How to Build a Silk Screen Table
- 1). Cut a 4-foot-square piece of 3/4-inch plywood. Sand all edges smooth.
- 2). Cut a 17-by-19-inch piece of 1/4-inch pressed board or masonite. The pressed board must have one side that is smooth.
- 3). Measure 6 inches from one side of the plywood and draw a straight line parallel to that side of the wood.
- 4). Place the 17-inch end of the plywood against the line and center it on the plywood, smooth side up. Fasten the pressed board to the plywood using wood glue and 3/4-inch wood screws recessed an inch in from the sides.
- 5). Measure 2 inches from the other end of the pressed board, toward the inside of the plywood, and draw a line in pencil parallel to it, ending at either end of the pressed board. Mark the center point of the 17-inch length of the line. Measure 6 inches to either side of the center point and mark the spots. Fasten the two screen-printing clamps to these spots with wood screws.
- 6). Build two sawhorses using two-by-four wood, wood screws or nails and sawhorse clamps. Cut eight two-by-four lengths of wood to 42 inches, and two more pieces to 48 inches. Insert two 42-inch pieces into the bottom fittings of each sawhorse clamp and screw or nail in place, as legs for the sawhorses.
- 7). Stand up two sets of legs with the clamps on top, next to each other. Lay a 48-inch piece of wood across the top of the two clamps and fit it in place, then fasten with screws or nails to create each sawhorse.
- 8). Place the silk-screen tabletop on the sawhorses and fasten with wood screws. Position the saw horses recessed 8 inches from opposite ends of the silk-screen table. Do not nail or saw on the pressed board, as it is your live printing area and must remain smooth.
- 9). Place a silk-screen frame with an inside dimension of 18 by 20 inches inside the silk-screen clamps and center the screen area over the pressed board. Tighten the clamps to complete the table.
