Building a work table

[brmax]

Hey stickandtin
  Congratulations to you all with your new adventure, enjoy it in each plan workup.
Just a tip adding on what gene mentioned with a drawer, great idea in several areas. One reason I'm finding on my sew tables the attached small drawer underneath on left is useless if you wheel your machine table into a slot as its not accessible.
I had seen a cool setup in a shop they had a hanging florescent light above their table, inset on the top was stored straight edges and items handy.
For the height I would find the height most comfortable when standing, use the examples ya have to do task now as I did like stove, dryer, canning areas, toolbox, weld table and whatever.
Canvas is 60-72" so I used that myself, for the top probably in my future it would be AC 3/4" thin primed 2 and some decent topcoat that's not to chippy.
Some on here used the board with melamine layer " and it is slick" you might have in either case a dowel jig that's what I used for the plywood sheets not perfect but not sure of any better yet.
You and many others here are running Juki's, with any type I actually find it a nice idea though I didn't do it,( I'm to new) making machine set into a super "super" hd table base area cutout.  Them Juki's weigh a ton, btdt

Have a great day there

[Darren Henry]

Sorry to be so short but I'm running late.

I run an upholstery shop that is satellite to an RV parts and service  business. When required I help over in the "big shop" so know exactly what your dealing with. Here is my 2 cents:

> Your user name is hilarious ! Not much to them once you open them up,eh.
>Table has to be 60" + wide if she is doing awnings. If space is an issue go with a drop leave table that can be folded down when doing smaller jobs and fold up when required.
>My tables have always been plywood tops covered in scrap vinyl or herculite. That way you can easily recover them when the get scuzzy.
>Sewing machine needs to be part of the table and at the same height if you are working on large projects like awnings and tarps. If you want a higher table ( back issues) put the sewing machine on a platform to get it up to the table height.
> Eight foot tables suck for cutting long runs of fabric. I wish mine were 112 or 120" so I could mark off my runs 100" at  time and still have room for the roll. Marking 90" at  time courts math errors and mistakes.
> You want to be able to walk around three sides of the table with the "far end" up against a wall so you can hang the rolls of material on a rack and just roll them off as required.

I've got to run. More input and pics of the shop I work in to follow soon.

[Mojo]

My comments may not be helpful as we are more of a production shop setting versus an upholstery shop setting. Our business is all RV and we concentrate only on RV Awnings. We produce over 500  awning products a year, some are huge, so table space is very critical.

Our rolled goods come in 2 different sizes - 47 and 60. We utilize both acrylic and vinyl. The vinyl is our own brand in which we own the rights to its name Migliore. That is a 19 oz fabric, extremely heavy and 60 inches wide. We need robust tables and wide/long ones in order to handle the weight and width. So we built the tables all out of 2 x 4's.

Our main cutting/sewing table is 8 ft wide x 16 ft long. We have two machines inset at each end opposing. One being a twin needle and the other being a long arm. Since the table is so large we can sew in either direction. Our second table is 4 ft x 8 ft which we use with a second twin needle machine. That table is dedicated to a single operation and allows 2 of us to sew at the same time.
Both of our tables have shelving for storing goods underneath.

A small table will work for general upholstery but not for canvas work. We just finished a 24 ft patio awning and had to do some fancy fabric handling in order to get it sewn. Most of the vintage RV awnings I have seen are small so a table the size of ours may not be needed. Mike, Rick and myself all have large tables but all three of us have to handle large expanses of canvas.

I would build a small table ( 4 x 8 ) with a machine inset at first and make it modular so you can build on to it in the event she starts doing canvas. Our large table is all modular and comes apart in sections so we can move it once we get a larger facility. Here is a picture of our small table with storage underneath.

[urlhttp://s181.photobucket.com/user/throgmartin/media/Up%20Shop/Shop29.jpg.html?sort=3&o=12][/url]

Chris

[Mike]

if  you will be doing awnings then you will need a larger table I do boat covers and upholstery and canvas rolls come 60" side my table has 2 machines one at each end set in 8 feet form each end 5 1/2' side 7 1/2' wide in the center section 27' long and with large covers I wish it was wider, I may add hinged wings to the far side.
and for working with boat canvas pattern  I need to walk around the table cutting out the canvas.



still fill up fast


I used mealamine board for my table tops its smoothe and fast set up when setting up my shop to get to work fast and buld the table in one day and work the next

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-Melamine-White-Panel-Common-5-8-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Actual-625-in-x-49-in-x-97-in-461846/100007790

[Dede]

Mike, how do you keep your table so clutter-free?  My table is a crap magnet... *sob*

[Darren Henry]

He's cheating. Those pics are from when they first moved into the new shop. *wink*