Abstract:
A horizontal portable miter panel saw system that is capable of utilizing a wide range of power hand tools and processing plywood panels and other oversized materials. The apparatus is designed to provide safety, accuracy, mobility, capacity, ease of use, and affordability. Four extendable multi-adjustable legs allow the table to be leveled on almost any surface. An adjustable guide control unit is movable in the x, y, and z planes via a chain drive trolley that allows a tool to make any type of cut accurately and without the need for complex measurements. A plurality of tabletop members form the table top, these are extendable and adjustable to allow for plywood panels to be supported by the table.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is related to the following co-pending application, the disclosure of which is incorporated in this specification by reference. 
   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/178,156, entitled MULTI-FUNCTION WOODWORKING GUIDE. 
   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to power tool tables and more particularly, to multi-functional and extendable woodworking power tool tables. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Since the introduction of plywood panels to the construction industry, the power tool industry has been trying to find a way of effectively process them. Preexisting tools such as table saws and radial arm saws were not designed for cutting plywood panels. Table saws were often outfitted with makeshift extensions with generally unsatisfactory results. Later, the power tool industry developed a wide variety of table top extensions having various and sundry fences in order to support and process plywood. While some of these devices met with varying success, most proved to be only minor improvements to systems which were never designed to process plywood panels. Almost all of these devices without exception were cumbersome and required extensive space in order to be used. 
   One such device that was never meant to process plywood panels was the radial arm saw. Radial arm saws in particular are perhaps the worst device to attempt to cut plywood panels, these saws are designed to make small crosscuts, this attribute is evidenced by the support bridge which is at the heart of the radial arm saw design. The power saw portion of the radial arm saw is slidably hung from the support bridge and the travel distance of the saw is limited by length of the bridge. The bridge length is limited due to the bending moment placed on the support bridge by the weight of the saw. Hence the distance the saw can travel is also limited. A serious problem occurs when the radial arm saw is used to cut thin flat sections of plywood. The saw can pose a hazard to the user as well as those nearby because as the saw is extended to the outer most portion of the support bridge there is a tendency for the saw to vertically. This vertical motion adversely affects the cutting action of the saw, as the saw begins to cut the plywood any slight up or down motion may cause the saw to achieve a camming action with the plywood and move or even eject the plywood with sufficient force to cause injury to the operator or someone nearby. This camming action is often referred to in the art as a “kickout” and is commonly associated with the act of attempting to cut plywood with a radial arm saw. 
   The latest improvement to the radial arm saw is a tool commonly known as a sliding compound saw. Although an improvement over the original radial arm saw, the sliding compound saw suffers from the same problems as its predecessor when confronted with processing plywood panels. Limited capacity, and a tendency to cam on thin stock make the sliding compound saw an inappropriate choice for processing plywood. 
   A device known as a panel saw was developed for the specific purpose of cutting plywood panels. While panel saws addressed the issues of capacity and safety, panel saws were physically too large and too expensive to be put into practical use by the average carpenter or handyman. Although the panel saw does cut plywood panels, it is not designed to be versatile. The panel saw cannot do something as simple as making an accurate miter cuts. 
   Over time quick fixes to existing technology have been used in an attempt to process large plywood panels, in many cases these fixes consisted of straight edges or edge guides affixed to the previously mentioned tools. While straight edges and edge guides allowed these tools to cut a section of plywood they have the distinct drawback of excessive set up time. For each cut the user or operator must measure and clamp the straight edge in place. 
   Tables having power tools within them such as table saws, shaper tables, belt sanding tables and joining or planing tables are well known in the prior art. The use of a table mounted power tool is essential to accurate cutting, sanding, shaping and drilling of materials such as wood, plastic and metal. Typically, each type of power tool requires its own specially made table. For example, a circular saw is mounted into its own specific table to create a table saw; likewise, an electric router is mounted in its own special table to create a router or shaper table. Similarly, electric planers and electric belt sanders also have individual tables dedicated to the individual tool that they are designed for. Each of the tool tables is specific only to that tool that it is designed for. For example, a table saw will only accept a power circular saw to be fitted and mounted into it; the table saw will not allow a router to be mounted in its place. Similarly, a router table will accept only hand held routers, it will not accept circular saws or planers or sanders to be mounted in its place. 
