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Post by the light works on Dec 1, 2012 14:25:37 GMT
the simplest fix might be to make a pair of add-ons with foldaway legs, that you simply affix to the ends of the table - or just one add-on the size of two leafs. that way you can add two seating positions without anyone with their knees against a leg.
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Post by freegan on Dec 2, 2012 1:42:20 GMT
This is the photo to which I was referring and I have indicated the background object with a red arrow.
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Dec 2, 2012 4:19:00 GMT
This is the photo to which I was referring and I have indicated the background object with a red arrow. That is a sideview of the table (closeup). The leaves have a molding to hide the seams where they meet. In the background is a cabinet. {EDIT: The ends of the table are semicircle, so adding foldouts to the ends (without chopping the table) seems like it is no longer a possiblility. Back to fixed bottom rails?} |
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Post by alabastersandman on Dec 3, 2012 7:01:51 GMT
Very impressive. I occasionally dabble with woodworking as a therapeutic exercise although my little hovel has limited space for a workbench and tool storage. I have rescued/liberated old wooden furniture discarded in local back lanes and industrial dumpsters and re-purposed or dismantled and re-engineered a number of items. My computer station is a hotch-potch of rescued and repaired kitchen and dining tables. My bookshelves used to be wooden bedsteads while their brackets used to be a sturdy rustic coffee table. My kitchen work surface is of solid wood, tongue-and-groove flooring cleared out of a store during their annual re-stock when the more 'fashionable' lines were introduced. The kitchen chopping boards used to be oak picture frame off-cuts retrieved from a bin behind a framer's shop. I have so many projects-in-waiting that my landlord has taken the view that I represent a fire safety hazard so I'm sharing the rent on a garage to store them there and, once we've succeeded in nagging him to install electricity there, I'll make a workbench and install my tools there, also. When I feel that I have completed a project that I am proud to exhibit, then I'll post some photo's. That is a great way to re-use wood, I have a few of those projects in waiting. One of those projects is a coffee table I want to make from one end of an old shuffleboard table but don' have enough space in the living room for it now. My first shop was a bench-top Ryobi drill press and an old Craftsman radial arm saw in a 12'x12' shed at a trailer park. One of my first projects in there made extensive use of the drill press. I made a CD holder for my computer table out of nothing but three sizes of dowels. |
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Post by alabastersandman on Dec 3, 2012 7:17:32 GMT
Erm.. I dont have photo's?... I do "heavy" construction with Wood, say anything bigger than a wardrobe.... I also recycle old furniture that has broke, and bring it back to working condition, not always repairs, as my last project was take out plainly unsuitable metal runners and replace with waxed wood on a chest of draws that required a rebuild to a better standard on almost all of the inside and the draws. The old temperamental draws that got stuck every few days now have given us no problem at all for three months.... and as I have put in a limiter to how far the draws will open, its a lot more stable as well. Tool wise, for different jobs, I keep two belt sanders, three orbital sanders, two "plate" sanders and something called a "mouse", very small for detail work... I also have the Dremmel attachments for extra fine detail work. I also keep several drill attachment sanding disks for BIG jobs, and two electric planers for taking BIG slices off.... Thats JUST the sanders.... I inherited Carpentry as a skill from my Dad, as a kid I was always in Dads workshop watching him and helping him on wet days, so Carpentry as a skill was almost a process of osmosis.... It soaked into me, and picking up a carpentry tool is as natural to me as other people would pick up a pencil to write.... its along the lines of natural ability to me. My Dad had lathes, two of them, and the Pens I see above were the kind of thing he loved to do as it was fine detail work.... I was the one who eventually started to tackle the bigger stuff. Because of that, we have a covered porch area of about 200 square foot outside the back doors that was constructed entirely "by eye", no blueprints, and over-engineered to withstand the worst storms we have had... its functional and keeps us dry.... good for taking off wet coats and boots in Winter, and somewhere the Dog can sit (its got raised decking at house floor height) when its wet thats outside but not in the weather... he loves it there. (He is part wolf and doesnt like just sulking round the house all the time in Winter...) I go more for the Functional part of Carpentry, and when some of our house roof supports needed replacement, its natural that I should just get on and do the work... As the house needed work when we bought it, replacing all the door frames and doors was just "Another day" for me?.... The good part of that is you cant tell whats new, as I matched it all in to the ones that were originally there. Had three dressers in my house that came from the curbside on trash night. Those were found whilst walking the dogs at night, fixed 'em up and put them to use. One started to come apart again so I tossed the dresser and installed three of the four drawers under a section of bench in the shop. The other two dressers are still being used in the house. The wife and I have the Cedar dresser in our room and I painted the other pink with purple drawers for my daughter. Gotta love free furniture! |
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 3, 2012 7:24:29 GMT
And there is NOTHING wrong with "Free"...
