I am doing my first kit this winter... a 35% kit. I have heard that a solid door is great to build on. Like what you would find in a school or industrial building. If so, where do I get one? What are your KIT building tables folks? Thanks.

I use a 5' lamanated countertop from a kitchen island with a cleat on the bottom so I can clamp it into my workmate.

I got it at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store for $15..
Find your local Re-Store Here
http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore.aspx

The Re-Store sells donated building materials and leftovers from renovation projects.. Windows, Doors, Cabinets and so on.

You should be able to find a door laminate flooring, countertop and even cabinets to hold it all up.

A bunch of the wood working guys like a work table topped with Lamanate flooring.

Thats awesome. thanks... Is it true and flat??? No sag anywhere?

Check out Home Depot or Lowes for a damaged luan interior door. You may be able to buy one deeply discounted and they do work well as a building surface.

DaveB

I use a cafateria table with the foldable metal legs. When they get beat up shools give them away. it's 4'x8'. Then I use Elmers foam board on top to stick the T-Pins in.

Gibbs

For Years I Built On A Dinning Room Table And An A Celing Tile.Now I Have A Top Shelf Table And A Balsa Building Board.I Took The Plunge After I Built A Twisted Wing.I Realy Deserved A New Table I Have Been Very Good [sm=wink_smile.gif] LOL.

I'm using our ping pong table. Parts on one side, build on the other. My wifes not happy about it. Haven't told her about the next kit I'm going to start.[X(]
chopper man

I was at Ikea ith my girlfriend and I noticed they had a "build your own table" section. I was able to get a nice flat, strong table top and a set of legs with built in shelves for around $35. I use a Great Planes building board on top of that. Before that I have used an old glass-top dining table that was nice and flat and some kitchen cabinets that I made an MDF top for. When I get my new garage set up, I plan on building some sort of bench on casters that I can roll to the center of the room and work from all 4 sides. The door works pretty good too; I know people who use them. If you can find a used or damaged one, that'd be great. If not, a plain interior door slab isn't all that expensive.

I build on my 10'x4' work bench in the garage when the weather is fit, and during the winter at my wifes kitchen table.

i talked to a builder thats been building for 20 yrs. He told me to use a ceiling tile.... he loves them. I bought one ($2.50) turned it upside down ( using the smooth side up) and used double faced rug tape and taped it to my flat table....seems to work great for me.

I have seen a couple that I like. I saw one guy with 2 sawhorses and a 3" thick , solid wooden door from like a school or a public building. That was awesome. He's had it for years and not sure where he got it. I looked all over for a solid door. I have also been told a nicer hollow door from Lowes can be had for $50 or so, then I would just put that on the saw horses. I really want to make sure the kit is square and straight. If I am building a $4500 aircraft, I want it to have a straight and true platform. I also plumb-bob my surfaces... I am a little overkill yes... LOL

A tile is what, 2' x 4'?? This is going to be an 7'+ 35 % aircraft.

At Home Depot they have a metal work bench/storage bench on wheels. I have that and added a 1/2" plywood "top" that is 30" x 6'. That is covered with ceiling tile.

The unit is higher than a standard work bench (great for standing up - minimal bending over needed ) and is moveable so you can get it out of the way or get to the other side of it easily.

Heres some pic's of my cafateria table for building and covered with the Elmers foam board you get at walmart. Check your local schools and see if they have any they aren't using or will sell cheap.

Gibbs

I bought a 2' x 5' piece of 16 guage steel ($30)and put it on a workbench that I built a long time ago (solid core door for flat worksurface).
I then ordered about sixty 1" x 1" latch magnets from magnetsource ($ 0.65 ea). These magnets hold your work tight and square.
I will never go back to pins again, this thing is the best thing you can use for building.

I am getting close to finishing my work shop, putting in 8' high output lights, the I am going to figure the building surface out. It's nice to see all the variety.

Ceiling tiles look good, but what are the elmers foam boards like?

I have computer desk tops as my benches, 1 12' long by 30" deep for building, 1 10' by 30" for power tools.

