Gardura Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 So let me just start off by saying that I'm from Norway so excuse my English and my lack of technical lingo. At the beginning of the new year we (me and my girl) are moving in to our new apartment. We have lived together many years but this is our first time owning our own place, and we are missing a dining table. I have always enjoyed crafting but never practiced since my arts and crafts days in primary school. And my girlfriend who have been with me the last 6 years have never seen me pick up a hammer let alone a saw. (I will prove to her it can be done) I haven't yet sketched up a plan for the table but I'll feed you my ideas and questions. So this is my inspiration: - I would like to use white glaze(?) to finish my wood, I'm shopping around for ash, birch or oak. - I really enjoy this design (picture below) and will probably try to mimic this as close as i can I would rather try to use a big wood slab as i possibly can, though not thick as in the picture more like My measurements would be something like 28" high and 80" long. The table top would preferably 1" and 5/8 thick maximum 2" and 40" wide. So for my questions: - How should or can i join the table top to my legs? I'm hoping i would not need a crossbeam (It would be great if those legs could detach for transportations later on) - The table would have a way to extend to accommodate more people, to sheets 20" sheets at both ends. Any advice on how to accomplish this? (simple diagram would be appreciated ) One way to be able to extend the table would me to construct the table top using 1/4" wood, to make a box faking it and doing something to extend the table top. Anyone done something like this? I'm hoping to use a design thats been done so I know it works, and not make me scratch my head in. Though I will probably deviate from my original plan and using a design that the table could extend easily or just make a table that a tad longer and not be able to extend it. If there exists books on the subject with a nice walk-trough that would be appreciated too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdale51@yahoo.com Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Gardura, First, no need to apologize for your English, it's better than that of a lot of people who speak it as a FIRST language, let alone someone who is mulch-lingual. It looks like both of those designs are essentially trestle tables. Marc has several videos detailing a trestle table build. They may at the very least fire your imagination and get you rolling in the right direction. I hope this helps and good luck with your project. Be sure to post pictures when you're done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardura Posted January 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Okay so I have simplified things for myself, I'm going to paint my table using a white (yes white) paint. I will try to sand it using a wet sandpaper, and then using a clear lacquer to mimic a high gloss finish. I've used Sketchup to make a simple model of my table Side view: Top view: Bottom view: The measurements are not still decided, length, width, height, distance for the legs. Before assemble I will mock it up. Since I am going to paint the table, my choice of material would either be plywood or mdf. The thickness of the pieces will be about 2 inches. My big questions are: - Will the top be strong enough still with a span of 55 inches? - For this application what is best suited, plywood, mdf or glued wood? - And if plywood or mdf is used, how to attach the legs to the top? Will it be enough if I use mdf to glue the legs to the top, and using 2 small plugs for holding the legs into place and weighting it all down? I'm afraid it will be wobbly, or would not sustain daily use (e.g people sitting on the middle of it) Appreciate any feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I think it's going to rack (ie, fold up). Even with 2" thick "legs", you've got very little structure against a force that pushes down the length of the table. Imagine a tall, heavy guy leaning against one end of the table. If the table doesn't slide across the floor, then I think it would fold up. I think I would either make the legs 4" thick torsion boxes, or put a strengthening spine down the middle of the top from one leg to the other. The spine could be any thickness, but should be at least 4" tall where it meets the legs. It could be rectangular, or arched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdale51@yahoo.com Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I completely agree with Beechwood's idea of putting a spine between the legs. It would ad a tremendous amount of strength to the table without too much difficulty as far as construction is concerned. As far as attaching the top you may consider placing an oversized cap across the top of each leg so it looks kind of like a fat upper case "T" then it would be pretty simple to screw up through the caps to secure the table top. There's a lot of other ways to attach the top but in my opinion this would be the simplest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagel Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Also, a 2" thick top of MDF with those dimensions would be very heavy for a table top. I would consider something lighter or reduce the thickness. Beechwood's 4" torsion-box legs would certainly help with such a heavy top, but lugging that thing around would be a chore. I suppose you could create a torsion-box top with 1/4" MDF as well. Marc has a recent video on the torsion box that you might want to check out - http://thewoodwhispe...assembly-table/ And here's a 2007 video with more detail on the assembly - http://thewoodwhispe...le-torsion-box/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I just got an idea! We want to keep the clean lines of the original design, add resistance to racking and sagging, and make it lighter. What if we reduce the MDF top from 2" thick to 3/4" thick. Then, put a 2" apron around the top, and a spine down the middle. Now you can attach the legs to the apron to reduce racking, and the apron and spine will reduce sagging, and the thinner top will make it lighter (which reduces sagging and racking by reducing the load, in addition to making it easier to move the table). If you really want to go crazy, you can make the top a torsion box, and build the legs into the structure of the top. (I just realized that I essentially repeated what pagel said. I shouldn't post when I'm on perscription cold medicine.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagel Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Great minds think alike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 The easiest way to do those tops is with honeycomb core sheets and 1/4 mdf or plywood. The top is ultra light and the legs can be built into the top structure. The legs get attached to each other with an internal pair of stretchers so the thicker the top the better. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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