Cheap outfeed table for my BT3000

My garage dwelling BT3000 got moved around a lot, so setup time was important to me. I've used several different methods for outfeed, including rollers and  separate tables, sometimes just letting cutoffs fall to the floor. Having a large, flat, sturdy, and parallel to the table outfeed to my table saw was never quite realized with these methods. I debated ordering the outfeed table kit from Ryobi, but the DIYer in me told me there had to be an easy way. Then it hit me-could a very simple solution, using some materials I already had, really work? Could I really take an interior door, two door hinges, some scrap wood, and a few nuts and bolts and make a sturdy setup? Could others do the same?

A flat surface hollow core door, the type with no mullions, panels, or other fancy embellishments, should make a good outfeed table for the following reasons:

1. Big box retailers sell them for cheap.

2. You can probably find a dinged one for a discount-even cheaper.

3. They're lightweight, stiff, and flat. Most modern interior doors can be thought of as a torsion box. They're lightweight, stiff, and very flat-perfect for an outfeed table.. Typically there's a hardwood edge filled with corrugated paper (cardboard) sandwiched and glued between two thin "skins" of thin plywood. 

4. I had one sitting around in my garage for 2 years-cheapest!

Materials used: one hollow core door, measuring 1 1/2" thick or less, two 3" door hinges, some scrap wood, four 3/8" 10-24 flat head screws and four SM5 nuts, from T-nuts.com:

These little guys fit into the rear slot on the rails. One could use a hex nut instead, but the circular boss fits almost perfectly into the slot, so there's very little up and down slop. I don't think a bolt and hex nut wouldn't give the same precision of placement-even if you were satisfied with the placement, a good jar could mess up alignment. Since I wanted my outfeed table to be just a frog's hair below my table saw, and no more, I felt these were worth the extra expense.

One hinge, bolted up. Although I screwed the hinges onto the doors before installation, I wanted to test fit the hinge to make sure it wouldn't interfere with the fence.

Now it's time to measure the distance between the hinge and the surface of the table. Rotate the hinge up parallel to the table, and place a straightedge on the table. If the distance is the same as the thickness of the door, you're in business. If it's smaller, you're out of luck. Bigger, and I can put a shim between the door and the hinge.

Mark the placement of the hinges, making sure the hinges aren't in an area where they're not welcome, such as where the SMT is typically located. Remove the hinges from the rail, and screw them into the edge of the door. Attach the hinges back onto the rear rail. Support the door so that it is in the same plane as the table. Place a straightedge on the lowest part of your saw (mine was the accessory table), measure the difference in the height between the door and the tablesaw. This distance will be your maximum shim thickness.

I used a shim slightly thinner than the maximum shim thickness. When I'm cutting sheet goods, I don't want them to catch on the edge of the outfeed table. The shims are placed over the temporary screw holes for the hinge. I tacked them into place with some brads. Simply screw the hinge back into place.

A slot must be cut out of the outfeed table for the SMT. You can barely see the pencil marks I've laid out. The depth of the cut needs to accommodate the full length of travel.

We cut some holes in our tables, now it's time to fill them back in. I used some scrap douglas fir 2X4, cut down to fill the gaps. Trim away some of the paper inside, scraping off any excess glue. Cut the filler to length, glue and clamp in place.

Here's my finished outfeed table, folded up. I use extension rails, which doubles my saw length. Notice that I have two sections-I cut my full length door into two sections-for my special needs. You'll cut yours down as desired.

All that's needed now is support for the end of the table. I did this without legs or support from my table saw. You may want to make some fold up legs. As one of my professors in college liked to say "I leave this up to the student" ;-).

How much would you spend on materials for one of these? I estimate about $50 brand new. Of course, find a dinged door, or a used one for free, dig around and find a couple of door hinges in the garage, and you're almost free. I bought some t-nuts, but if you throw nickels around like manhole covers, 10-24 flathead screws and some hex nuts would do. Who knows, your outfeed table might be free!