EC

Electric Comet

16/06/2016 8:26 AM

torsion top in the shop

at some point i need to make more work surface space

i like the torsion top idea but not enough space for 4x8

i am thinking of making either two 4x4 or two 2x8 torsion tops

i think the 4x4 make more sense as they are useful separately
sometimes i only need 4x4 work space

the question becomes what attachments to use to make it easy
to connect and disconnect to get them out of the way

they will sit on saw horses

any one made or use a torsion top in the shop









This topic has 18 replies

BV

Bob Villa

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

23/06/2016 5:42 PM

On Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 5:06:49 PM UTC-5, Electric Comet wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Jun 2016 05:56:58 -0700 (PDT)
> Bob Villa <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > I found one of these at a garage/moving sale for $20. There are no US
> > distributors any longer. I'm using it now for a furniture repair.
>
> they are kind of niche product

Niche or not they were sold for decades in PopMech and PopSci from an Ohio distributor.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/x430/BenDarrenBach/PM_ad_zpswbgzife0.jpg

BV

Bob Villa

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

24/06/2016 3:49 AM

On Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 5:06:49 PM UTC-5, Electric Comet wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Jun 2016 05:56:58 -0700 (PDT)
> Bob Villa <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > I found one of these at a garage/moving sale for $20. There are no US
> > distributors any longer. I'm using it now for a furniture repair.
>
> they are kind of niche product

Niche...maybe, but they were sold for decades by an Ohio distributor in a few magazines.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/x430/BenDarrenBach/PM_ad_zpswbgzife0.jpg

b

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

16/06/2016 12:22 PM

On Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 3:14:20 PM UTC-4, Swingman wrote:
> On 6/16/2016 1:53 PM, krw wrote:
> > I generally use solid-core doors with a sacrificial cover. They're
> > easier than torsion boxes
>
> On 6/16/2016 1:54 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
> > One of the cheapest, simplest, fastest, most effective work surfaces
> > around is available in the door section of Lowes & HD: a luan
> > veneered, hollow slab door. Different sizes ranging from $18-35.
>
> Bingo, and Bingo ...
>
> > The door slabs come with or without punctuation... um, I mean, knob
> > and > lockset holes.
>
> ;)
>
> --
> eWoodShop: www.eWoodShop.com
> Wood Shop: www.e-WoodShop.net
> https://www.google.com/+eWoodShop
> https://plus.google.com/+KarlCaillouet/posts
> http://www.custommade.com/by/ewoodshop/
> https://www.facebook.com/eWoodShop-206166666122228
> KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)

IhavefoundbrandnewoakandmapleveneerSCdoorsoncraigslistfor$25orless.Strongandheavy.
Moreforfixedworkbenchtops,IcanseewhereHCwouldbegoodfortemporaryusage
IhaveseenanumberofHCdoorsoncraigslistforfree.
:)

UC

Unquestionably Confused

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

17/06/2016 8:22 AM

On 6/17/2016 7:56 AM, Bob Villa wrote:
> On Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 12:30:10 PM UTC-5, Electric Comet wrote:
>> at some point i need to make more work surface space
>>
>> i like the torsion top idea but not enough space for 4x8
>>
>> i am thinking of making either two 4x4 or two 2x8 torsion tops
>>
>> i think the 4x4 make more sense as they are useful separately
>> sometimes i only need 4x4 work space
>>
>> the question becomes what attachments to use to make it easy
>> to connect and disconnect to get them out of the way
>>
>> they will sit on saw horses
>>
>> any one made or use a torsion top in the shop
>
> I found one of these at a garage/moving sale for $20. There are no US distributors any longer. I'm using it now for a furniture repair.
> http://tinyurl.com/jo2zyu5
>
>


Damn! You suck! ;)

I recall thinking, back in the day, that one of those would make an
excellent bar for the family room of a woodworker. They are very nice.
Were you wearing a mask when you scored that for $20?

