make the top a 'torsion box'
it'll be lighter so you can move it around if you want, and it will be
flatter and stronger.

"Fred McClellan" wrote in message
...
Hi all . . .

I need to build a new model airplane building table; my old
hollow-core door lash-up finally sagged after a year's use.

The table needs to be dead flat. The way I build the model airplanes
is to top the table with a sheet of 1/2" foam building insulation, lay
the plans on the foam, cover the plans with waxed paper, and build the
various parts of the model directly over the plans. The foam
insulation sheet is so I use T-pins to hold the wood parts in place
during frame-up.

No need for drawers or storage; the table is strictly for building the
airframe.

There will never be any weight to speak of on the building bench,
other than the airframe, hand tools, bottle of Titebond, etc. Nothing
heavy at all; the model I'm working on now will weigh about 30 pounds
ready-to-fly. Finished models won't ever be placed on the building
table, only the major sub-assemblies like the right wing, left wing,
fuselage, or tail feathers.

I need the work surface to be 30" wide x 6' long to handle any model
I'll likely build in the near future.

The table has to come apart from time to time so I can regain floor
space for doing things like rigging the paint tent, checking the CG on
a completed model, etc. Which in turn means the building bench can't
be built like one would build a regular wood working bench, I gotts to
break it down and stash it in the corner from time to time.

The question is, using 1/2" MDF for the work surface, how much support
will be needed to insure it doesn't droop over time ?

I thought a pair of 2x6s length wise, 10" in from the front and rear
edge, a 2x4 frame with 2x4 legs, and I'm done.

Sound ok, or did I miss something ?

I know a sheet of 3/4" MDF would be better and that laminating two
3/4" MDF sheets would be best, but that sort of weight impacts the bit
about having to take it apart now and then; without a chain fall, that
is.

g
Cheers,
Fred McClellan
the dash plumber at mindspring dot com