I am planning on a moveable collapsable bench for the center for building and storage.

The magnetic thing seems cool.

Elmer Foam Boards are 1/4" thick and are 20"x30" they have foam in the middle and a plastic coating on the outsides. I use three in a row and duck tape them down to the table. This enables me to build a 90" wing in one piece. They are flat and stay flat. They are in the craft dept. at Walmart for under three dollars. I usually get two builds out of each set. Ca glue just wipes off the shiney plastic coating and they hold T-Pins firmly in place. Masking tape holds well for your plans and wax paper, but comes off easy when your done. After you remove them they make a great cutting surface for razor saws and X-acto knifes. Hope you try them. My wife brought them home and said why don't you try these so I did. I wouldn't use anything else now.

Gibbs

The door works well but remember to build it chest high not table high. That way you can stand and work and not get a bad back!

I use a hollow core door from Lowes or Home Depot. They come in various sizes from 26" wide up to about 36" wide.

It's pretty easy to tell if it's straight. Take it out of the rack and look down the side where you'd would normally install the hinges. If it looks straight--it usually is good enough to build on. Now look down the side where you'd normally want the latch and door knob. Straight from one end all the way to the other? Good enough.

Wrap it in 2x4 around the perimeter. Screw the 2x4 on. Now put some legs on it and maybe a shelf about 24" below the table top. This is great for storage and helps to stiffen it up to keep the table from flopping around.

How high should your building board be?

Stand up. Bend your elbows so your hands are out in front of you. Now measure from your elbow to the floor. Thats about how high you want your table. Maybe 3 or 4 " lower, but thats all or your neck will be kinked up from bending over all day long.

Neat thing about it is when it's beat up and got saw marks all over and holes from T-pins--you just take the screws out of the 2x4 and flip the door over. Brand new building surface. You can spill epoxy and alcohol all over it. Spill CA on it. No problem. Take a large sanding block with some 80 grit paper and sand the glue off. Good as new.

If you want a REALLY nice building table, then build the hollow core table and then put a piece of 3/8" tempered glass on top of it. Now thats top of the line!! [sm=shades_smile.gif]

Here's my buildboard. It's a 4' x 8' steel topped island. The top is made of MDF with an internal 2 x 2 frame, banded in 1 x 4 and topped with a sheet of 16 guage cold rolled steel. The base was made with two Gorrilla brand storage shelving units from Costco. I use magnets to build with instead of pins. Check out Paul Johnsons' website for info on using magnets www.airfieldmodels.com

Scott

What I use is a plastic folding table with metal legs I bought at Lowe's. On top of that I place (no glue) a hollow core door, and then on top of that I use a 1/2" piece of drywall cut to fit the dimensions of the door. This is just placed with no glue on the door.

It works great because the weight of the door and drywall it lays perfectly flat and you can push pins into the drywall, plus since it's paper-faced you can write on it to scribble notes, dimensions, etc.

Mine usually lasts for about 1 or two projects before it gets too cut-up, etc, then I just simply buy a new piece of drywall and I have a brand new table top to work off of again.

Here's one of my tables - got some leftover slate pool table tops from a local billiard co. for almost nothing (chipped). These are heavy and absolutely flat. Can put tile or whatever over them....

I build on a old glass table top laid on top of my garage work bench. Slide the plans under it and use thin CA drops to tack glue balsa to glass. When done building just lite tap wing or fuse to free it. Glass is so flat no more warped wing or fuse. I got this from watching Dave Platt Black Art Building tips dvd.

Just recently ran across a great building board... It seems that they were tearing down an old bowling alley... guess who was in the right place at the right time to get their hands on a piece of one of the alleys! Flat, smooth, won't warp, and maple! Just put it on some base cabinets, threw some celotex (ceiling tile stuff) on top for pins, and off we go! If you get lucky, you can get them in any length you can haul away. If they're not trying to salvage them, just bring your chainsaw!

I would think a 16# ball rolling over the wing you're building might cause some damage to it.