Ridgid Flip Top Portable Work Support

reible · Post by **reible** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 1:25 am

Hi,

Some years back I learned of these but it wasn't until this spring that I sprang out to the local Home Depot and forked out the money for one. I even built my own version which did work but...

So the best thing to do is just post some pictures and I think you will get the idea of how this works.

To start with here is a picture of it in storage position.
[ATTACH]8544[/ATTACH]

You can of course use these many different ways but I have already found I like to put it in the horizontal locked position just behind the shopsmith main table for working on shorter stock. This is what that looks like:
[ATTACH]8545[/ATTACH]

The part that I really like is when you unpin the top and let it go in flip position. As you know it is not on common for the stock to sag after it leaves the shopsmith table. If you want to use a support stand to support the work piece then this sag can be a real problem. I have even had the stock knock over the support stand rather then roll up on it. Not such a fun position to be in.

The next set of pictures show how the stand manages to keep you working away without the hassle of some of the other stands on the market. (Please note that no woodworking is happening in these pictures they are of illustrations only.)
[ATTACH]8546[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]8547[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]8548[/ATTACH]

They are in the tool department and cost just under $30. If you have any questions on this that you think I can answer for you let me know.

OH YEA it gets a major thumbs up!

Ed

kd6vpe · Post by **kd6vpe** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 7:58 am

I have one of these and use it in the same manner. Mostly I use it when I am plainning boards that are 8 to 10 foot in length. The flip top have really been handy. Of course if you place it too far from the saw the sagging still can happen and I have knocked it over the with wood pushing against the top to low for it to flip. Compared to the roller that I have this is the one of choice now for the out feed and I use my roller for the infeed the combination works great for me.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:13 am

Ed
I have two and I have been singing the praises of the these for years.
I use mine as infeed and outfeed tables for my Shopsmith in saw mode, my SS jointer, SS in drill mode and etc.

I also use them as infeed and outfeed for my planner, side tables for my power miter saw and as saw horses or after placing a 3 by 6 sheet of ply on them for a table.

They hold moulding for finishing, doors for painting and most anything else you can think of. They are rock solid and so versatile I don't know why every woodworker doesn't have at least two.

reible · Post by **reible** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:28 am

Hi Ed,

It might have been you who got me interested. I'm sure it was one of the old times here or at ssug.org. I located them on the Home Depot website then printed the page to stick with my potential purchase. With the ebb and flow of interests and budget it sometimes takes a few years for something to actually get purchased as was the case here.

I did do one thing wrong, I purchased only one of them.

Ed

Ed in Tampa wrote:Ed
I have two and I have been singing the praises of the these for years.
I use mine as infeed and outfeed tables for my Shopsmith in saw mode, my SS jointer, SS in drill mode and etc.

I also use them as infeed and outfeed for my planner, side tables for my power miter saw and as saw horses or after placing a 3 by 6 sheet of ply on them for a table.

They hold moulding for finishing, doors for painting and most anything else you can think of. They are rock solid and so versatile I don't know why every woodworker doesn't have at least two.

reible · Post by **reible** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:39 am

kd6vpe wrote:I have one of these and use it in the same manner. Mostly I use it when I am plainning boards that are 8 to 10 foot in length. The flip top have really been handy. Of course if you place it too far from the saw the sagging still can happen and I have knocked it over the with wood pushing against the top to low for it to flip. Compared to the roller that I have this is the one of choice now for the out feed and I use my roller for the infeed the combination works great for me.

Hi,

I have not had the problem of tipping one of these over but you are right, if the sag or misalignment is too much things can still go wrong. I do feel that the capture range is large for this table then it is for my roller stand, in fact I'm sure of it. The base is also longer making it harder to tip, another nice feature.

Ed

foxtrapper · Post by **foxtrapper** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 4:02 pm

Is there any real advantage to them as compared to the roller stands?

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 11:17 am

foxtrapper wrote:Is there any real advantage to them as compared to the roller stands?

In my opinion YES.

First they are super simple to adjust you don't have to get the height perfect since the table top slants you have a range of about 2-3 inches.

Second and most important is the table offer no feed direction. With roller stands if you don't have the rollers perfectly parallel to the feed axis the rollers impart a direction bias into the mix. In other words roller stands that aren't perfectly perpendicular to the rip fence will tend to direct the wood away from or into the fence. Not Good.

Third they are so much more versatile. The top can be locked in the level position so they act as saw horses or table legs. As I said in my post I use only two and a 3x6 sheet of ply to form a 3x6 foot work table.

Fourth they are a perfect companion or Shopsmiths, they adjust high enough to be used with the SS when in Saw or drill press mode yet they can be set low to use as infeed outfeed for the SS jointer.
Because the top slants and tilts and you have a adjustment range I find I don't have to run around and reset the outfeed height of them every time I make a very small adjustment in my blade height (table height in SS world)

To me they are fantastic and I would not want to be without them.
Everytime I get them out I find another way to use them. The last was support for a canoe that I turned upside down on them while I did some touch up work on the bottom of the canoe. I turned the tables so they ran the length of the canoe so they were supporting the floor of canoe and all the weight and force of repair wasn't on the gunnels of the canoe but instead spread along the length of the floor. Normally I would have used a keel board to set the canoe on but I didn't feel I needed one using these stands.