157 – My New Assembly Table

Video - September 18, 2011

This video was recording live on 9/14/11. My goal was to discuss my new torsion box assembly table and what makes it different from the original Torsion Box Assembly Table. To be perfectly frank, the differences weren’t great enough to justify making this project into a new video series. But I thought you would enjoy getting a look at some of the minor changes. You can read a little more about the assembly table in this article: How I Spent My Summer Vacation.

As with all live sessions, we had a little Q&A as well. Questions include:
What wood is appropriate for a workbench?
Can you use a hollow core door for an assembly table?
Fixing a chair that was chewed by a dog?
Can you combine a torsion box and a workbench? Check out the torsion box workbench!

Discussion

Boj September 18, 2011 12:26 pm

Thanks for reccording marc!

Reply
Rob September 18, 2011 3:51 pm

Where do you get Ultralight MDF?

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer September 18, 2011 5:22 pm
  
  Not everyone stocks it, but any place that sells plywood and other sheet goods has access to it.
  
  Reply
Dan Drabek September 18, 2011 9:16 pm

A good, practical and affordable design. And one can never have too much storage space.
I don’t stress-out too much about my assembly surface being dead flat, because the floor where the piece will end up won’t be dead flat either. :->

DD

Reply
Johnathon September 18, 2011 9:17 pm

Marc,
You mentioned the Moxon vise a couple of times, are you planning on building that along with the the Roubo bench? The kit from Benchcrafted looks nice and the hardware looks very sturdy. I was planning on building a version based on Chris’ article in PW but I am concerned about the wooden screw. I was curious on if you were building one and what you planned on using for the hardware. Any possibility of putting that on the regular sight (not just the guild. ;-) ).

Thanks,

Johnathon

P.S. Nice to see you moved up to a MBAir.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer September 19, 2011 8:49 am
  
  I do actually plan on doing a little “add-on” video at the end of the build using the Benchcrafted Moxon hardware. And you know what, I see no reason why I can’t put that out on the free site. Don’t let me forget. :)
  
  Reply
Dave from Oz September 19, 2011 5:54 am

As always Marc, your infotainment is unique. Thanks again.

Reply
Adam Baum September 19, 2011 11:25 am

I fall into that class that uses a door as a bench/assembly table. It works fine. Since I work out of my garage, I have only have room for one work surface . Best thing about it is that it is easily replaceable.

Adam

Reply
Marilyn September 20, 2011 8:32 am

Hey, thanks for posting. As usual I learned something. Say you made a comment about using Doug Fir for a bench. I went to my local lumber store and got vertical grain doug fir (not the home depot special) and love it as a bench top.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer September 20, 2011 8:35 am
  
  Sounds like that’s going to be the difference maker then. The source/quality can be a huge factor.
  
  Reply
richard in AR September 20, 2011 9:15 am

Hi Marc
a little off topic;
I notice you have your sheet goods stacked against the wall. Did you abandon your plywood moveable rack?
I had planned on building one and want to be sure you didn’t find a problem with it.
Thanks and great work on the assembly table and I look forward to the outfeed video as well. I want to replace mine

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer September 20, 2011 9:48 am
  
  The plywood is actually there because I’m about to use it for something. I guess you can say its “staged” or “on deck”. But once my main parts are all cut, there is plenty of room in the rack for the scraps.
  
  Reply
Ted Ames September 20, 2011 1:08 pm

As usual, a great show. Keep it up for us dummies.

Reply
John F September 20, 2011 4:12 pm

Nice show Marc – as always, you covered a lot of ground.

Hey – on the rolling cart with the shallow drawers. Why not remove every other drawer? At least it would give more height per (remaining) drawer.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer September 20, 2011 4:20 pm
  
  I think there is something OCD-related that won’t allow me to do that. :)
  
  Reply
  - John F September 20, 2011 5:33 pm
    
    Haha – didn’t think of that. Whenever I see a view of your shop, I recall something you said in an early video how all your machines had to match – or maybe it was your clamps. I’m sure if Powermatic made decent mustard-colored clamps, it might have been both ;)
    
    I thought for a femto-second that you could make replacement drawers to match ‘something’ in your shop – but that would defeat the purpose of a “lazy Sam’s Club purchase”…….
    
    Reply
  - Wirenut September 21, 2011 8:04 am
    
    Another suggestion to perhaps alleviate the OCD problem? ;-)
    
    Along with removing every second drawer, remove the drawer pulls from all the remaining drawers and install decorative wood drawer fronts onto the sheet metal fronts.
    