UC

Unquestionably Confused

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

17/06/2016 3:04 PM

On 6/17/2016 9:38 AM, Bob Villa wrote:

[snip]
>>>
>>
>>
>> Damn! You suck! ;)
>>
>> I recall thinking, back in the day, that one of those would make an
>> excellent bar for the family room of a woodworker. They are very nice.
>> Were you wearing a mask when you scored that for $20?
>
> The guy was moving to Fla. and was unloading his workshop. Bench, CMS, ShopVac, Belt sander, and plastic car ramps. No haggling for $54 total. No guard on the CMS...this was 2 garage sales over a 2 week period, and I was lucky no one snatched them up!
>

You REALLY suck! <g>

BV

Bob Villa

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

17/06/2016 5:56 AM

On Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 12:30:10 PM UTC-5, Electric Comet wrote:
> at some point i need to make more work surface space
>
> i like the torsion top idea but not enough space for 4x8
>
> i am thinking of making either two 4x4 or two 2x8 torsion tops
>
> i think the 4x4 make more sense as they are useful separately
> sometimes i only need 4x4 work space
>
> the question becomes what attachments to use to make it easy
> to connect and disconnect to get them out of the way
>
> they will sit on saw horses
>
> any one made or use a torsion top in the shop

I found one of these at a garage/moving sale for $20. There are no US distributors any longer. I'm using it now for a furniture repair.
http://tinyurl.com/jo2zyu5

BV

Bob Villa

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

17/06/2016 7:38 AM

On Friday, June 17, 2016 at 8:23:01 AM UTC-5, Unquestionably Confused wrote:
> On 6/17/2016 7:56 AM, Bob Villa wrote:
> > On Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 12:30:10 PM UTC-5, Electric Comet wrote:
> >> at some point i need to make more work surface space
> >>
> >> i like the torsion top idea but not enough space for 4x8
> >>
> >> i am thinking of making either two 4x4 or two 2x8 torsion tops
> >>
> >> i think the 4x4 make more sense as they are useful separately
> >> sometimes i only need 4x4 work space
> >>
> >> the question becomes what attachments to use to make it easy
> >> to connect and disconnect to get them out of the way
> >>
> >> they will sit on saw horses
> >>
> >> any one made or use a torsion top in the shop
> >
> > I found one of these at a garage/moving sale for $20. There are no US distributors any longer. I'm using it now for a furniture repair.
> > http://tinyurl.com/jo2zyu5
> >
> >
>
>
> Damn! You suck! ;)
>
> I recall thinking, back in the day, that one of those would make an
> excellent bar for the family room of a woodworker. They are very nice.
> Were you wearing a mask when you scored that for $20?

The guy was moving to Fla. and was unloading his workshop. Bench, CMS, ShopVac, Belt sander, and plastic car ramps. No haggling for $54 total. No guard on the CMS...this was 2 garage sales over a 2 week period, and I was lucky no one snatched them up!

Sk

Swingman

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

16/06/2016 2:14 PM

On 6/16/2016 1:53 PM, krw wrote:
> I generally use solid-core doors with a sacrificial cover. They're
> easier than torsion boxes

On 6/16/2016 1:54 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
> One of the cheapest, simplest, fastest, most effective work surfaces
> around is available in the door section of Lowes & HD: a luan
> veneered, hollow slab door. Different sizes ranging from $18-35.

Bingo, and Bingo ...

> The door slabs come with or without punctuation... um, I mean, knob
> and > lockset holes.

;)

--
eWoodShop: www.eWoodShop.com
Wood Shop: www.e-WoodShop.net
https://www.google.com/+eWoodShop
https://plus.google.com/+KarlCaillouet/posts
http://www.custommade.com/by/ewoodshop/
https://www.facebook.com/eWoodShop-206166666122228
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)

b

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

16/06/2016 1:58 PM

On Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 4:53:25 PM UTC-4, FrozenNorth wrote:
> On 2016-06-16 3:22 PM, [email protected] wrote:
> > On Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 3:14:20 PM UTC-4, Swingman wrote:
> >> On 6/16/2016 1:53 PM, krw wrote:
> >> > I generally use solid-core doors with a sacrificial cover. They're
> >> > easier than torsion boxes
> >>
> >> On 6/16/2016 1:54 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
> >> > One of the cheapest, simplest, fastest, most effective work surfaces
> >> > around is available in the door section of Lowes & HD: a luan
> >> > veneered, hollow slab door. Different sizes ranging from $18-35.
> >>
> >> Bingo, and Bingo ...
> >>
> >> > The door slabs come with or without punctuation... um, I mean, knob
> >> > and > lockset holes.
> >>
> >> ;)
> >>
> >> --
> >> eWoodShop: www.eWoodShop.com
> >> Wood Shop: www.e-WoodShop.net
> >> https://www.google.com/+eWoodShop
> >> https://plus.google.com/+KarlCaillouet/posts
> >> http://www.custommade.com/by/ewoodshop/
> >> https://www.facebook.com/eWoodShop-206166666122228
> >> KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
> >
> > IhavefoundbrandnewoakandmapleveneerSCdoorsoncraigslistfor$25orless.Strongandheavy.
> > Moreforfixedworkbenchtops,IcanseewhereHCwouldbegoodfortemporaryusage
> > IhaveseenanumberofHCdoorsoncraigslistforfree.
> > :)
> >
> Space bar is broken?
>
>
> --
> Froz....
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Yep,butpunctuationandshiftkeysseemtowork :)

