Outfeed Table - Wrap Up

Finally getting around to posting the final pictures of the outfeed table. As always things take a lot longer than I expected and I ended up making a few modifications to the original design. I had originally planned to do a split wing.  As the project was dragged on I realized I didn't really need it a single wing would be enough. The other change I made was with the hinges on the wing. I originally didn't want to have the hinges exposed on the top of the table.  I was concerned that the screws would mar the wood as it slid over. However I really liked the idea of a wing that could fold the complete 180 degrees and rest on the table. I couldn't really find any hinges that could do that and mount from the bottom. Here's what I decided on:

Lee Valley Narrow Flip-Top Hinge

The next thing I did was to cut out the wing and start installing them.  I used a combination of a router and a chisel to carve out the recess for the hinge:

Hinge Recess

Test Fit

After carving out the recesses in the wing the next step was lining up the three opposite recesses on the table.  My first thought was to just use a tape measure and measure it out but this seemed like it would be really hard to get exact.  Then my lovely wife came up with the perfect solution.  I put the wing on top of the table as it would sit when it was fully flipped and clamped it to the table.  Then I used a chisel to mark where the recesses lined up on the table.

Wing laying upside down on the table

Marking the table with a chisel using the wing recess as a guide

Once the marks were made I cut the remaining recesses and everything lined up perfectly.

Next was to actually screw them in and this was where I ran into trouble.  The recommended screws I had didn't entirely fit flush in the hinge so I tried using a smaller size.  Unfortunately they weren't strong enough to support the wing and I broke a few of the heads off with the screw stuck in the wood.  Big problems.  Thankfully this little tool helped me out:

Screw Extractor

This cuts a circle around the screw that you later replace by gluing in a dowel.

Hole left behind from screw extractor

The broken screw

Dowel replacing the hole, ready for a second try

After switching back to recommended screws I finished the wing install:

Hinges completely installed

Wing supports on the bottom made of MDF

The rest now was just finishing touches:

Added self leveling feet 

Blade guard cut-out

Miter slot cut in the wing

Sanded and varnished top

Honestly, when I finished the table I wasn't 100% happy with it.  I think the wing was a cool idea but it turned out to be a lot of trouble.  Looking back on it if I could have thought of way of giving me the space to attach and remove the blade guard without having a moving piece of the table I would have opted for that instead. However, even though it's not perfect it's been very helpful already.  I've cut several large boards and it's been a huge relief not having to try to support the board as I'm running it through the saw.  One secondary benefit has just been the large working surface.  It really helps to layout long boards and sheet goods.

So that wraps up the outfeed table, onto the next project...