    Just an idea….
    
    Reply
    - John September 24, 2011 8:02 pm
      
      Don’t know if your still reading this, but you can cut the bottom out of the first 1-2 drawers and tack weld the perimeter or simply use a piece of wood with some screws to mend them together thus giving you a deeper drawer. ;-)
Cammy9r September 21, 2011 6:14 am

Hi Marc, with reference to the narrow rollcab drawers, I find them to be handy at storing more automotive related tools like ratchets,socket bars and spanners (Scottish for wrenches) and not of much use in the woodshop. Keep up the good work as we all enjoy wood whisperer videos. Maybe one day i’ll catch a live episode :)

Reply
Raymond September 21, 2011 8:56 am

Nice assembly table. Just looking at it in the video it makes sense that there is a variance from flat of a few thousandths as that’s where there is the least support. I agree that absolute dead flat is probably never an issue and a couple thousandths won’t matter. Afterall, we’re not making stuff for the space station.

Reply
Salvagecraft September 21, 2011 1:59 pm

Concerning Duckkisser’s question about the torsion box workbench, here’s one:
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/52557

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer September 21, 2011 2:22 pm
  
  Actually that’s just a rendition of my old torsion box assembly table. I don’t believe he’s actually using it as a workbench.
  
  Reply
John September 22, 2011 10:17 am

That bad boy is going to see some big time action… I love the table, and I can’t wait to see it used in the coming years!

Reply
John September 24, 2011 8:04 pm

I know that Festool maybe a sponsor, but you might want to check out this guy’s website. Pretty clever…. http://www.eurekazone.com/

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer September 25, 2011 8:04 am
  
  Festool is actually not a sponsor. And Eurekazone makes great products. I recommend them frequently.
  
  Reply
  - John P September 25, 2011 5:28 pm
    
    Ok, cool I wanted to recommend them for your dilemma with the Festool MFT being the wrong size. I figured with the EZ system you could scale to what you needed, but smart guy that you are, you already knew that ;)
    
    Reply
Tony September 24, 2011 9:57 pm

I’m wondering if you considered using an interlocking gridwork for the interior?

Looks like this…
http://img716.imageshack.us/im.....dwork1.jpg
http://img197.imageshack.us/im.....dwork2.jpg

The router guys made a torsion box like that and it seems like it would be a lot less work than cutting each piece and nailing them… the interlocking method only requires glue.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer September 25, 2011 8:03 am
  
  Certainly a legitimate way to get the job done. But I actually think it would be more work. Might just be me though. :)
  
  Reply
VitalBodies September 25, 2011 11:37 pm

It is interesting to consider the perfectly flat torsion box verses the nearly flat and what it takes to make one in the home shop that does not have a known flat surface. It is a little neanderthal to get out the saw horses and…
Seems like there would be a store bought solution to flat. For some it is the table saw but that is only so big. You were able to dial in your table saw sled to a great degree but even that took some finesse. Wood shop tools seem to lag far behind metal working tools in hitting the level of thousandths. I think even the president of Grizzly figured out that making woodworking tools is far easier than metal working tools.

“Since Mr. Balolia had never used any woodworking machines, he went to night school to learn woodworking only to realize that woodworking machines were a lot less complex than metalworking machines. ”

I would guess there are many useful things in the metal working field that would make sense for the modern wood worker.

Interesting video Marc. I liked the shot you picked as the image on this page…

Reply
Rob October 1, 2011 5:43 am

Would you recommend using this as a combo assembly\out feed table? I use my present out feed table as an assembly table and work surface and it could really use an upgrade.

Thanks, love the show.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer October 1, 2011 8:25 am
  
  If you need the space, absolutely! I just prefer to have them separate. But I am fortunate to have enough space for these things.
  
  Reply
Aaron October 20, 2011 4:48 pm

Mark,

What do you and the guys think about taking two beech butcher block slabs that are 8′ long and 25 1/2″ wide by 1 1/8″ thick and glueing them together and making a bench top that is 2 1/4″ thick? It seems to me that its all long grain and the slabs are only $60 each at Ikea. Just wondering if there would be any movement issues.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer October 21, 2011 8:01 am
  
  That can work, and I have heard of folks doing that very thing. The real question is how flat are those Ikea tops? You might have your work cut out for you getting them flat enough for a glueup. Additionally, getting good clamping pressure across the boards is going to be a little tricky, but can be done with the use of cauls.
  Once you get them glued together, you should be ok.
  
