preventing a 2m x 0.95m wooden table from warping

[Harold Davis]

I am planning to make a dining table, dimensions 2000mm x 960mm x 40mm, in either beech or oak.

The company selling me the timber suggests this would need 9 legs, which is ridiculous. (I don't think I've ever seen a table with 9 legs before.) It's a crucial part of the plan that the table have only 4 legs. But I like this company's tabletops.

What are my options? Bolt two lengths of steel tube to the underside? Or would I need a rectangle? Would it be possible to use timber? I realise it would have to be bulkier. What would people recommend?

Thanks in advance!

Harry

[TimW]

I would suggest 3 short lengths of timber screwed to the underside. The screws should be in slots to allow the table top to move and have washers under their heads to allow you to tighten them. The timber braces should be as thick as the table top.

9 legs is bonkers. You will find table leg brackets quite good if you don't want to do any joinery.

[Chris Green]

The only sensible number of legs is three.

[Brian Gaff]

Of course this assumes nothing ridiculously heavy is going on the table! Brian

[The Natural Philosopher]

Ive got tow like that.,

One is warped.

No worries, Mine have 4

Mine have a timber frame screwed underneath and 4 legs screwed to te inside of that. Or two transverse baulks with legs coning off those.

Your biggest problem is in trying to find reasonably quarter sawn oak or beech to stop it cupping

[Harold Davis]

TimW [e-mail]> wrote in news:ql5koq$ql7$ [e-mail]:

Hi Tim,

Thanks for this. When you say short, do you mean across the width? Mightn't that allow sag in the middle of the length?

Those brackets look like just my kind of thing :-) They assume side boards (sorry, I don't the technical name),which I'd forgotten about but I should probably use some. I was also wondering about the steel option so as to get more leg room under the table and be able to slide the arms of an office chair under there. Recently I stayed somewhere where a kingsize bed platform, at least twice the size of my desired table, was sitting on a square of square-sectioned steel tube with support only in two sides.

Thanks again,

Harry

[Andrew]

As a kid, we had a nice mahogany dining table big enough for 6 people and it had an brass handle that connected to a screw thread that extended it out allowing a centre section to slot into place so that

8 people could sit around it.

We used to do whirlies on its nice polished surface (when closed and parents not around) and it never broke.

[The Natural Philosopher]

you wont get a lot over 2meters if its truly 40mm deep You can aded some longitudinals - best is in the center where you weont bang knees on it, notched to go OVER the cross bracing. Counterbore deep and use long screws. Cos it needs to be maybe 6" deep.

[TimW]

strengthen but to prevent cupping of the top (which we presume is solid timber?? simply edge joined??) While allowing inevitable shrinkage through drying. Tim w

[alan_m]

A friend built a table of similar dimensions from well seasoned walnut. He used two legs found in a salvage yard. Each of legs originally supported a large round table top. Each was a fairly heavy cast with a wide circular foot and wide circular top with which to attach the new table top.

[Lee Nowell]

Not sure how relevant but thought I would post in case. I build 2 tables for outside out of scaffold boards. 170 X 90. I made a frame out if 2" X 1" timber (2" vertical) which was a few inches in from all the edges and put a brace across the middle. I then glued then screwed though the 2 X 1 up into the boards from underneath. 4 legs out of scaffold board too. Had them outside now for a few years and no issues rock solid.

[alan_m]

some pictures

[DJC]

I have a solid oak table that size, only four legs each 4in square. Nothing reinforcing the top which weighs 1cwt I bought it from the local auction house in July. Paid £270 [*], probably less than a third of the price of buying the timber to make one. The six chairs included in the same lot I consider a bonus.

[*] which make this one very over priced.

[Harold Davis]

[tabbypurr]

I misread that as saying 'from a well seasoned walnut' :)

NT

[DJC]

approx 6", 5½", 3½", 8½", 7½", 8"

(no idea why they are such an irregular assortment of sizes.)