I see a lot of people building their table using their lowrider. But it is a 
or the 
thing for me, as I don’t have a low rider to build the table. Any good way to create a temporary table, to then cut out a torsion box table? Do I just throw it on the concrete propped up by some 2x4s or scrap plywood? Links and/or pics appreciated.
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Lots of users have just laid a sheet of plywood on a concrete garage floor to cut the struts (search the forum for “bootstrapping”). Or you can build a reasonable table using some 2x4 framing and some OSB or plywood. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just reasonably flat (you may need to increase the total depth of cut to compensate for low spots in the table).
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And what’s everyone’s take on mdf vs plywood? I noticed a post from Ryan stating mdf is better, but I would think plywood would be better.
With a torsion box you’re relying on the shape of the material more than the specific properties. In my experience even the worst MDF is more uniform and dimensionally stable than the best plywood.
I think Ryan’s recommendations have good solid reasoning behind them.
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MDF is more consistent to cut than plywood. It is also considerably heavier, and will swell if it gets wet.
IMO, it is great for making cabinets, or for use as a spoilboard, but it should not be used in places exposed to moisture, or for heavy load bearing shelving (it sags a lot more than plywood).
For a torsion table located indoors, it should be fine
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Ryan built a table out of OSB.
I’d much rather have a table built out of OSB or MDF than one made from cheap big box store plywood.
For bootstrapping a sheet of MDF on a garage floor is more than good enough.
So is a sheet of MDF on an old door, or on a ping pong table, etc.
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