  Reply
Ray Ladouceur October 21, 2011 7:51 am

Aaron – I don’t think being long grain matters as much as quarter-sawn. If they are quarter-sawn then I don’t see an issue. But I would question the quality from Ikea. Perhaps they are just fine.

Reply
Nick Alberda October 29, 2011 10:32 pm

Hi Marc,

What is the size of your new assembly table? It looks like a good size to build.

I’m just making that leap to woodworking full time (Gulp!) and setting up my shop a little better. It almost seems funny how I am building a new assembly table, and outfeed table at the same time you are, but good timing none the less.

Reply
Jay November 9, 2011 10:53 am

Maybe I missed it in here, but what is the size of your new table?

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer November 9, 2011 11:00 am
  
  I thought I mentioned it in the video but maybe not. And I can’t remember the exact number off the top of my head. Been a while since I’ve been in the shop, lol. I’ll get you an exact measurement tonight.
  
  Reply
  - Jay November 21, 2011 12:23 pm
    
    Thanks Marc…unless I missed it again…which is possible…I didn’t hear the size. I’m curious what you did for size because I’m thinking a half sheet (4×4) would be where I would start. I know it’s a law of averages and I have to go with what works for me and all, but I am also trying to start in the right direction. I believe it is possible that sometimes going with a rectangle would be better so I don’t wind up with a large dead zone in the middle that I can’t reach. I understand you’re busy with your new little one so approximate dims are great! Thanks!
    
    Reply
    - thewoodwhisperer November 21, 2011 12:35 pm
      
      I forgot I had the sketchup drawing, lol. 60″ x 42″.
Jay December 1, 2011 1:04 pm

Marc (or others reading this post),

I recently built the table you and I were discussing above and love it; however, due to requirements to get a project completed I have yet to add the edging. I was thinking of putting hardwood on the edge as so many people have done, but this morning I found a link to a table where someone installed a finished/rounded edge band of MDF instead. The thought was the MDF will not move to help keep the table flatter. I think the MDF will not hold up as well and that is likely why they rounded the edges so dramatically to avoid presenting an edge where the MDF can chip/break. Do you have thoughts as to the benefits of wood versus MDF or vice versa? Thanks!

Jay

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer December 1, 2011 1:09 pm
  
  Honestly, I think wood is probably the best option. MDF is fine but clearly not as durable. I used MDF on my outfeed table’s perimeter just because of laziness and wanting to get rid of some stock. But solid wood would have been the better choice.
  
  Reply
Mike December 1, 2011 3:20 pm

Marc,

Thanks so much for sharing your new table design (and all of your videos for that matter!)

Would you ever consider topping such a table with Formica laminate? (I know that the most common adhesive for such a surface is rolled-on contact adhesive, and as such may create issues with the flatness of the top; it may end up “lumpy”, if you know what I mean. However, this may be solved if I were to instead use something like 3M 90 spray adhesive.)

I ask about Formica because, in my experience, it is extremely tough to chip or dent, and virtually nothing adheres to it or dissolves it, including acrylic solvent. Granted, it would be difficult to replace should it get damaged, so that would need consideration. But to me, it seems like a good candidate for the top of an assembly table. Any thoughts?

Mike

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer December 1, 2011 3:57 pm
  
  Formica would definitely provide a nice durable surface. And as long as you apply the contact cement evenly, you shouldn’t end up with bumps either.
  
  Perhaps some day when this top gets all mangled, I’ll sand it down and apply a sheet of Formica myself. :)
  
  Reply
Mike December 20, 2011 10:26 pm

Thanks Marc,

I had another question: I’m in the design phase for my own torsion box table, and I had a flash of inspiration… Prior to the glue-up of the assembly, what if I were to drill a small single hole (say, 1/4″) through the various internal “cell” walls, to interconnect them, and then drill a large hole through the bottom skin into a central cell. The hole would be the right size to fit the end of a shop vac. At glue-up, after glue application to the grid work and skinning both sides, the edges would be clamped and a vacuum hose attached to the central hole, and the vacuum turned on. Even if my 5HP shop vac produced as little as -2psi, this should be an effective clamping pressure of over 2 tons across the structure. Given that Titebond III indicates that clamping pressure only need to be applied for 30 minutes for the initial bond to set, do you have any feedback to this approach to assembly?

