# Piano hinged work table



## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

I have a 30" x 6' piece of 3/4" plywood I will be attaching to the wall of my garage using piano hinges. 

I will be bolting a support timber to the studs of the wall. The hinge will be attached to it and the plywood. The plywood should be able to swing up or down when not supported by legs.

What should I be aware of?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

rwl7532 said:


> I have a 30" x 6' piece of 3/4" plywood I will be attaching to the wall of my garage using piano hinges.
> 
> I will be bolting a support timber to the studs of the wall. The hinge will be attached to it and the plywood. The plywood should be able to swing up or down when not supported by legs.
> 
> What should I be aware of?


screws will be too small and won't handle abuse...
two strap hinges would work...


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

rwl7532 said:


> I have a 30" x 6' piece of 3/4" plywood I will be attaching to the wall of my garage using piano hinges.
> 
> I will be bolting a support timber to the studs of the wall. The hinge will be attached to it and the plywood. The plywood should be able to swing up or down when not supported by legs.
> 
> What should I be aware of?


What have you got in mind for legs and a front rail, Ralph? Depends how much support you need ,I guess. some chains from the corners would support it,but might sag a little in the center. Since you are using a 2X4 on the wall, some hinged supports might swing under it against the wall for legs. I would think some sort of a front rail would be desirable.
Just thinking out loud.

Herb


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

I guess it would depend on the weight it needs to support. For example, does it need a box-type structure on the bottom side to support weight throughout the surface...can you bolt thru your studs rather than screws/lag screws...can you use something other than piano hinge for greater strength...what will you use for leg supports and should they be hinged to fold away (center of table or edges or both)...

...and this would apply to me...are you disciplined enough to put everything away so you can actually fold it away...? Otherwise it makes more sense to just make a solid table where you need it...


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## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

Nickp said:


> ...and this would apply to me...are you disciplined enough to put everything away so you can actually fold it away...? Otherwise it makes more sense to just make a solid table where you need it...


When I want to park the car, yes I would be disciplined enough.

The car does fit when the (future) table would be folded up and the large tools on wheels pushed to the back and sides.

Right now the car is parked in the car wash.
My zip code is the car wash.








[/url]My zip code is a car wash. by Ralph Lundvall, on Flickr[/IMG]


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

rwl7532 said:


> When I want to park the car, yes I would be disciplined enough.
> 
> The car does fit when the (future) table would be folded up and the large tools on wheels pushed to the back and sides.
> 
> ...


Sorry Ralph, 
I've been sending it all up your way, can't seem to shut it off, just keeps coming.

Herb


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## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

Herb Stoops said:


> Sorry Ralph,
> I've been sending it all up your way, can't seem to shut it off, just keeps coming.
> 
> Herb


If you can do that, I think they needed you in Paris this weekend!!


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

@rwl7532, @Herb Stoops...

you guys need to solidify it...
have snow instead....


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Go to a strap hinge. The piano hinge i tried to use on an extension to my workbench was not strong enough and was harder to align that I thought it would be. I also made fold down legs to support the table when folded up. Reinforced the legs with ply so there was room to put 2 hinges on each leg. Made it so the legs fold up out of the way and actually cross beside each other when folded up. The strap hinges were quite easy to attach so they aligned perfectly. 

Glued a layer of MDF to the ply for thickness, then screwed a piece of 1/3 inch high density Masonite to the top and waxed the heck out of it so glue won't stick. The extra stiffness is nice and the MDF helps keep it perfectly flat. The extra thickness will also let you use heaver, longer screws to hold it in place. I attached the 16" wide by about 60 inch long extension to the back of a HF workbench. But I did cut some hardwood strips that I attached under the front and back aprons or skirts, of the table. They reinforced where the hinges attach and also provide a much wider edge clamping area than the 3/4 piece that is the apron. Finally, put some 1/4 x 20 threaded height adjusters on the bottom of the fold down legs. Really helps manage work and space to move around in a smallish shop.

The legs are folded up in the first picture, down in the second. In the second you can see how i used the ply to reinforce the leg, and to allow me to put on two hinges, which do not show. To allow the legs to fold up, I offset one leg so it would fit behind the other. The ply supports were cut to a length less than half the length of the fold down top so they wouldn't interfere with each other when folded. Very stable. I marked the floor where the legs go when the top is perfectly flat, but you won't need to do that.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Sweet...


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

Definitely a strap hinge. A piano hinge is too flimsy for supporting a work bench. Any hammering on the bench will soon wreck the hinge.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

mgmine said:


> Definitely a strap hinge. A piano hinge is too flimsy for supporting a work bench. Any hammering on the bench will soon wreck the hinge.


and through bolt it...


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

If you attach a horizontal length of 2x4 to the wall at the height if the u/s of the plywood, set the plywood on the top of the 2x4 (one leg of hinges already attached to the plywood with through bolts & nuts as recommended) and then screw the second leg of the hinge to the studs, the top will be solidly supported by the 2x4 at the back and the legs at the front. You can even hinge the legs so they fold flat against the plywood when it's folded up and open up to the floor when open.


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## old coasty (Aug 15, 2014)

Herb Stoops said:


> Sorry Ralph,
> I've been sending it all up your way, can't seem to shut it off, just keeps coming.
> 
> Herb


Herb,
Sorry, I've been sending it to you first. 10.03" on the rain gauge for 11 days.


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## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

*Hinged work table*

Here is the result.
I went with strap hinges as suggested and through bolted. I hired my neighbor to do the install as I have no luck in finding studs.
I intended to use my workmates as support and thought I would be shimming to make it all level. 
To my surprise no shimming was needed and the table is level, front to back and side to side.
The table folds up and out of the way.

Nikon N80, TriX @ 400, Developed in HC110 (B) 6 minutes on Uniroller 352.


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## old coasty (Aug 15, 2014)

Herb Stoops said:


> Sorry Ralph,
> I've been sending it all up your way, can't seem to shut it off, just keeps coming.
> 
> Herb


Sorry Herb, I've been sending it your way.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

old coasty said:


> Sorry Herb, I've been sending it your way.


Gee thanks, looks like more on the way today.

I like the strap hinge idea the best,and the shopmates make solid legs. Good picture.

Herb


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