Originally Posted by
Charles Wiggins
Tim,
Ultimately, you will have to decide what is best for you depending on your available space, budget, and current tools and skill level. In my mind, a woodworking bench is one critter, an assembly table is another critter, and an outfeed table is yet another critter. They can double for one another at times, but when you do that you lose some of the functionality that each may provide.
A workbench is really just a really advanced clamping system. It should be designed to hold work-pieces in any of the three dimensions so that you can cut, carve, chisel, drill, pare, etc., thus the various vises, dog holes, holdfasts, dead men, etc. It should be reasonably flat, as long as possible, but not too wide, preferably under 24" so you don't lose tools to the back and you can lay a cabinet carcass over the end so you can work on it. Most of all, it should be HEAVY so it does not move while you are trying to cut, carve, chisel, drill, pare, etc.
An assembly table should provide a large, very flat work surface for the assembly of pieces. When you get to the assembly stage it is more common to need to clamp you work-pieces to each other than the work surface, although you may need to clamp things down to get an assembly started. If you start attaching vises and drilling dog holes it can mess with the whole flatness thing - and you're faced with figuring out how to beef up the torsion box and suddenly its not so flat anymore.
An outfeed table is just to catch work-pieces and waste as they come off the machine so they don't become difficult to control or fall off the end while you are cutting. You see these most often on table saws. Because of that, you usually have grooves cut in the surface directly behind the saw to allow for your crosscut guide to move. Well, there goes part of your flat surface. in general, outfeed tables don't have to be particularly flat as long as they are reasonably so and don't interfere with the cut at the blade.
All that said, again, you have to decide what your priorities are base don where you are now. Some folks will build an oversized outfeed table that will double as an assembly table. Some build their bench at a good height and position it to function as an outfeed table. I think trying to get all three out of one table is going to create more problems than it solves, but that's just one guys opinion.
Currently, I have no bench, no outfeed table and no assembly table, so if you get something built you'll have one up on me. I use adjustable height stands that I can move around where needed. They were one of the first things I built for the shop back when I was in a one-car garage that I had to share with my wife's car. Got the plans from and old ShopNotes magazine and modified them a bit. Been using them for about 15 years.
Good luck!
Charles