Mike

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer December 21, 2011 7:58 pm
  
  Honestly, I have no input whatsoever, lol. I really don’t know if or how well that would work. I’d love to see you try it and report back though. :)
  
  Reply
  - Mike December 21, 2011 10:26 pm
    
    As I thought more about it, a concern would be that the assembly would sort of “potato chip”, meaning that it would try to find it’s own clamping form, as opposed to the method you’ve demonstrated, which uses gravity to hold it flat against the surface upon which it is being glued. However, if the top or bottom skin could be held tightly enough to a flat reference surface during the “vacuum clamping”, it might help. But I’m starting to think that the “simulated” 2 ton press I described, with the clamping pressure sort of coming from everywhere, won’t promote the flatness the torsion box requires.
    
    Reply
Louis December 30, 2011 5:04 pm

That was scary… you waving that piece of MDF with a glass of water next to your laptop… ;-)

Reply
TheFinnishGuy January 5, 2012 9:18 am

As i have said before via the mail Marc, gotta love your videos! Made an assembly table of my own after watching all of your assembly table videos you have there.. :P Just had to have one!

3-month membership would be awesome so i could take a look of the full content that TWW has to offer.. ^^

– Markus, aka TheFinnishGuy.

Reply
Dean July 26, 2012 9:09 pm

Ok, I realize I’m necro posting here a bit but I finally received my new saw (WHOOHOO) and one of the first things on my to do list is to build an assembly table. Only problem is I have what I refer to as two and half *smart car garage, which basically means I can fit two smart cars beside each other with another parked length ways behind them. Yes, it’s small, so I really need everything in my shop to be fairly portable. I’m not 100% sure exactly how much a sheet of 3/4″ light weight MDF weighs but it’s advertised as being 30% lighter than regular MDF so I’m guestimating it to be around 60 lbs or so per sheet. So even at that I’m looking at close to (if not more than) 150 lbs +.

Question is, would I be ok to go to 1/2″ top and bottoms and if so should I beef up the internal torsion structure by either making a tighter grid or by making the internal pieces taller? Or would I be better to stick close to the “new” assembly table design and figure out some type of rolling fold away cart thingamagig? This table will not be supported by a permanent base, it has to be able to be moved and on occasion put away. . Even at 4′ x 6′ it would be taking up some serious real-estate in my garage so making a permanent base just isn’t feasible.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer July 27, 2012 9:43 am
  
  hey Dean. To be completely honest, I have no idea. I built this torsion box primarily using inspiration from David Marks’ design with some slight modifications. I can confirm that this design works as advertised. But I don’t really have the experience or engineering background to say at what point a particular change will cause a problem. The only way I would be able to tell is to actually test it and see what happens. Obviously not ideal but that’s the truth of the matter. Nothing in your plan sounds particularly troublesome to me. But I am only going but gut and not by actual knowledge.
  
  Reply
  - Dean July 27, 2012 5:47 pm
    
    Hmm, well I think I’ll give it a try. Really, the worst case scenario I might be that have to run some 2×4’s under it similar to the set up you used for the original assembly table while I’m using it but I honestly don’t think it will make that big of a difference. I’ll report back on my findings when I’m done ; )
    
    Reply
Robert J January 6, 2013 8:51 pm

Why method did you use to attach the torsion box to the base?? Great job on this project, learned a lot and look forward to completing this project.

Thanks

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer January 7, 2013 6:47 am
  
  I cut a few plywood clips and drove screw through them at a very shallow angle. Attached the clip to the base and drove the screw up into the top.
  
  Reply
  - Shawn January 21, 2013 7:58 pm
    
    Could you elaborate on this?
    
    Reply
    - thewoodwhisperer January 22, 2013 9:18 am
      
      I’m not sure I can explain it any better. I think we need a picture to make it perfectly clear. You’re familiar with pocket screws right? Imagine taking a 2″ wide strip of 3/4″ plywood and using a pocket hole jig to drill the hole at a shallow angle near the end of the trip. Take that strip to the chop saw and cut off the last 3″ which contains the pocket hole. Glue the “clip” to the side of the cabinet and then drive the screw up into the top.
Jim Tibetts September 4, 2013 9:42 pm

Hi Marc,
This table is exactly what I was loking for.
My question is what brand is the straight edge you were using. Looks to have a nice wide base and a little heft; again just what I have been looking for.

Thanks.

Reply
Bill R February 19, 2014 8:10 am

Great video. One question from a newbie.

