41 - Fold-Down Drafting Table, страница 16

FEATURE PROJECT

A Storage ►

A flip-up door provides easy access to a storage compartment that holds all your drafting tools.

B. T-Square ►

To keep this shop-made T-square perpendicular to the edge of the table, it rides in a metal track.

C. Folding Table. In the folded position (left), the drafting table is housed in a compact, wall-mounted cabinet. To make a drawing, a special pivot system lets you swing the table out of the cabinet (right).

Fold-Down

Drafting Table

This sturdy, wcdl-mounted drafting table ivon't take up a lot of space in your shop. It folds into a cabinet that's only deep.

I've always wanted to have a large drafting table in the shop. I just couldn't justify giving up the floor space it would require.

That's why I like this drafting table, see photo at right. It takes up no floor space. Yet it has a large drawing surface — big enough to make drawings on a 19" x 24" piece of drafting paper (or spread out an entire section of the morning newspaper).

folding table. But as much as I like the large size of this table, there's something else about it that's even better. When I'm done working on a drawing, the table folds up neatly into a wall-mounted cabinet, see photo C below.

This cabinet only sticks out 4" from the wall. But as slim as it is, it's enough to house a simple pivot system that lets you slide the table down and swing it out at the same time.

The whole process only takes a few seconds. So if I need to work out a joinery detail or draw a

cutting diagram, I can get right to work.

storage. And there's no need to search for my drafting tools. They're stored in a convenient compartment directly above the table, see photo A.

t-square. One of these tools is a T-square that's designed especially for this drafting table, seej photo B. It rides in a track that keeps the head of the T-square tight against the table. So there's one less thing to worry about when making a drawing.

borco. Finally, to produce a smooth drawing surface, we covered the table with a sheet of vinyl material called Borco. (For more information about Borco, refer to Sources on page 31.)

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ShopNotes

No. 41