Hi All,

What is the best or most common material you guys use for a build table. I have a large old extra oak dining room table. Even though it is old we still use it from time to time, so I am thinking of using a sheet of drywall to cover it with so that the pins will be easy to push into. I thought of a sheet of plywood but thought that might be to hard to stick the pins into.

Any suggestions.

Tom

Sheetrock, or similar, works pretty well. One of the best builders in our club uses it. If you cut it, be sure to tape up the edge so you don't end up with the "filling" scattered everywhere.

Before my brother started using a magnetic building system similar to http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform...oard/index.htm he just used 24x48 acoustical ceiling tiles on a table.

I have an old desk and got a Great Planes building board http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXPF36&P=0 which is balsa boards glued together and planed flat. My board has stayed flat but I have seen posts from folks saying theirs was not flat when they got it or it did not stay flat. I've seen similar balsa boards under different brand names.

The key, no matter which top surface you choose, is to put it on a FLAT table. Use a long straight edge in multiple directions to see how flat it is and adjust as necessary. My desk is not perfectly flat but it is close. It has a low spot in the center. I used playing cards as shims and it has worked so far.

I also use an old table with a piece of 5/8" drywall/sheetrock on top of it. I put so many holes and cuts in it I'm now on my second piece of sheetrock.

Just be sure that your table doesn't bow down in the middle. If it does, you can always block it up with a 2x4 in the center

I was able to buy a solid core fire door at Lowe's that had the corner chipped off. I got a 55 dollar door for 30 bucks, very flat... I made a large building table with fiberous insulation (like the old cellotex bulletin board sheets) for 40 bucks! Cileng tiles work great but I want to try the drywall method next. I have a smaller building board that is dead flat made out of aircraft grade honeycomb aluminum, it is light and dead flat but only 4 feet by 2 feet, ok for most 40 sized airplanes... I would dearly love to find an 8X4 sheet of the aluminum honeycomb... then I would have am awesome table . I hope to put together a magnetic setup someday. For now I am fine with the old school pinning method of building, it has worked well for 30 years.

I use Homosote board that I buy at Menards over the top of 3/4" cabinet plywood or a hollow core door. It is made of recycled paper.
http://www.homasote.com/WhereToBuy/Default.aspx

Joe

Homasote is the BEST thing to use (IMHO). Placing it on top of a scrap door (hollowcore maybe best b/c it is light, easy to handle) makes for a VERY flat surface. Shim it to level on top of your table and you will have a good, flat surface that is easy to relocate when you need the table to eat on.

Not sure what Homasote is but I bought a product called Softboard here in Australia.  It sounds like it might be similar.  It's the stuff they use to make pin up/drawing boards with when they aren't the cork ones.  I looked around for cork because I thought that would be a good material to pin to but I couldn't find any at the time.  The Softboard works a treat!

I've bought me some 3 unit combo kitchen cabinets, add a woodensubframe with lockable castors, a slab of formica kitchen top with 6mmlaminated glass sheet on top. Made an edgearound it so I cannot cut myself on the glass. It is now a movable building table, I can cut with box knife/hobby knife on it, put papers underneath the glass - even plans and build on top of it. I use weights to build on glass. And at the end of the day use a scraper to clean off spilled superglue, epoxy and paint from the glass, then give it a wipe and everything is nice and clean. I've found a glass sheet very handy - the 6 mm laminated sheet can take a lot of knocks.

Bundu

I have a 4x8 foot table that was built for a model train layout. I have placed a heavier than normal hollow core door on top of it (The door is 1 3/4inch thick, while most commonly they are 1 3/8), which is shimmed to stay flat and level. I actually rescued the door from a neighbor's trash. On top of the door I use a piece of 1/2 inch drywall. The drywall holds pins well (sometimes it takes a little to push them in, but they stay) and it is very easy to make clear marks on it as needed if you are not building over plan. often have been able to get a damaged sheet at the local Home Depot for a few bucks. I second the note to seal the edges with tape to keep the dust in.

just found this

Here is a tip for those of you using insulation board for a top. Cover it with the self adhesive carpet shield sold at U-haul. It comes in a 24 inch wide roll and keeps the dust down.

[link=http://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Protective-stuff/Carpet-Shield-Carpet-Film-Protector?id=2338]http://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Protective-stuff/Carpet-Shield-Carpet-Film-Protector?id=2338[/link]

Stan

Here is a drawing and material list for the table support I use
it will fit a door core that measures 28X80''
It folds up easily out of the way,I put 2' X 4' ceiling tiles on top

WOW! You could wallpaper your house with those pics?!?!?!?!
Sorry about that,don't know why they are so large
right click on a pic and select view image if you want to see them

ROFLMAO. Now THAT was funny...... As many complaints as I've seen about the large picture problems that we have here on RCU, that one takes the cake.

David

I use a glass plate on top of and old drafting table.

Rye ... nice table - how do you protect the saw -??? Just joking - more than enough room

not my table but am going to build one like it

The workbench with the saw is mine. I use this island bench as my main assembly table and all around junk catcher. It weighs over 500 lbs.

I use a sheet of drywall on top of my building table. Its easy to get perfectly flat. Put a straight edge from corner to corner & center to center & look for light under the straight edge. If you find a low spot, i use the newspaper or junk mail flyers to shim up the low spot in the drywall. I like it because, its cheap, stick pins stick in it, and masking tape readily holds down the plans and wax paper. After a few years, you can flip it over & start over w a fresh side.......Gene

Let me put my two cents on this topic: One of the guys mention a web site airfield models.com or something like that> its in the beginning of the topic. Dude its worth your time just to view it outstanding. The man features a magnetic building system. I'm from the old school  were you lifed your mothers strick pins to build your latest  Comet balsa model. To the point holmes: My table is 12ft long x 3ft wide made up of 2x4's. On top ply-wood sub(floor) 5/8 inche @. THis is the ace a 16 ga. sheet metal top. I'm telling you it's the cat meow!!..The magnetsgo to a place named The Magnet Source.Phone303-688-3966.The web site is  www.magnetsource.com. The magnet you gotta get (are you still with me ok) is #CA41LWH Ceramic Latch Assembly. Right now I'm building  Albatross D.III 1/3th scale From the MAN plans designed by Dave Johnson. With this set up you'll never go back to them T-pins. Now you can build that plane knowning that its not going to fall/apart on ya. See you around guy and  have a good night.