   The typical modern woodshop has the drawback of limited space. To be versatile modern woodshops normally require several types of power tools and their associated power tool tables. These requirements expose several significant shortcomings in the designs of power tool tables. Because of their large size, power tool tables occupy up a significant amount of space in the woodshop. Similarly with regard to space, the power tool tables often require separate and yet even larger extensions in order for them to accommodate larger pieces of work material. These limitations quickly exhaust the already limited space of the modern woodshop. 
   Another problem with the average power tool table is that of transportability to a job site. It is often desirable and sometimes even essential to have the accuracy provided by a power tool table at the actual job site location where the work is being done. The difficulty lies in the transportation of the power tool tables to the job site. If, for instance, a job requires the use of a circular saw, a jig saw, a router, a planer, and a sander and their associated tables respectively, clearly, a large truck or other industrial vehicle would be required to move all of the aforesaid tools and their respective tables to the job site. The effort and logistics required to transport and set up these often unwieldy tool tables prohibits their use on the actual job site by otherwise competent craftsmen who do not have the equipment to move a set of tool tables to each job site that they travel to. This disadvantage contributes to a poor quality of workmanship. It is difficult for anyone who has ever worked on a job site to imagine one or even two individuals loading a vehicle with five or six different power tool tables to transport to one job site and then removing those same tables at the end of a days work. 
   Therefore, there is a need for an extendable woodworking system which functions with a variety of hand held power tools, is extendable to large plywood panels, is versatile enough to make numerous different types of cuts, and is easily transported. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Briefly described, the invention comprises an extendible woodworking system that is safe, accurate, has a large capacity, easily transportable, easy to use, and affordable. The present invention is all of the above. The extendible woodworking system incorporates a novel tabletop that is both adjustable and extendable to allow for unlimited capacity, thus being able to support panels larger than the size of the table. The present invention further utilizes features such as a highly positionable guide control unit affixed to a movable trolley that securely attaches a tool guide and allows the tool guide to be positioned anywhere at any angle relative to the tabletop to allow for highly accurate cutting. The use of a tool guide enhances the safety of the invention because the user or operator never has to push material into a sharp rotating blade, instead the tool is pushed in a track down and through the material both cutting and clamping the material simultaneously. The unique guide control unit also facilitates the ease of use by allowing the user to align visually the cutting blade (or cutting line if used with a tool guide) with the material. No complex measurements are needed with this inherent visual alignment feature. Further, the unique design of the table allows the table to be disassembled with minimal effort into lightweight component parts that easily fit into the trunk of a standard automobile. 
   Through the use of different adapter plates, a variety of hand held power tools may be used with a tool guide that is attached to the tool table. Another novel feature of the present invention is that it can facilitate other small portable table tools. The open top design of the table allows a conventional standard portable table saw or other portable table tool to be placed into the tool table when the user is not utilizing the tool guide feature. The integrated open top design of the table turns the tool table into a table saw having an integrated extension table that can accommodate small solid pieces of lumber. 
   Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanied drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A more complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained from consideration of the following description with the drawings: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary tool table incorporating various features according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 1   a  is a perspective view of an exemplary tool table similar to  FIG. 1 , further illustrating the extendable legs of the tool table. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the tool table of  FIG. 1  shown from a slightly different angle in order to illustrate various features of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a partial exploded perspective view of the tool table. 
       FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view illustrating a side portion of the tool table of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4   a  is a perspective view illustrating a portion of a side of the tool table of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4   b  is a perspective view illustrating a portion of a side of the tool table of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the tool table of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the guide control unit assembly. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view similar to that of  FIG. 5 , but illustrating the adjustable features of the guide control unit. 
       FIG. 6   a  is a perspective view illustrating the roller portion of the trolley assembly. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view similar to that of  FIG. 5 , but illustrating the mounting of a tool guide to the guide control unit. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view similar to that of  FIG. 5 , but illustrating the adjustment and locking features of the guide control unit. 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a portion of the gear assembly. 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view similar to that of  FIG. 9 , but illustrating a different portion of the gear assembly. 
       FIG. 11  is an overhead plan view of the tool table. 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a portion of the tool table illustrating the features by which the legs are attached. 
       FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the tool table illustrating another configuration of the extendable tabletop. 
       FIG. 14  is a perspective view of a portion of the tool table illustrating the adjustable tabletop mounting features. 
       FIG. 15  is a perspective view of a portion of the tool table illustrating the adjustable and extendable features of the tool table. 
       FIG. 16  is a perspective view of the adjustable tabletop features. 
       FIG. 17  is a perspective view illustrating the various features of the adjustable tabletop. 
       FIGS. 18   a – 18   c  are perspective views illustrating the moveable workstop assembly features of the tool table. 
