Making a flat strong collapsing table

[Apteryx]

I fashioned myself a nifty wee table for holding my pint etc. whilst gigging in the band (I got fed up with the number of pints being kicked over on stage!). It needed to be strong, rigid and stable, yet fold as flat as possible to fit in my instrument case with no raised screwheads etc. I ended up using 3 pieces of 4mm 3-ply wood to make a table 40cm x 26 x 32 (high). Each leg piece has a hinged triangle which folds under the table to lock the legs in place. The two leg sections fold one over t'other, under the table to give a flat height of just 17mm! Whoo hoo!

Looks like this:

========================= | / ===== |! / \ | | / \ !| | \ | | | | |

============= | | / | | |! / | | | / | | | | | |_____________ |

! = hinge

Problem is, I'd used Araldite glue to attach the metal hinges rather than screws. Most of the construction seems strong enough and lasted for a few weeks, but one hinge was taking a bit more load than the others and has come loose twice.

Is there a better way to secure these hinges without increasing the flat height? Is there a better material to use than 4mm 3-ply that's fairly cheap? Is there a better construct?

Thanks in anticipation

Drew

[Steve Firth]

Screws, or since the material is very thin, machine screws (nut and "bolt") with a countersunk head put through from top of the table and then through the holes in the hinge. Use countersunk heads so that the scre sits flush with the surface.

No, 4mm 3ply sounds too thin TBH.

A cheap and easy solution is to use the folding legs from Ikea. These can be attached to any bit of material to use as a table top. The legs are lightweight and have a stay to hold them in place when folded out.

I've made several folding tables for my wife this way using 9mm ply.

[Apteryx]

Thanks Steve

The Ikea folding legs seem a good idea. I've searched their website but can't find anything but trestle legs. Can you give a me a link?

Cheers

Drew

[Steve Firth]

Yeh, what you want is Vika Fälle, leg frame foldable £32 for a pair.

search for "leg" on the Ikea website and it is on page 15. Law of Sod says it would be the 15th out of 16 pages.

[N. Thornton]

I think araldite is not flexible enough, and ISTR doesnt bond that well to wood. I'm unsure what to suggest, but might try a good no-nails thing?

The bigger thing though is you need several hinges, not just 1 or 2. Then each takes only a fraction of the load - also if one or 2 drop off, the table still works fine. They must all be lined up perfectly though - or even use a piano hinge.

Regards, NT

[Apteryx]

Alas, my original spec. (40cm x 26 x 32, to fit in the case) doesn't allow for such large legs. The machine screws may be the way forward.

Thanks