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The Making of an Adjustable Chip Carving Table
John I. Giem
jgiem@comcast.net
January 31, 2022Challenge:
I wanted/needed a table for chip carving. It should be light so it can be easily moved, compact for easy storage, sturdy, easy height adjustment, inexpensive and simple to construct.
My Solution:
Upon looking around, I realized that the TV tray I have been using for laying out projects and transferring patterns met most of the criteria I wanted except for height adjustment.
So, what determines the height of the work surface of the TV tray, and can it be modified? Looking at the tray, the height is controlled by how wide the legs are separated. So, how can I adjust the width of the separation of the legs and maintain stability?
This picture shows two different, but unmodified TV trays configured for storage. Note that the one on the left has a bar that goes all the way across the bottom of the tray whereas the one on the right only has a simple clip on one side. The one on the right will be used to make the height adjustable carving table. If one wanted to, then the left table could be modified to make it useable.
When the TV tray is reconfigured from the storage position to the usage position, the top of the movable leg is moved from one side of the tray to the other and secured at that edge. What happens if the top of the leg moves past the edge of the tray? The surface of the tray will be lower but unsupported. By attaching one end of a chain to the top rail of the free legs and the other end to the opposite side of the tray near the fixed leg, the distance between the tops of the legs can be adjusted thereby varying the height of the working surface.
(See below for third photo)
The end of the chain is hooked over a cup hook thus allowing the adjustment of the spacing of the tops of the legs which in turn controls the height of the work surface of the TV tray. A spacer is placed over the chain, a wooden block, that is used to raise the free side of the tray allowing adjustments to level it out. The spacer block has several different holes through it to provide different amounts of correction to the position of the table when in use.
(See below for fourth photo)
The above picture shows the TV tray configured in a lower position for easier chip carving.
(See below for fifth photo)
The spacer block on the chain provides support for the rear of the tray to keep it somewhat level making it more comfortable to use.
(See below for sixth photo)
This shows the cup hook that allows adjustment of the chain which controls the height of the working surface. The blue cord attached to the chain provides a reference which allows the user to return to a previous height or move above or below the previous position.
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