       FIGS. 19   a – 19   b  are perspective views of invention illustrating the drop-in table saw feature. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   During the course of this description like numbers will be used to identify like elements according to the different views which illustrate the invention. 
   Referring to the preferred embodiment  10  as illustrated in  FIGS. 1–2 , shown is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an expandable tool table  10  for use with hand held electrical power tools (e.g., such as circular saws, routers, planers, belt sanders, reciprocating saws, and other hand held power tools as well) for cutting and processing all types of materials. Clearly depicted in  FIG. 1 , a base assembly  12  supports an adjustable tabletop assembly  14  while being supported by a plurality of leg assemblies  16 . Referring to  FIG. 1   a , a guide control unit  18  is hingedly affixed to a trolley assembly  20  which is slidably positionable via a gear assembly  22  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The trolley assembly  20  rides on a plurality of rails  24   a  and  24   b  which are affixed to the sides of the base assembly  12 . A plurality of movable workstop assemblies  26  are mounted in a channel  28  affixed to the outside of the base assembly  12 . The adjustable tabletop assembly  14  is positionable inside the base assembly  12  through the use of a plurality of adjustable tabletop retainers  30 . The adjustable tabletop retainers  30  are slidably seated in channel  32 . The channel  32  is disposed along the inner circumference of the base assembly  12 . The weight of adjustable tabletop assembly  14  rests on the channel  32 . The adjustable tabletop assembly  14  includes a plurality of extension arms that pivot and rotate on a plurality of sliding pivot connectors  34  which also act to retain the adjustable tabletop assembly  14  together as a unit. 
   The guide control unit  18  is formed of several component parts. These parts include the tool mount head assembly  36 , a plurality of springs  38   a  and  38   b , an adjustment lock  40 , and a hinge assembly  42 . The hinge assembly  42  connects the tool mounting head assembly  36  to the vertical shaft assembly  44 . The springs  38   a  and  38   b  are connected between the tool mount head assembly  36  and the vertical shaft assembly  44 . The spring tension is adjustable by conventional methods commonly known in the art. The guide control unit  18  has a variable height adjustment feature which is facilitated by the vertical shaft assembly  44  that is housed in the trolley assembly  20 . As shown in  FIG. 1   a , a tool guide  46  has been attached to the tool mounting head assembly  36  and a power hand tool  48  is depicted cutting a piece of material  50 . This figure depicts clearly how the work piece  50  is supported by the tabletop assembly  14  and how a power tool  48  is employed by the invention to cut the material  50 . The vertical height of the guide control unit  18  can be positioned and locked in place by an adjustment lock  52 , located on the trolley assembly  20 , so that the tool guide  46  lies flat over the work surface  50 . 
   With reference to  FIG. 2 , the gear assembly  22  is formed of a plurality of parts cooperating in conjunction to create a finely adjustable horizontally moving trolley assembly  20 . The gear assembly  22  includes a chain  54 , in cooperation with a drive sprocket  56 , a return sprocket  58 , a drive shaft  60 , a hand crank  62 , and a shaft adjustment lock  64 . Operationally, the chain  54  connects the drive sprocket  56  to the return sprocket  52 , notably, the chain  54  is also connected to the trolley assembly  20 . The drive shaft  60  connects the drive sprocket  56  to the hand crank  62 . Between the hand crank  62  and the drive sprocket  56  a shaft lock  64  is connected to the shaft  60 . During use, when hand crank  62  is rotated, shaft  60  rotates as does drive sprocket  56 . The rotation of the drive sprocket  56  causes the chain  54  to move in the direction which the hand crank  62  is being rotated. As the chain  54  moves so does the trolley assembly  20  because the trolley assembly  20  is connected to the chain  54 . The trolley assembly  20  moves in the direction of the rotation of the hand crank  62 . By carefully rotating hand crank  62  it is possible to make fine adjustments to the position of the trolley assembly  20  in relation to the base assembly  12  and the tabletop assembly  14 . This fine adjustment feature allows the tool guide  46  to precisely line up a power tool with the material  50 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 3   a , the leg assemblies  16  are formed from a plurality of horizontal and vertical support members connected to one another. The horizontal support members  68   a ,  68   b ,  68   c , and  68   d , are affixed to the base assembly  12 . Horizontally telescoping support members  70   a ,  70   b ,  70   c , and  70   d , are slidably connected to horizontal support members  68   a  through  68   d  respectively. Vertical support members  72   a ,  72   b ,  72   c  and  72   d  are connected to the horizontally telescoping support members  70   a  through  70   d  respectively. Adjustment knobs  74  allow the telescoping sections  70   a – 70   d  to slide out and away from their associated horizontal support members  68   a – 68   d  and be affixed in place by friction pressure applied by tightening the adjustment knob  74 . While horizontal members  68   a – 68   d  are affixed directly to the base assembly  12 , horizontal telescoping elements  70   a – 70   d  are removably affixed to the horizontal support members  68   a – 68   d  respectively. A plurality of vertical adjustment knobs  78  connects the vertical support members  72   a – 72   d  to the horizontal telescoping elements  70   a – 70   d.    
   Again, referring to  FIGS. 3 and 3   a , the operation of adjustment elements  74 ,  76 ,  78 ,  80  and  82  are as follows: In order to adjust the telescoping feature of horizontal support member  70   a , adjustment knob  74  is loosened by rotating the knob counter clockwise and thereby allowing telescoping member  70   a  to slide in or out of the horizontal support member  68   a . The adjustment knob  74  is threaded to nut  76 . By rotating the adjustment knob  74  in the clockwise direction, friction pressure is created between adjustment knob  74  and telescoping support member  70   a . This friction prevents the telescoping support member  70   a  from moving. Functioning similarly, adjustment knob  78  is disposed through an end of telescoping support member  70   a  and passes through the vertical support member  72   a  terminating in a nut  82  disposed on the opposite side of the telescoping support member  70   a . A sleeve  80  is placed over a section of the threaded portion of the knob  78  to protect the threads of the adjustment knob  78  from accidental damage. As with adjustment knob  74 , by rotating the adjustment knob  78  clockwise, friction pressure is created and exerted between horizontal telescoping support member  70   a  and vertical support member  72   a  preventing vertical support member  72   a  from moving. 
   With reference to  FIGS. 4 ,  4   a  and  4   b , more clearly illustrated is the relationship between the various elements of the leg assembly  16  and the base assembly  12 . More specifically,  FIG. 4  illustrates the arrangement of the horizontal support members  68   a  and  68   b  in relation to the base assembly  12 .  FIG. 4  also more clearly depicts the elements of the gear assembly  22  and their arrangement to the base assembly  12 . Clearly shown are the adjustment elements  78 ,  82 , and  84  of the telescoping horizontal support members of the leg assemblies  16 .  FIG. 4   a  more clearly depicts the arrangement of the hand crank  62  to the base assembly  12  as well as the location and arrangement of the shaft lock  64  to the shaft  60 . Of further note, as seen in  FIG. 4   b  the arrangement of the mounting method of vertical support member  72   a  to horizontal telescoping support member  70   a . As shown, the adjustment knob  78  is disposed through both the horizontal telescoping support member  70   a  and the vertical support member  72   a  and terminates with nut fastener  82 . It should also be noted that vertical support member  72   a  is adjustable with relation to telescoping horizontal support member  70   a . This feature allows the vertical support member  72   a  to be adjusted to a variety of angles in relation to horizontal telescoping support member element  70   a . The adjustment feature allows the tool table  10  to be mounted level on a variety of uneven surfaces. 
   Now referring to  FIG. 5 , depicted are the guide control unit  18 , the trolley assembly  20  and the vertical shaft assembly  44 . As shown in this illustration, a tool guide  46  has been affixed to the tool mount head assembly  36  of the guide control unit  18 . The tool mount head assembly  36  incorporates an upper tool mount plate  36   a  and a lower tool mount plate  36   b  in cooperation with each other. The upper plate  36   a  is rotatably affixed to the lower tool mount plate  36   b . The upper and lower plates,  36   a  and  36   b , may be adjusted and locked into position by means of adjustment lock  40 . Two springs  38   a  and  38   b  are attached between the lower tool mount plate  36   b  and the vertical shaft assembly  44 . A hinge assembly  42  hingedly connects the guide control unit  18  to the vertical shaft assembly  44 . In operation, the springs act as a counterbalance to the weight of a hand held power tool (not shown in this figure) placed on the tool guide  46 . The vertical shaft assembly  44  is adjustable and allows the guide control unit  18  to be moved up and down vertically in relation to the trolley assembly  20  and the adjustable tabletop assembly  14 . 
   Additional features of the trolley assembly  20  and the guide control unit  18  are again more clearly depicted in  FIGS. 6 and 6   a . An adjustable head stop  43  is mounted between the hinge assembly  42  and the vertical shaft assembly  44 . The adjustable head stop  43  allows for fine precision adjustment of the tool mount head assembly  36  such that the height of the tool mount head assembly  36  can be adjusted in relation to the thickness and angle of the material to be worked on. As often occurs, the work material may have an unequal thickness or an unusual shape, the adjustable head stop  43  allows the tool guide  46  to adjust to the unusual angles of the material being worked on. As show in detail in  FIG. 6   a , the trolley assembly  20  utilizes a plurality of rollers  21   a ,  21   b ,  21   c , and  21   d  in order to move back and forth horizontally along rails  24   a . The rollers  21   a – 21   d  are mounted on top of the rails  24   a  such that the weight of the trolley assembly  20  and guide control unit  18  are evenly distributed between the rails  24   a.    
   It may be useful for the reader to refer to  FIGS. 7 and 8  simultaneously in regard to the following.  FIGS. 7 and 8  illustrate the tool guide mounting features of the guide control unit  18 . As illustrated, the top portion of the upper tool mount plate  36   a  has affixed to it tool guide rails  37   a  and  37   b  and a cam lock  39 . The tool guide rails  37   a  and  37   b  are designed to mate with the receiving slots of a tool guide  46  as seen in  FIG. 7 . The cam lock  39  is rotatably affixed to the upper tool mounting plate  36   a  and swivels in order to create a friction lock between the surface of the cam lock  39  and the bottom of the tool guide  46 . The tool guide  46  is held firmly in place by the upward force exerted by the cam lock  39  and the mechanical lock provided by the tool rail guides  37   a  and  37   b  disposed in the channels of the tool guide  46 . The cam lock  39  is threaded into the mounting head assembly  36  such that depending upon the direction of the rotation of the cam lock  39 , the cam lock  39  will move vertically either up or down in relation to the tool mounting head assembly  36  and provide force against the tool guide  46  in order to prevent its movement. The friction exerted by the cam lock  39  against the tool guide  46  is released by rotating the cam lock  39  counter clockwise in relation to the guide control unit  18 . 
   With reference to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , a detailed illustration of the sprockets of the gear assembly  22  is depicted. In  FIG. 9  the return sprocket  58  is depicted having the chain  54  operatively connected to the return sprocket  58 . The return sprocket  58  is rotatably affixed to a shaft  59  which is in turn affixed to the base assembly  12 . In the previous illustrations, the trolley assembly  20  rides along rails  24   a , however, the gear assembly  22  may be reconfigured such that the trolley assembly  20  may ride along rails  24   b . This configuration is depicted in  FIG. 10 . By removing sprocket  58  and replacing it with sprocket  86  and changing the orientation of the sprockets with respect to the base assembly  12 , the gear assembly  22  may be reconfigured to move the trolley assembly  20  along the shorter axis of base assembly  12  on rails  24   b . In this configuration, the return sprocket gear  86  is rotatably affixed to shaft  88  which is attached to mounting block  90  which is in turn affixed to base assembly  12 . This reconfigurability allows the trolley assembly  20  and the guide control unit  18  to be mounted along either the x or y horizontal axis of the base assembly  12 . Furthermore, this allows the tool guide  46  which is mounted to the guide control unit  18  to be oriented to any angle along the x-y axis of the table  10 . 
     FIG. 11  is an overhead plan illustration depicting the tool table  10  as seen from above, the x and y axis have been illustrated in order to aid the reader with reference to the previously and following discussion. This illustration clearly shows how the gear assembly  22  is constructed. The drive sprocket  56  is connected to the drive shaft  60  which is in turn connected to a hand crank  62 . The chain  54  operatively connects the drive sprocket  56  to the return sprocket  58 . The chain  54  acts as a transport mechanism for the trolley assembly  20 . For simplicity&#39;s sake, the trolley assembly  20  and guide control unit  18  have not been depicted in this figure. 
   The ease of portability of the invention is an important feature and is more clearly shown in  FIG. 12 .  FIG. 12  illustrates how the leg assemblies  16  fold compactly underneath the base assembly  12 . Arrow A 1  depicts the rotation of vertical support member  72   a  into the horizontal support member  68   a . All of the other vertical support members,  72   b ,  72   c , and  72   d  have similar folding features to that of  72   a . This folding feature allows for easy transportation of the tool table  10 . By folding all of the leg assemblies  16 , the overall size of the tool table is reduced and a smaller and more compact tool table  10  is created. This folding feature reduces the footprint of the tool table  10  and allows the tool table  10  to fit into a much smaller space. The tool table  10  has been designed such that when all leg assemblies  16  have been retracted and folded, the tool table  10  can fit in a standard automobile trunk. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 13 , the versatility of the adjustable tabletop assembly  14  has been illustrated. As depicted, the adjustable tabletop assembly  14  is shown extended and adjusted to accommodate a large section of work material (not shown). The versatility of the extendable sections  14   a  of the adjustable tabletop assembly  14  become apparent as one notices that the support area of the tool table  10  nearly doubles as the adjustable tabletop extensions  14  are extended in various directions. 
   It becomes apparent that the size of the work material is almost unlimited. Although the work support area has doubled, the stability of the table is not sacrificed. The extendibility of the leg assemblies  16  provides support regardless of the size of the material being supported. 
   The versatility of the adjustable tabletop assembly  14  is more clearly depicted in  FIGS. 14 ,  15 ,  16 , and  17  which should all be viewed simultaneously by the reader for the best understanding of the invention.  FIG. 14  depicts how the members of the adjustable tabletop assembly  14  are connected to the base assembly  12 . A channel  32  formed along the inside wall of the base assembly  12  holds a plurality of tabletop retainers  30  that allow the adjustable tabletop members  14  to be movably disposed within the base assembly  12 .  FIG. 15  illustrates the configuration of the sliding pivot connectors  34 . As shown, the members of the adjustable tabletop assembly  14  are comprised of 3 separate elements, tabletop upper section  14   a , tabletop lower section  14   b , and a sliding pivot connector  34  that connects upper tabletop  14   a  to lower tabletop  14   b . The sliding pivot connector  34  is more clearly depicted in  FIG. 16 . 
   The sliding pivot connector  34  is constructed of two elements. The first element is a segment of c-channel  34   a . The second element is a similar section of c-channel  34   b  that has been pivotally affixed, by methods commonly known in the art, to the first segment of c-channel  34   a  at a relative center point between both segments  34   a  and  34   b . By pivotally affixing c-channel segment  34   a  to c-channel segment  34   b  at the relative center point of each of the segments, each c-channel  34   a  and  34   b , may pivot about its center. The c-channel is disposed between the upper and lower segments  14   a  and  14   b , of the adjustable tabletop assembly  14  as depicted in  FIG. 17 . Further illustrated in  FIG. 17 , the upper adjustable tabletop segment  14   a  is formed to mate with the sliding pivot connector  34 . Similarly, the lower adjustable tabletop element  14   b  is also formed to mate with the sliding pivot connector  34 . The slidably affixed nature of the upper adjustable tabletop element  14   a  allows the adjustable tabletop element  14   a  to be slid or extended and swiveled to any angle necessary to support work material (not shown). 
   Referring to  FIGS. 18   a ,  18   b  and  18   c , the movable workstop assembly  26  feature of the tool table  10  is illustrated. The movable workstop assembly  26  is mounted in channel  28  to the outside of the base assembly  12 . The movable workstop assembly  26  is formed of the workstop housing  26   a , the workstop guide  26   b , and the workstop material support  26   c . A telescoping shaft  27  is also depicted extending vertically from the workstop housing  26   a .  FIG. 18   b  clearly depicts the telescoping shaft  27  of the movable workstop assembly  26  in its extended position.  FIG. 18   c  depicts the work stop assembly  26  in. use. As shown, a section of material  50  has been placed on top of the material support  26   c  portion of the movable workstop assembly  26 . The telescoping shaft  27  of the movable workstop assembly  26  is shown extended and preventing the material  50  from moving past the boundaries of the base assembly  12 . By bordering the base assembly  12  with a plurality of movable workstop assemblies  26 , work material  50  can be prevented from moving while being worked on. 
   Finally,  FIGS. 19   a  and  19   b  illustrate the drop-in table saw feature of the invention  10 .  FIG. 19   a  depicts a standard table saw  100  located above the base assembly  12  of the tool table  10 . This figure illustrates where the table saw  100  will be placed with reference to the tool table  10 .  FIG. 19   b  depicts the standard table saw  100  now positioned within the tool table  10 . As seen in  FIG. 19   a , a support bracket  90 , disposed inside the base assembly  12 , supports the table saw  100  within the tool table  10 . This feature which allows the tool table  10  to be configured for use with a standard table saw provides additional versatility to an already multi-faceted invention. 
   While the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof it would be appreciated by those with ordinary skill in the art that modifications can be made to the structure and elements of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as a whole.