tables
because it's just a great basic design now I'll have free plans to my version
with a link down below in the description this is a great build for
leftover offcuts too since most of the pieces are fairly narrow and under 30
inches long but you can also make it from one full sheet of plywood if you
don't have a lot of offcuts I started by cutting the parts for a top and bottom
frame and each frame has two long sides in four short supports that connect them
to hold the top in the lower shelf I use the stop block on my miter saw stand to
make short work of the repetitive cuts and get the exact same size pieces now
like most of my shop furniture I'm using pocket holes for joinery I drilled two
on each end of the short supports an assembly of the lower frame is
straightforward since the inner supports are all the same length and having the
pocket screws angling outward on the ends isn't the most ideal situation as
you typically want to go away from the ends and not towards them but the frames
are gonna be glued and screwed in place which are gonna provide all the support
I evenly spaced the inner supports and then I secured them in place to finish
off the frame and the upper frame is the exact same as the lower one except I put
a few vertical pocket holes along all the pieces as well these are gonna be
used to attach the top to the base while the Shelf will be held in place down
below with the legs and a few screws from above now quick tip here when
you're drilling the holes on the ends of the inner supports it's better to have
them spaced a little closer together using the a and B holes on your Kreg jig
verses the a and C holes this is going to give your drill a little more space
off the bench when you're securing the lower screws during assembly also make
sure you have the vertical pocket holes facing all the same direction so that
you don't have a surprise later on and next I moved to the legs I grab some
more plywood off cuts from the stack and I set up for that first cut I ran four
pieces at three and a half inches wide then I moved the fence into two and
three quarters of an inch for the next four pieces now the legs will be made by
joining one of each of these sizes together I cut all the boards to the
same length of my miter saw and then I moved over to the joinery the two and
three-quarter inch parts are going to be butted up on top of the wire ones and
connected with pocket screws and glue to form a strong l-shaped leg that's three
and a half inches on each side i dro the holes and I space them out evenly across
the board because these will be visible when you look underneath the table now
to secure the pieces together I used wood glue and screws and clamp the
boards down on the end of the bench and just make sure that the ends are flush
so there won't be any mismatch with that top for the next assembly steps I
brought over a couple larger pieces of MDF to increase the size of my workbench
top and this is exactly why I need to build a new assembly table that's gonna
be wider and let me assemble larger things I love having mobile workstations
so the outfeed table is going to get casters just like the old one and to
give the wheels of mounting spot I cut some three and a half inch square blocks
out of the leftover plywood and before attaching the wheel blocks you can pair
up the legs to get them exactly how you want them to look if you're a stickler
for details like me and if you don't care then just keep your mismatched legs
to yourself I use glue and two brad nails to temporarily secure each block
then I came back with a countersink bit and secure them with one and a quarter
inch screws I repeated this on all the other legs to finish them off and make
sure you do pre-drill that leg in because if you don't you're likely gonna
split the plywood since you're going in to the edge like this with all my base
parts ready I brought over the top frame first I laid it upside down to reference
the flat surface of the workbench each leg gets joined to the frame with glue
and two screws per side I didn't need to clamp anything in place here since the
screws pull the legs in tight to the corner and here you want to make sure
that both the leg and the frame are flush to the table any dust or debris
that gets under either those would raise it up and translate through to an uneven
surface mounting to the top and next I flipped the table base upright and I put
the lower frame in to play it should slide right in and rest on the
caster blocks at the bottom of the legs I didn't add any glue to these joints
since it would have made a mess sliding in there and the blocks are glued and
screwed in place which will give it some good support I'm making the top for the
table from extra MDF I had on hand which wasn't the best idea but more on that
later I ripped the MDF to width and then I cut it to length with my Craig track
saw and since MDF isn't really durable and it doesn't make for a good edge I
decided to trim it with some hard wood from some more off cuts I picked out a
thick piece of poplar which technically is a hard wood and I thought I would
mill that down to one and a half inch wide by three-quarter inch wide trim
stock and thanks to the sponsors of today's video jet and wood craft they're
gonna make that possible I added the new jet bandsaw and planer to my shop this
year and they have put in a yeoman's work they pair together to resaw and
flatten the rough stock in the 13-inch resaw of that bandsaw matches up
perfectly with the 13 inch planer the segmented cutter head on the planer also
gives a great finish right off the tool now if you want to find out more about
these machines you can head over to your local wood craft store and see them on
display for yourself they have over 70 stores across the US but if you don't
have a wood craft near you you can check the links below in the description to
the wood craft website they have a huge line of the jet products along with all
the other woodworking tools and supplies that you're gonna need for your projects
and a big thanks to JET and Woodcraft they've been great sponsors of my
channel this year and I'm looking forward to working with them in the
future now that I was done using my table saw I could remove the top from
the old outfeed table and use it for the lower shelf I cut it to lengthen my
track saw and then I cut it to width on the table saw to fit the opening and
even though the top was really beat-up after a decade of use I just flipped it
over and that underside was clean as a whistle I slid the lower shelf into
place on the frame and I secured it to the cross supports with a few screws and
then I went back to salvage some more parts from the old table alright I'm
getting the top off and I'm actually going to salvage the wheels off of the
old outfeed table but before I do I just wanted to show you real quick I have