BV

Bob Villa

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

17/06/2016 1:30 PM

On Friday, June 17, 2016 at 3:04:59 PM UTC-5, Unquestionably Confused wrote:
> On 6/17/2016 9:38 AM, Bob Villa wrote:
>
> [snip]
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> Damn! You suck! ;)
> >>
> >> I recall thinking, back in the day, that one of those would make an
> >> excellent bar for the family room of a woodworker. They are very nice.
> >> Were you wearing a mask when you scored that for $20?
> >
> > The guy was moving to Fla. and was unloading his workshop. Bench, CMS, ShopVac, Belt sander, and plastic car ramps. No haggling for $54 total. No guard on the CMS...this was 2 garage sales over a 2 week period, and I was lucky no one snatched them up!
> >
>
> You REALLY suck! <g>

I friend said, "You need to go to Confession"!

kk

krw

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

16/06/2016 8:19 PM

On Thu, 16 Jun 2016 13:54:52 -0500, -MIKE- <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On 6/16/16 10:26 AM, Electric Comet wrote:
>> at some point i need to make more work surface space
>>
>> i like the torsion top idea but not enough space for 4x8
>>
>> i am thinking of making either two 4x4 or two 2x8 torsion tops
>>
>> i think the 4x4 make more sense as they are useful separately
>> sometimes i only need 4x4 work space
>>
>> the question becomes what attachments to use to make it easy to
>> connect and disconnect to get them out of the way
>>
>> they will sit on saw horses
>>
>> any one made or use a torsion top in the shop
>>
<snip>
>
>The door slabs come with or without punctuation... um, I mean, knob and
>lockset holes.

<choke!>

kk

krw

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

16/06/2016 2:53 PM

On Thu, 16 Jun 2016 08:26:08 -0700, Electric Comet
<[email protected]> wrote:

>at some point i need to make more work surface space
>
>i like the torsion top idea but not enough space for 4x8
>
>i am thinking of making either two 4x4 or two 2x8 torsion tops
>
>i think the 4x4 make more sense as they are useful separately
>sometimes i only need 4x4 work space
>
>the question becomes what attachments to use to make it easy
>to connect and disconnect to get them out of the way
>
>they will sit on saw horses
>
>any one made or use a torsion top in the shop

I generally use solid-core doors with a sacrificial cover. They're
easier than torsion boxes. As far as connectors, a search through
grainger.com, or similar, is probably where I'd start. I don't think
it's going to be all that easy to connect them and keep them lined up
perfectly.

>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

LB

Larry Blanchard

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

16/06/2016 6:10 PM

On Thu, 16 Jun 2016 08:26:08 -0700, Electric Comet wrote:

> any one made or use a torsion top in the shop

I did, but it was a lot smaller than you're thinking of - it was a router
table that replaced a wing on my contractor saw. About 18" x 24" IIRC.

I used 1/2" plywood skins and 1x2 webbing. Worked fine, but I sold the
saw with the table so I don't have any longevity stats other than I used
it for several years.

--
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and
carrying a cross.

dd

"dadiOH"

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

16/06/2016 2:53 PM

Electric Comet wrote:
> at some point i need to make more work surface space
>
> i like the torsion top idea but not enough space for 4x8
>
> i am thinking of making either two 4x4 or two 2x8 torsion tops
>
> i think the 4x4 make more sense as they are useful separately
> sometimes i only need 4x4 work space
>
> the question becomes what attachments to use to make it easy
> to connect and disconnect to get them out of the way
>
> they will sit on saw horses
>
> any one made or use a torsion top in the shop

No, but I have used tables like these for many years. Sort of mobile
sawhorses plus they store a TON of clamps.

