Turtles and Tails: Fold-up Garage Worktable

Tom is still working on his garage. Still. It's coming along pretty nicely, but I don't think he'll ever truly be done. He really is a putter-er. It's a word. I'll post pictures of what he's done soon.

I went to visit him last night because, well, mainly because he's working on something for ME. If I didn't get my own spot out there I'd be some upset. Yes, I do need my own craft room in the house and space in the garage, why do you ask?

A few months ago I saw a post on another decorating blog featuring a fold-up (fold-down?) workbench and knew I had to have one. If I can find the link I'll add it. Here are some pics of my inspiration:

Isn't that a great idea? Extra (always cleared) workspace that can be folded up out of the way when we need to park the car inside. So it's been a part of the reno plan from day one. Then...... a couple of days ago I changed my mind and decided I'd really rather just have a table in the middle of the floor. I figured I probably wouldn't use it if it was off in the corner. But the materials were already purchased so I was getting a workbench, dammit!

Tom reworked the original and I really like what he's done. I thought the long edge would be against the wall making just the front useful, but he built it so it folds out (like an ironing board) and now I can work all the way around it.

And it has legs for extra support.

Don't you just love how it folds up?

And the cute little hook to keep it in place?

Now could he just get the rest of the garage finished so I can start making a mess?

~~~~~

Update: People have asked for some detailed pictures of how it mounts to the wall and how the legs attach, so I've added more here.

There is a piano hinge attaching the table to the support board on the wall. Excuse the dust and dirt.

Then there are "tee hinges" attaching each leg to the underside of the tabletop. The tabletop is 3/4 plywood that is screwed down to the frame along all four sides.

And you can see here that the angle between the legs and the tabletop is slightly more than 90 degrees to give it extra stability. If they were straight up and down they might slide under while you’re working and the table would drop. You could add locking braces between the legs and the tabletop if you wanted additional security against someone/something pushing them in while you're working.

Since the original post we’ve also added an electrical switch to make it easier to use power tools. You plug your tool into the yellow end, plug the black end into the wall outlet (or an extension cord), and flip the switch. Power without having to run cords all over the place, and an easy shut off.