people ask a lot hey is it okay to build with less than 3/4 inch of material
legs are half inch plywood I had this table for about ten years and the legs
have held up great it was this top that was just you can see the flex on it as I
hang here so it's just the top wasn't enough but half inch for the legs is
perfectly fine and if you want to build with half inch it can take a lot of
weight but it's better for the vertical members I wouldn't do half inch for
these members here I would make these sturdy worse case scenario you just
remake it with something stronger I flipped the old one over and I removed
those three inch casters and I disassembled the rest of the table then
I moved the new table to the floor and installed the casters on the bottom of
the legs now before flipping the table back over I put down the MDF top to the
floor so that I can attach it it's getting much easier to secure the top
this way then crawling under the table lighter and I just really hate that I
even have to think about this because in my 30s I wouldn't even given it a second
thought but I'm over 40 now and where did I put my fish oil pills oh well well
with the top o on I brought over the poplar trim I started the short sides
and I set one end flush and made a mark about an inch long on the other end I
cut the piece to size on the miter saw and then I brought it back over to the
table I'm just using glue and Brad nails to attach the trim if it was regular
plywood I probably would have just used pocket screws on the underside and
attached the trim before installing the top but MDF doesn't hold screws very
well so I defaulted to a glue only connection held in place to dry with
those Brad nails after securing the short parts flush on one side I
installed the long trim on that same side and when you're attaching the trim
err on the slightly proud side so you can sand it flush down to the top at the
end after that I use my pull saw to cut the overhang off of the short trim
pieces putting a little pressure on the centre of the blade with my finger while
was cutting helps me to keep that blade flush to the side and give me a nice cut
after cutting off the ends I put in the final piece of trim and glued and nailed
it into place and I finished everything off by flush trimming those long trim
pieces as well after that I filled the nail holes with wood putty and then I
sanded the trim flush to the top I also sand it all around the edges and just
smooth everything out to prep finish right now there's one more thing
that I want to add to this outfeed table and it's gonna be really a test for a
future assembly table this is my current assembly table and I really like it it's
just a bit too small and I don't love the dog bench holes on it but I love
having it mobile so I'm gonna put some tea track in the outfeed table I'm gonna
put three little strips in one at each in and one in the center I'm gonna go
ahead and go outside to do that because routing in the shop just makes a huge
mess and then I'll install the tea track and we'll see how it looks the tea track
is three quarters of an inch wide so I chucked up a 3/4 inch bit in my router I
set it to just over 3/8 of an inch deep which will put that track right below
the surface I positioned the dados for the track four inches from each in and
then once centered on the table a straight edge clamp paired up with this
router makes the cut really easy and to avoid tear out going into and out of the
cut I glued some sacrificial blocks onto the trim using painters tape in CA glue
now adding these little sacrificial blocks was a tip I picked up from my
buddy Johnny Brooke from crafted workshop he did an almost identical
outfeed table but he used dog holes on his top instead of T track I'll link
below to his video as well if you want to try that option now after cutting the
first two slots I was kicking myself for using this MDF MDF is fine and good for
a flat top but it is an absolute disaster to rout I would highly
recommend using solid plywood if you haven't I just didn't have any large
enough pieces on hand I mean it worked but the mounds of dust this thing left
on my garage door as well as everywhere else just were a complete mess and
needless to say
now another issue with the MDF is the poor screw holding ability like I
mentioned earlier and since I've routed this down three-eighths of an inch of
MDF to screw into just wouldn't effectively hold the track down under
pressure so I cut some strips of plywood to go directly under the T track and
this will give the screw something to bite into
I glued these strips into place and I waited them down to dry since I couldn't
use any fasteners or they poked through those track slots I also decided to go
ahead and fill in the gap between the trim and the apron all around the top I
used some small strips of MDF and glued and nailed them into place this is just
gonna give me some additional clamping options on the overhang so everything is
flush and I don't have to worry about a mismatch between the trim and the top
she ain't pretty but a it's a scrap project right I flipped the table back
over and I test fit the T track into the slots the track is longer than the table
so I put it in place and I marked it to size I did leave the track a little bit
short from the ends to avoid cutting too close to the screw holes on the offcut
the track is aluminum and it can be easily cut with a carbide tooth blade on
a standard miter saw just go slow and let the teeth do the work and small
nibbles versus trying to slam through it now to secure the track I use 3/4 inch
number 6 screws just because the Hornets crews were out of stock at the home
Center I pre-drilled and secured one screw on the end of the track and then
that let me pre-drill the rest of the holes without it moving then I just went
back in and drove the screws through the rest of the track I do have a self
centering VIX bit that I pre-drill these holes with it makes this process a lot
faster and it makes sure the screws aren't misplaced soon they don't want to
stand proud at the bottom of the track and to give the top some protection I
also added a coat of marine grade water-based polyurethane I applied
everything with a foam brush and as I was putting it on some of it did get on
to the T track I just came back and wiped it off with a cloth before moving
on I rolled the table into place and it is ready for action the top of the
outfeed table is just lower than the miter bars on my table saw sled so what
I'm using that I don't have any interference this is a great off cut
project it is a great upgrade for any shop hey before you go if you want to
check out some more shop projects I got a place keyed up for you right there I
think you're gonna like them if you want the free plans for this one they're
right in the description until next time guys
get out there and build something awesome