They are 48" wide, 37" high and about 14" deep. Two trays in one for small
stuff like spring clamps. They can be buted end to end or side to side.
Generally, I have them side by side but separated by maybe 3'. They are
that way now, my new mahogany entry door is on them while I am applying the
finish.

They work better for me than bigger tables, easy to move, easy to clamp
stuff to them when need be. The slots in the legs are for moveable blocks
so I can set things on edge or end (if not too long) and clamp to the legs
to make mortices etc

http://imgur.com/lzG20mq

Mm

-MIKE-

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

16/06/2016 1:54 PM

On 6/16/16 10:26 AM, Electric Comet wrote:
> at some point i need to make more work surface space
>
> i like the torsion top idea but not enough space for 4x8
>
> i am thinking of making either two 4x4 or two 2x8 torsion tops
>
> i think the 4x4 make more sense as they are useful separately
> sometimes i only need 4x4 work space
>
> the question becomes what attachments to use to make it easy to
> connect and disconnect to get them out of the way
>
> they will sit on saw horses
>
> any one made or use a torsion top in the shop
>

One of the cheapest, simplest, fastest, most effective work surfaces
around is available in the door section of Lowes & HD: a luan veneered,
hollow slab door. Different sizes ranging from $18-35.

They are very light, yet very strong and work great for tossing over a
couple saw horses. They are built as torsion boxes. If you need
something with thicker wood surface on the top, you can attach a sheet
of cheap plywood to it, top, or top and bottom.

I throw a sheet of melamine over it to get a great gluing table to which
the glue will not stick.

The door slabs come with or without punctuation... um, I mean, knob and
lockset holes.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com
[email protected]
---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

EC

Electric Comet

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

16/06/2016 12:44 PM

On Thu, 16 Jun 2016 18:10:16 +0000 (UTC)
Larry Blanchard <[email protected]> wrote:

> I did, but it was a lot smaller than you're thinking of - it was a
> router table that replaced a wing on my contractor saw. About 18" x
> 24" IIRC.

am thinking 3x6 might be a better size
easier to manage and will fit the saw horses better

> I used 1/2" plywood skins and 1x2 webbing. Worked fine, but I sold
> the saw with the table so I don't have any longevity stats other than
> I used it for several years.


several years is good
by that time mine will probably need to be recycled

will probably use a combination of staples screws and glue








Ff

FrozenNorth

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

16/06/2016 4:53 PM

On 2016-06-16 3:22 PM, [email protected] wrote:
> On Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 3:14:20 PM UTC-4, Swingman wrote:
>> On 6/16/2016 1:53 PM, krw wrote:
>> > I generally use solid-core doors with a sacrificial cover. They're
>> > easier than torsion boxes
>>
>> On 6/16/2016 1:54 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
>> > One of the cheapest, simplest, fastest, most effective work surfaces
>> > around is available in the door section of Lowes & HD: a luan
>> > veneered, hollow slab door. Different sizes ranging from $18-35.
>>
>> Bingo, and Bingo ...
>>
>> > The door slabs come with or without punctuation... um, I mean, knob
>> > and > lockset holes.
>>
>> ;)
>>
>> --
>> eWoodShop: www.eWoodShop.com
>> Wood Shop: www.e-WoodShop.net
>> https://www.google.com/+eWoodShop
>> https://plus.google.com/+KarlCaillouet/posts
>> http://www.custommade.com/by/ewoodshop/
>> https://www.facebook.com/eWoodShop-206166666122228
>> KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
>
> IhavefoundbrandnewoakandmapleveneerSCdoorsoncraigslistfor$25orless.Strongandheavy.
> Moreforfixedworkbenchtops,IcanseewhereHCwouldbegoodfortemporaryusage
> IhaveseenanumberofHCdoorsoncraigslistforfree.
> :)
>
Space bar is broken?


--
Froz....

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

EC

Electric Comet

in reply to Electric Comet on 16/06/2016 8:26 AM

23/06/2016 3:01 PM

On Fri, 17 Jun 2016 05:56:58 -0700 (PDT)
Bob Villa <[email protected]> wrote:

> I found one of these at a garage/moving sale for $20. There are no US
> distributors any longer. I'm using it now for a furniture repair.

they are kind of niche product











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