Should be salvagable with the 4 x 2's on edge, although I would use alloy hollow rectangular section rather than wood, then shim the sawhorses to the undersides. How straight and flat is easy. The same as the length of a piece of string!
I tried to put together a table for infusion about 18 months ago and *almost* got it done before I started a new job and moved 70 miles away. The sawhorses were set up, the melamine covered particle board sheets were glued together with backer plates under the seams, but I did not get a chance to do the final touches of levelling it and filling a couple gaps. The table is 8' wide by 32' long.
Well, what I didn't count on was that the floor of a 150 year old barn is pretty wavy, and that my nephews would pile 2 feet of junk all over it.
I just got it uncovered, and the surface now reminds me of a mogel field at a ski area. The surface roughly follows the waves of the floor, and the particle board looks like it has sagged under the weight of everything piled on it.
I am hesistant to throw it all out, because it is a considerable investment in time and money. I figure the melamine sheets alone cost over $250. Plus, I don't know if I would do any better next time.
So, my questions are:
1) how flat does the table need to be? Could I just screw 2x4s under the warped pieces to pull them flat, or is this a laser level, micro accuracy thing?
2) If I were to rebuild it, how do I make sure that it is flat and stable enough? With a warped floor, I could probably shim things up to within 1/8" or so, but if it needs to be exactly, there must be more structure to it. I cut the legs for the sawhorses myself, so even they are probably +/- 1/16" or so in tolerance.
I haven't even found a detailed description of building an infusion table. All the descriptions just seem like "glue a bunch of sheets together, put them on sawhorses and go to town". Is that really all there is to it, or is there an implied level of workmanship that is never explicitly stated?
And yes, I know this does not bode well for my boatbuilding skills, when making a big flat rectangle is a daunting challenge. Please don't dwell on that! I have already realized that building the boat myself is next to last on the priority list (last is to just not try!).
- Gardner