Built-in Folding Desk

Measure and mark your desired size table. Remember to make it shallow enough so that you can close your closet doors when you wish to hide your workspace. Here we are working in a standard closet which is 6 feet wide. We chose to use half of the closet as our workspace, using our built-in shelves from last weekend as an anchor. Therefore we are building a fold-up table which, when finished, is 3' wide by 2' deep. There are several ways you can mount a drop-down table. We will show you our ledge mounting technique in step 2. At this stage, cut the full size of your table (here 3' x 2'). Use a Saw-Max tool equipped with a SM500 Wood and Plastic Wheel to make your cut. Ensure a precise cut by lining up your marked line inside of the notch at the front of the tool, then turning on your tool and cutting. The compact tool and front notch provide an excellent line of sight. Slowly work your tool through the laminate.

To mount our table, we opted to cut a small ledge 4" in depth out of our cut piece in step 1. This ledge will allow your table to be propped against the wall when not in use. To cut this ledge, measure 4" into a 3' long side of your table. If you feel like you need additional support, use a Saw-Max tool equipped with a SM600 Wood and Plastic Flush-Cutting wheel to make your cut. Here we clamped another piece of wood on the line we cut. This piece of wood served as a guide when we cut with our SM600 Flush-Cutting wheel.

Here we opted to use a piano hinge to attach the ledge and table surface together. The hinge should come with appropriate screws. If not, search for small enough screws that will not damage or split your laminate. If you notice splitting, you may want to use a Dremel Rotary tool with a drill bit to create pilot holes. Here we used a screwdriver to avoid stripping these small screws.

Now it is time to create a frame which will anchor your ledge into your closet. To do this we cut pieces of casing and screwed them into all three walls to serve as a frame. These quick cuts are easy with the Dremel Saw-Max fit with the SM500 Wood and Plastic Wheel. Measure and mark your cut on your trim before you begin. Remember to clamp your trim to your work surface for added control. Given our space we cut one piece of casing against the back wall 3' long (the same width as the table) and used a screwdriver to mount it against the back wall. Then, we cut 2 pieces of casing 20" in length and mounted them along the side walls. TIP: This will serve as the frame to your table, make sure you test your desired height and use a level to make sure your table will lay flat.

Using a screwdriver and medium-length wood screws, screw your ledge in each corner down into the frame in the back wall. TIP: The hinge should be on the underneath side of your table.

For added flair and functionality we added a mirror to the underneath side of the table. There are several ways you can fix a light mirror to this table. Here, we opted to secure the mirror by first drilling pilot holes with a Dremel rotary tool, then fixing it into place using wood screws.