Maslow frame doing double duty as a low height assemble table

About to build my frame. I’d like to design it so I can pivot it to lay flat. In the horizontal position I would use it as a 4x8 low height assembly table. The spoil board would become the work surface and would be about 2’ off the floor. Imagine your tray table on an airliner. Most of the time it would be in it’s upright and locked position as if we were on approach.

I’ll remove the sled, get the chains out of the way, unlock it and lower it to the horizontal. There would be legs at the top that will swing out for support. It would need to be close to dead flat. It’s no big deal if the spoil board is chewed up because I’ll just be assembling cases and clamping glue ups.

I’m going to lose my current table because there’s no room for it and the Maslow.

How likely is it that I would have to recalibrate if I cycled the frame from upright to horizontal and back to upright?

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sounds like a headache, chains needing to be removed and reattached. same for sled and cables.

why not just get a couple aluminum folding benches from lowes and throw a sheet of plywood on top when you need the work space?

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Seems like a good idea. Then just hinge your Maslow frame to snug up to a wall, then you will only lose the 8-12 inches that the sled and router take up and that could be partially alleviated by hanging the sled from a hook on the top beam. Wrap some bright colored velcro around the chains near the sprockets to keep chain position secured.

No extensive thought has gone into this statement but I’ve seen someone hang the sled on the top beam. What if you did that and a good portion of the work area pivoted down independently of the main structure? Still lots of access and about 4 barrel locks later, it seems like calibration wouldn’t be a problem. Like a drafting table with a basket handle! :grinning:

One more quick thought on the pivoting aspect. When the unit is in the upright Maslowing position you would want to make sure it is rock solid in reference to the top beam otherwise I would think you would get sloppy lines and bad depth of cuts if there is even 1 or 2mm of play in the back board.

Ok, just got another thought. If you had sufficient height you could put the bottom of the waste board at 24 inches and then just pivot the top down to set on some short Maslow cut sawhorse style legs. When it is upright the top could rest against some stops and be bolted to them. In any case all of my ideas would probably require 10-15 minutes and raw brute strength to switch back and forth. Unless you have some extra dollars for a winch system.

It would be nice to have it pivot in a more balanced fashion… Even weighted if need be to attain the proper end work height. This way you don’t have to “herc” anything into place.:muscle: