• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Cutting table/ Work table

Intense01

New Member
Hello, I am looking to get a larger work table. Something like a 4'x8' or a 5'x10' as my main cutting table. I have been using a small 6 footer and have outgrown it quick.

I used to use some upholstery tables but I can't find them anywhere locally. Does anyone have any ideas on where to buy a nice, sturdy cutting table from? I saw the Iron Man cutting table but I don't want to pay close to $1000 for a table.

What is everyone else here using?
 

Intense01

New Member
I don't have all the tools to build up a table. I will check out a surplus furniture store and some local auctions. I keep searching craigslist but I am not sure what to search under. I have tried work table/ industrial table/ cutting table/ upholstery table. All of them usually just bring up dining tables. I will keep looking.

Thanks for the help.
 

MikePro

New Member
craigslist for a carpenter/sheet metal worker or general contractor in your area and have them build one for you. finish with a 4' x 8' (at least) cutting mat and you're set!
 

njshorts

New Member
You can build a table with a drill and a saw. We used 4 4' 4"x4"s for the corners, framed with 2x4s and a 4x8 sheet of 3/4" plywood with a rhino mat on top... times two now for a total of 4'x16'. All in all, each table cost around 250 with the rhino mat and grid sheet underneath it- including screws and a 1/2" sheet of plywood to create a shelf underneath.

If you're lacking a drill or saw and can't borrow one, rent them from home depot- it'll be pretty cheap for 4 hours you'll need em.


edit-

also, make the job easier on yourself... have home depot cut the 8' 4"x4" boards down to 4', and do a bit of math to get the other cuts together for home depot to cut. (hint- there are only 4 more cuts to make, unless you want additional support).
 
we used a 6' x 3' kitchen table we had in our old house and put an 8' x 4' plywood sheet on it(screwed in and counter sunk) and then put a cutting mat over that from our sign supply place, works out great.

you can get an old kitchen table on craigslist for about $20, the plywood sheet will cost you $10-$15 from home depot/lowes and the cutting mat was $100.
 

GypsyGraphics

New Member
i have several chrome shelving units from costco, all i did was break down one of the units to create an "I" shaped base, lay a sheet of maple plywood down and top with a self-healing cutting mat.

voila.... great storage and cheap cheap!

gg_ShopTable.jpg
 

skyhigh

New Member
I have a 6' x 12' table & a 4x8 table that I made recently. They are pretty sturdy, made out of 4x4 legs, 2x4 stringers and mdo tops. They are not fancy, but they will hold a couple people easliy.
 

shakey0818

New Member
You can build a table with a drill and a saw. We used 4 4' 4"x4"s for the corners, framed with 2x4s and a 4x8 sheet of 3/4" plywood with a rhino mat on top... times two now for a total of 4'x16'. All in all, each table cost around 250 with the rhino mat and grid sheet underneath it- including screws and a 1/2" sheet of plywood to create a shelf underneath.

If you're lacking a drill or saw and can't borrow one, rent them from home depot- it'll be pretty cheap for 4 hours you'll need em.


edit-

also, make the job easier on yourself... have home depot cut the 8' 4"x4" boards down to 4', and do a bit of math to get the other cuts together for home depot to cut. (hint- there are only 4 more cuts to make, unless you want additional support).
:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 

Custom_Grafx

New Member
craigslist for a carpenter/sheet metal worker or general contractor in your area and have them build one for you. finish with a 4' x 8' (at least) cutting mat and you're set!

+2!

I found a local guy on ebay (who turned out to be a 17 year old carpenter's apprentice) - he was cheap, professional, and extremely happy to be making money while learning what he loves doing.

Was a definite win/win.

I was surprised how good his attitude was at that age, and how much initiative he showed for doing what he was doing when I see so many other kids his age doing a lot less.

He talked me into a formply top, which was worth the extra $ IMO - you should get something which can take a bit of water in case you ever have a big run of wet app panels or for whatever reason.

The final product was an 8x4 - with castors, so it can be moved around if required. It also has a shelf under so I put a lot of stuff down there and save on storage space too. It also has a full coverage cutting mat on top, which is a must IMO.

I had another long bench made at the same time, around 2x8. Same, with castors and shelf - this one is used just as a long bench, if we need to mount to large panels etc but most of the time it's just used as a table for outgoings and a bit of packaging storage etc, as it's near the door.

For both benches, which were custom sized, he charged around $500, which I thought was very reasonable.

True, you can build one yourself for not too much hassle... but when you're working and have other stuff to do all the time, and can't afford the dust in the same room as your printer... all worth it.

Good luck!
 

Intense01

New Member
Wow, All great help!!! Thank you everyone. GG your set up looks so nice and clean. Thanks again for the picture. That is a great idea and I may look into it. I spoke to a friend and he offered to help weld me up a steel table on casters. I may do that with a wood top and cutting mat.

Keep the great ideas coming.

Thanks again!
 

2B

Active Member
we did our work tables out of metal (square tubing), 4x8 2 of them. this way they are light enough to make a 4x16 or a 8x8 which is what we use 90% of the time.

plus a custom built can be made to whatever height you want, suggest taller say bar height really saves the back from not having to be bent over for long periods of time
 

10sacer

New Member
Work tables

Have two of these. Cost $280 for materials including the wheels for each.

Took about 4 hours each - but thats because I am anal and wanted everything square and level.

Just start with a 4'x8' box out of 2" x 4"s and work your way up.

Took an electric drill, circular saw, rip saw and a nail gun/hammer. Screwed lag bolts in with adapter on drill.
 

Attachments

  • DSCF3220.JPG
    DSCF3220.JPG
    258 KB · Views: 1,644
  • DSCF3221.JPG
    DSCF3221.JPG
    258.9 KB · Views: 1,614
Last edited:

thinksigns

SnowFlake
A couple of pics of one of my 6' x 10' tables. I have 3mm sintra for the top, but I will probably be switching to a self-healing mat soon.
 

Attachments

  • pic1.jpg
    pic1.jpg
    67.5 KB · Views: 2,893
  • pic2.jpg
    pic2.jpg
    84.8 KB · Views: 1,477

bob

It's better to have two hands than one glove.
Other than finding one alongside the road the cheapest way to make a table is to pick up a 3'x8' or 3''6' banquet table at Staples/Office Depot/Office Max/whatever and screw a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4 MDO to the top.

Be sure and get a banquet table with a composition board top and not a resin top. Lay the MDO on the floor, turn the table over and center it on the MDO, and screw it together with some drywall screws.

Flip it over and add a 4x8 cutting mat.

This makes as functional a table as you're likely to find for not a whole hell of a lot of money. Moreover it's light enough to slide around and they fold up if you want to get one out of the way. The only thing you don't get is some sort of under-table storage which I've found is vastly over rated and usually collects crap that sits there until you get tired of looking at it and throw it on the burn pile.

Quick, easy, and cheap.

I have a couple of these I made 9-10 years ago and wouldn't swap them for any of the lumber intensive overweight behemoths I've seen others touting on this sand pile.
 

2B

Active Member
we did our work tables out of metal (square tubing), 4x8 2 of them. this way they are light enough to make a 4x16 or a 8x8 which is what we use 90% of the time.

plus a custom built can be made to whatever height you want, suggest taller say bar height really saves the back from not having to be bent over for long periods of time

Here are the images, we are building shelves to attach to the underside for more storage area
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0001.JPG
    IMG_0001.JPG
    104.5 KB · Views: 1,227
  • IMG_0002.JPG
    IMG_0002.JPG
    124 KB · Views: 1,660
Top