I had an idea for proposal after taking the tracksaw class and reading through discussions in the thread on new shop tables over here.
I had seen this cutting grid style portable table for sheet goods on Izzy Swan’s channel, it also has these integrated arms that help load full sheets onto the table/grid:
Youtube video is here, see around 8:15 for the arms demo:
Izzy also sells plans on his site here which could be a good starting point:
The main value of this proposal is:
- Makes it easier for everyone(all shapes and sizes) to work with sheet goods and the tracksaw
- Give a purpose built table for the tool that doesn’t take up space in the shop when not being used
- Could make one of our recent tooling investments more productive and easier to use
Materials needed:
- A few sheets of plywood/MDF and some hardware(hinges, screws)
- Plans from Izzy Swain $12.99
- A bit of design and protoyping time
- Some CNC time
- Time to build (I think it could easily be built during the volunteer day, if it was all cut out)
I have an addition to the idea where the portable table could have some removable/folding panels with doghole/MFT style holes in them, similar to the Bora Centipede table:
Depending on how the panels/holes were designed, you could use them to set up the track hinge for a crosscut workstation.
While we could spin this around and just get a Bora Centipede table(foldable/portable) they don’t have the arms to help with loading sheet goods. So while a custom project, I believe this could be a fun and useful addition to the shop.
P.S.: Izzy Swan probably referenced Workshop Companion’s cutting grid table with loading arms, but added the portable/stowable part:
*Note: I’m busy at the moment with work, but could also work with others to help get this going if there was interest. Just wanted to document the idea and put it out there.