You are using hardwood glued to what appears to be MDF or softwood for trim. I’ve read how it is necessary to allow for differential expansion and contraction of different materials but this is glued right on. Looks great but why is this not a problem?

I see this in restaurants as well. It’s common to see tables with a softwood center with strips of hardwood mitered around the edges and everything glued up solid. Why don’t these crack and split over time. I live in Maine where even indoors, the temperature and humidity vary a lot.

Thanks,

Bill

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo February 19, 2014 8:28 am
  
  Hey Bill. The key rule to remember is to never surround solid wood with a frame. MDF is a man-made sheet good and while it does have some movement, it’s nothing compared to how much solid wood would move. So if you put a frame around solid wood, you will get separation at the corners or cracks in the middle. What I have here is an MDF top surrounded by a solid wood frame. So there are no issues. What you see in restaurants may be deceiving. It is unlikely they actually have solid wood tops surrounded by a frame. Instead, I’d bet they have plywood tops. So again, just like my assembly table, it’s perfectly stable.
  
  Reply
Joe W. April 13, 2014 9:05 pm

Hi Marc,
In the video for your assembly table, you mention that you used 2 coats of ‘clear penetrating epoxy sealer,’ and then a ‘high performance General Finishes water based finish.’ Can you tell me specifically what you used for both of these?

Thanks.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo April 14, 2014 6:55 am
  
  Hey Joe. I can tell you what products but I honestly don’t think you’ll need all that. On shop furniture, I tend to simply use whatever I have laying around that might go bad soon. The epoxy product was CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer) and the water-based finish was most likely General Finishes High Performance.
  
  But for anyone else, unless you happen to have these sitting around, I’d say a standard oil-based poly is probably your best bet.
  
  Reply
  - Joe W. April 19, 2014 3:22 pm
    
    Thanks Marc. I’ll stick to that.
    
    What is the best poly application method on MDF? I’ve experimented with wipe-on on some small samples and the finish isn’t consistent.
    
    Reply
    - Marc Spagnuolo April 19, 2014 6:18 pm
      
      I would try to pre-soak the mdf to help even out the color. Never tried it but I think it should work. Just wipe down with a rag soaked in mineral spirits and work quickly. While still wet, try brushing/wiping on the poly.
Matt Kreeger February 20, 2015 5:59 pm

Any chance you could post the plans for this assembly table 2.0?

Thanks so much for all your content Marc.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo February 20, 2015 8:14 pm
  
  Hey Matt. I never made plans for that version but it’s really the same thing with slightly different dimensions. If you know how to build the first one, you definitely know how to build the second one. I recommend making yours the dimensions that best fit your space. Then use the grid dimensions from the first torsion box videos to fill in the space.
  
  Reply
Keith Carlson March 24, 2015 11:43 am

Hi, I’m fairly new to your website and videos. I just watched both parts of your original torsion box assembly table build on YouTube. So it’s kind of funny to come here and find you have another assembly table with some big differences.

What really drew me to the first video(s) was the term “dead flat”. I had an assembly table in a previous shop that was an old 48″ x 36″ electronics workbench where I belt-sanded the top flat and glued on 1/4″ hardboard and attached red oak edge boards. That table top was certainly never “dead flat”, and I always wondered how much it might affect gluing up things like a long coffee table.

Now I have a new shop space, and the old assy table is long gone, so I’m thinking about the next one. And you’re saying “dead flat” is not really all that important?

BUT… you did comment in the video that your new table is “a few thousandths” low in a c0uple 0f places on the ends… A few thousandths sounds REALLY flat to me! But is that “dead flat”?

How flat is “dead flat”?

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo March 24, 2015 12:04 pm
  
  Well, dead flat would be zero error. And that’s basically impossible and also unnecessary for a wood shop. How much error one tolerates is really up to the individual. But I think we can all live just fine with quite a bit more than a few thousandths error here and there. Though I can’t specifically say what the upper limit would be.
  
  Reply
Geoff Cremasco May 20, 2015 12:32 am

Hey mate,

Love your projects, they are very cool and inspiring. I am planning to build a storage area/work bench based on your Torsion Box Assembly Table and Base.

I am very new to woodworking and appreciate any tips you have.

Cheers

Geoff

Reply
Frank October 17, 2016 11:02 pm

Around the 9:30 mark….I think you meant MY Festool vac! :)

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo October 18, 2016 6:48 am
  
  haha well played!
  
  Reply

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157 – My New Assembly Table

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