I’ve always wanted an extra workspace in my shop for sketching up ideas and other small tasks. The only problem is, my shop isn’t big enough for one. My solution is this fold-down table. It’s sturdy enough for light woodworking, and it folds out of the way when not in use (inset photo).
The top of the fold-down table is a piece of plywood with hardboard glued to it. It’s wrapped with edging made from two layers of plywood and hinged to a wall cleat. As for the legs, they’re plywood pieces with mitered and rounded ends. A slot in the leg lets the table fold up. The bottom end of the leg fits in an angled pocket in the mounting block. To make the top, I cut the plywood to size and glued on an oversized hardboard piece. Then I trimmed it flush to match. After making the plywood edging pieces, I cut centered grooves in them, mitered the corners, and glued them around the top. Each end of the table has a threaded insert added that accepts a studded knob.
You can cut the slot in the legs with a jig saw or router. Now miter the ends and round them. Finally, you can make the mounting blocks. Detail ‘a’ provides you with the specifics. TABLE INSTALLATION. The hinges are attached to the underside of the cleat and the back edging. Once that’s done, you can move the table to the shop wall, level the cleat, and secure it to wall studs. The legs are attached with studded knobs through the slots. Then you can have a helper assist you in leveling the tabletop, and use the legs to determine the locations of the mounting blocks on the wall. Attach them with screws, and your table is ready for action.
