I have areal dilemma. I have a garage with NO, and I mean NO free space in it , until I pull the cars out and then I have the age old, what the heck do I use to but my tabs saw on, my mitre saw. Or where to I put the 2x4's or 4x8 plywood sheets that i want o cut up with my circular saw.

When the better half refers to "the garage" I correct her with "THE SHOP". There has never been a car in it since I did the face lift on it and poured the floor. No car inside means no problem. As to cutting sheet goods, depending on what condition my shoulders are in that day, I either put it in the bed of my truck and use some roller stands for support of the over hanging portion, or I lay 2Xs on the shop floor and cut it there. When my shoulders aren't bothering me, I take it to the table saw or shopsmith to cut.

Another solution may be a rolling lumber cart / panel cutting cart combination. If that is something you may be interested in, PM me for more info.

Posted By peterwor on 07-22-2012 05:01 PM
I have areal dilemma. I have a garage with NO, and I mean NO free space in it , until I pull the cars out and then I have the age old, what the heck do I use to but my tabs saw on, my mitre saw. Or where to I put the 2x4's or 4x8 plywood sheets that i want o cut up with my circular saw.

I seem to always be "Rube Goldberging" something together.  I potentially have a corner of safe, that if I really had the time & will , I could really clean up and then build myself some sort of work bench, which would solve some problems.  It wouldn't help me with the 4x8 sheets that I need to cut up etc.

While a nice solid work bench would be great, I still seem to need some thing more portable and configurable to lay a 4x8 on to cut in half or cut to size etc.

What o some of you do that are or may have similar situations ?   Anybody got any suggestions ?

TIA,

Peter

Well Peter...this is simple.

I have seen plans for folding workbenchs. By folding, they are hinged on the wall and simply lift up with the legs folding with them and are attached to the wall.
Where there's a will, there's a way. I have no garage at all so I had to go down to the basement. Even getting an 8' 2x4 down there is a test of strategy, much less full sheet goods. I usually either have them broken down at the store or break them down outside. I have got an enclosed porch I can use for some limited storage. Obviously, there are no large projects going on, or at least completed, in the shop area. Wouldn't be able to get them out.

4 X 8 sheets go on the SAWHORSES.
Cut with a circular saw using a saw guide.
All the dimension lumber can be handled nicely on the sawhorses.
I have a set of plans for some really versatile sawhorses around here somewhere.
When I find them I will post the plans.
I have 5 of them in my shop. My wife claims one for her VBS work. It has a shelf underneath. 
 
They stack out of the way in a small space when not being used.

 

 

 

Here is a pic of two of them before varnish and the one in foreground is several years old. (very well used)

JMHO

 

 

I have 2 shops, a woodworking one in the basement and one in the garage for everything else. Both shops have benches but I never cut sheet goods and very seldom cut dimensional lumber on them. I either use sawhorses, place it on some 2 x 4's on the ground or on top of the 2 Black and Decker workmate tables I have. I find a bench to hard to work on when laying out my cutting plans on sheet goods. I can only access 1 side of the sheet. If it is set on top of sawhorses or something similar, I can access all sides when laying my cutting plans out. I can also get around it when cutting.

As to where to put your table saw or mitre saw, Dewalt makes a very good saw stand. A set of clamps bolt to the bottom of your saw. When you want to use it, set the stand up and set your saw on the stand. The clamps hook to the rails of the stand. There are slide out extensions on both ends. The saw can sit anywhere betweeen the ends which are about 4' apart. Almost any brand of saw will fit on the stand, all that limits you is will the clamps bolt to your saw? The clamps, 2 to a set, have slots in them for the bolts to fit into, so a wide range of depth adjustment (back to front) is available as well as different spacings for the bolts. Width is not a factor as the clamps are not attatched to each other, only to the saw base. There are other brands of saw stands, but this is the one my contractor friends recomend.

Peter, while I no longer have this setup - I did at one time.  Simply used old garage door hinges attached to the wall.  The table folded up (or you could make it to fold down) and hooked into a latch in the ceiling.  When not in use I simply folded it up and gained alot of floor space!

Hope this helps!

Slab-sided doors that have been damaged are cheap at the big-box stores and make excellent temporary work tables on couple of saw horses - and they are lighter than a full sheet of 5/8 or 3/4 plywood.

I have several B&D WorkMates, and a Rockwell JawHourse. I do NOT have a dedicated wood bench, but have never had a problem getting things done. A couple of clamps and a straight edge board long enough to use as a cutting guide for a circular saw allows making straight cuts to break down full sheets. Many times a few 2x4s on the driveway have provided the working clearance needed to make the cuts.

Posted By peterwor on 07-22-2012 05:01 PM
I have areal dilemma. I have a garage with NO, and I mean NO free space in it , until I pull the cars out and then I have the age old, what the heck do I use to but my tabs saw on, my mitre saw. Or where to I put the 2x4's or 4x8 plywood sheets that i want o cut up with my circular saw.

I seem to always be "Rube Goldberging" something together.  I potentially have a corner of safe, that if I really had the time & will , I could really clean up and then build myself some sort of work bench, which would solve some problems.  It wouldn't help me with the 4x8 sheets that I need to cut up etc.

While a nice solid work bench would be great, I still seem to need some thing more portable and configurable to lay a 4x8 on to cut in half or cut to size etc.

What o some of you do that are or may have similar situations ?   Anybody got any suggestions ?

TIA,

Peter

      Some thing like this......................


               

Check out the Sept. 2012 issue #213 of WOOD magazine if you want a super idea of how to utilize your table saw, miter saw or router with limited space.

The compact tool table in the article can easily be adapted to work with a lot of portable shop tools and uses approx. 2' x 3' in storage position.

When I have to cut 4X8 sheets I use a skeleton of 3- 2x4's nailed together on edge spaced at 2 foot laying on top of a pair of saw horses then lay my sheet goods down and cut. When the 2x bys get cut up buy three new studs and make a new one.

does anyone know where and what issue the wall cabinet fold down workbench is located in the 2 pictures above? that is what i am looking to build
thanks

Posted By dfell on 08-04-2012 01:00 PM
does anyone know where and what issue the wall cabinet fold down workbench is located in the 2 pictures above? that is what i am looking to build
thanks

    That workbench was from The Family Handyman.

    See if I can find the date/issue. SEPT 2003

I believe this is a link to a PDF of the Family Handyman Sept 2003 article.  Since it is on a Readers Digest web site (owners of Family Handyman) I'd have to think it is pretty much OK to grab it and keep the file.

http://www.rd.com/images/offer/fh/p...rkshop.pdf