I'll be building an assembly table over the next few weeks. I suspect I'll go 42" wide by 13' 6" long with a shelf under. I've seen a few ways to make it true and level by using trusses instead of lumber etc. etc.

Rather than re-inventing the wheel have any of y'all seen a detailed drawing of one that works well? I would really like leveling screws etc but with wheels on the bottom that can be deployed for ease of movement. The leveling I imagine would extend beyond the wheels and be retractable; I think. MDF on top, the length is for the long wings I will build instead of the 12 footers. I've built one of lumber before and they very quickly move out of true.

Whaddaya think?

Dan

if you use mdf I would make the top at least 2 layers, they tend to bow otherwise. 2 layers 3/4 inch is how I do all of my tops.

If you buy some decent angle iron, or those perforated steel angles that have a million round and oblong holes in them, and screw those angles around the perimeter of your bench top, and then screw them across the bottom of your bench top every 12 or 18 inches, the angles should accomplish a few good things.

They will resist the bowing or sagging or warping of the bench top.

They will give you a good way to tie in the uprights, diagonals, gussets, etc.

You can add more of the angles between the uprights to support shelves

You can tie in the bottoms of the uprights

Also, you can stack up these angles several at a time and cut them with a chop saw.

Love the new username... apparently the 701 project means that Emory is not Bored anymore

Have you checked the EAA web site or forums? They have a wealth of information there.

MTV

I spent a lot of time truing up a mdf table to build my Savannah on. When I got to the wings, by the time it was cleco'd together, the assembly was so stiff that I could have built it in a boulder field and not lost any accuracy. The Savannah wings were predrilled for spar, ribs, and skin, so by the time I got my clecos in, there was no choice but for the wing to be as accurate as the original drilling job.

On the other hand, if you are building something that requires YOU to do the fitting and drilling, you WILL need a flat, level surface to work on. The other consideration in something like this monster table is what will happen to it after the build? In my case it sat on the bone yard pile until the next bonfire. Your mileage may vary.

tom

EZFlap wrote:If you buy some decent angle iron, or those perforated steel angles that have a million round and oblong holes in them, and screw those angles around the perimeter of your bench top, and then screw them across the bottom of your bench top every 12 or 18 inches, the angles should accomplish a few good things.

They will resist the bowing or sagging or warping of the bench top.

They will give you a good way to tie in the uprights, diagonals, gussets, etc.

You can add more of the angles between the uprights to support shelves

You can tie in the bottoms of the uprights

Also, you can stack up these angles several at a time and cut them with a chop saw.

Love the new username... apparently the 701 project means that Emory is not Bored anymore

This is some clear thinking here. I hadn't thought of a hybrid like that and it makes good sense. I have looked at steel framing as I have done more welding in my life that was good for me. Back in the day of $.40 a pound steel prices this would have made a great deal of sense. That perforated steel angle may be the ticket.

The 701 wings have no washout. That function is carried out with flaperon mounting along the trailing edge. The real challenge as I see it, is the coupling of the rear fuselage to the forward section. All of that assembly has to be jigged up pretty solid or you got a problem. With the CH750 those holes are pre-drilled. Not so on the 701.

As I mentioned, I've built one of these table before. It <(I wonder why I had "I" instead of "it" here for several days. Must be the weather) was a POS because the tabletop joists were not stable. Warping and divots ensued. I'm thinking some sort of kiln dried framing is in order but even then the stuff will move. Once the forward/rear fuselage junction is made I don't think I care. I do have enough immensely expensive spruce spar stock left over from a Skybolt project that is rock solid. I'll have a table that I can trust but that lumber belongs in a biplane wing not on some future bonfire. We'll see.

Anyway, as to the username change I think it was time. Emory Bored was a gritty and abrasive sort. Mister701 might be kinder and gentler? Maybe. He's still the last of the world's great human beings though.....

BTW, the Luscombe has a new owner. An all rating ex military pilot who's unsure of his medical status in years to come.

Thanks for the comments boys

Mr.

Probably too late or may not work for you, but when I poured the slab in my shop, I embedded j-bolts right in the mud. Then I framed up what amounted to short 2x4 walls on that and sheeted them with 3/4" plywood I had laying around. The top was shot in with a transit and a straight edge, so dead nuts flat and level. I have high density particle board screwed to the 1 1/2" thick top, the idea being in a few years I could easily replace the wear surface. My corner vise is embedded in a deeper footing, mounted on 6" pipe I also had laying around. Nothing worse then a wiggly vise.Building super heavy duty for no expense is what I am known for..... Deep drawers (all built of free scrap 3/4" ply also) are under the bench. This bench, being so solid, is a handy deadman for pulling things around the shop, a few snatch blocks make that happen.

If I was building from scratch, I'd use LVL material, for the bench frame it's the laminated super strong ply material used for headers and rim joists in home construction. Straight also. 60' lengths so you can buy just what you need at the lumber yard rather then deal with pre cut lengths. That and some angle iron for the underneath part and to provide a solid mount for some quality locking casters.

No wheels considered, though I can see the benefits of that, I have other wheel mounted small benches when needed. And, these smaller, also drawered (?) wheeled benches, are the same exact height of the main bench, so I can put them together if needed for an even larger work area.

courierguy wrote:<snip>
If I was building from scratch, I'd use LVL material, for the bench frame it's the laminated super strong ply material used for headers and rim joists in home construction. Straight also. 60' lengths so you can buy just what you need at the lumber yard rather then deal with pre cut lengths. That and some angle iron for the underneath part and to provide a solid mount for some quality locking casters.

Wow. Thanks for the heads up on the LVL stuff. That's the ticket I'm thinking. It looks like I won't have to rebuild my jointer just to build a table after all. No chance of the built in table for me though that sounds like a great way to go. I'm building in a double garage with a 7' by 12' shopette adjoining. Airframe pre-assembly will occur in the driveway as need arises.