Ultimate Tool Stand

sprague lake, estes park, colorado, 09.19.2004

Ultimate Tool Stand I have seen a couple of "Ultimate Tool Stands" posted on Woodnet and thought they would be really useful in my shop. I've been wanting to build a new router table and also needed a place for my miter saw. I also hate having to clear off my workbench whenever I need to break rough lumber down. The UTS measures 2' x 6' x 3' tall. All the dimensions are a multiple of 2 feet which makes construction easy. The UTS uses 4 sheets of 3/4" MDF, and since MDF comes in oversized 49" x 97" sheets, there is practically no waste. I am guessing the UTS weighs over 400 lbs. You can download a PDF of the plans and photog's thread on Woodnet that inspired me to build this.
The base of the UTS is a torsion box that absolutely won't flex. The hardwood sandwiches provide some beef for mounting the casters and leveler blocks.
Here are the double-locking 4" casters and leveler blocks. I'm glad I didn't skip the leveler blocks because my garage floor is not flat and I always have one caster off the ground.
The cabinet is simple butt joints. photog from Woodnet had a good idea of making the back a 1/2" proud to register the boxes.
Dry fitting all the "boxes".
Here is the completed UTS.
Here it is with the center box and doors removed. The two outside boxes are screwed to the cabinet.
The clamping channels are extremely useful and came in handy in veneering my speakers.
The center box can be flipped over and you have a downdraft sanding table. Drilling 352 holes and countersinking them will test your patience!
A hole is routed in the cabinet for the router table.
I'm using a Hitachi M12V router and Woodpecker's Plungelift and absolutely love it! I made the fence based on a recent Wood magazine plan.
The Plungelift system allows for above-the-table adjustments and bit changes. Having a dedicated table router is nice.
Here's another picture of the router table system.
A drip shield protects the top during glue ups and finishing. It stores in grooves behind the cabinets.
Removing the center box is great for breaking down larger stock with a circular saw.
I don't use my miter saw that much, but having 6' of support is great. The removable fences register on small blocks so they always align with the miter saw's fence.
I have a full 20 amps running to the UTS. Here you can see the levelers in use, one of the miter fence stop blocks, and the storage for the drip shield.
After using the UTS for a few months, I decided to add four simple drawers to the fixed boxes. Here's a picture of two of the drawers.