I still have an old Singer Treadle sewing machine that was put out for Rubbish....
It works perfectly, and is quite handy for fine detail stuff.
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Post by alabastersandman on Dec 3, 2012 7:32:11 GMT
my woodworking is also a bit larger in scale and less polished... It is way better than the job done on my house when I had to have the main replaced. A power surge took out several breaker boxes in my neighborhood about 5 years ago. I didn't complain because the guy who installed it did me a nice favor that could have been money in his pocket. I asked him what it would cost to install an additional 100 amp main in the shop. Instead of giving me a quote and charging me, he told me that the insurance coverage was enough to pay for it and he installed at no charge to me. I'm not sure if the adjuster had included the shop breakers or not but either way I have a 100 amp service in the shop now. |
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Post by alabastersandman on Dec 3, 2012 7:45:51 GMT
View of rails below table (with leaves in) If the table is going to be left at full length for the foreseeable future, you might consider putting the table face down on the floor with all the leafs in place and affix two solid beams the entire length. Those could be attached nicely with "L" brackets. The original slides could be left original and re-used at a later time down the road. |
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Dec 3, 2012 13:45:28 GMT
View of rails below table (with leaves in) If the table is going to be left at full length for the foreseeable future, you might consider putting the table face down on the floor with all the leafs in place and affix two solid beams the entire length. Those could be attached nicely with "L" brackets. The original slides could be left original and re-used at a later time down the road. That's what I was thinking. If I'm going with the fixed rails, should I use the two exisiting leaves plus new ones? Or, remove the two leaves and use one large slab to bridge the gap? |
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Post by the light works on Dec 3, 2012 15:15:31 GMT
for my parents' table (passed down through the family) one of the original leaves was lost or damaged and subsequently replaced with plywood - stained to match. as it is only used for big family gatherings, it is usually covered with a tablecloth, anyway.
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Dec 3, 2012 16:22:27 GMT
Would 1x2 be sturdy enough for the rails? Or, would 1x3 or 2x2 be a safer way to go?
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Post by ponytail61 on Dec 4, 2012 21:22:27 GMT
Urban I would go with something like this for support. Run 2 rails built like this down the length should be plenty of support. The reason I do it this way is the 5/4 board is stiffer and usually straighter than other cuts. And The 1x4 makes it stronger and easier to attach to the table top.
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Dec 5, 2012 3:55:26 GMT
I like that structure, much more stable than placing angle brackets at set intervals.
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 5, 2012 7:44:05 GMT
I am going to suggest starting with 2X4.... Why?.. Because all chippies THINK in 2X4.... its an industry standard for "Bit of strong wood". Structural wise, 2X4 as support, then face it with whatever looks best. If I am reading the thread right, you intend to leave the table at full stretch for a long time. Can I then suggest that you "Fix" the new parts in with bolts and butterfly nuts....not screws.... The bolts can be tweaked slightly if they start to get loose, and its much easier with nut and bolt to disassemble if the thing needs to be moved at any time?.... My opinion is always OVER engineer the thing, go for the strongest bit you can fit in there... And always make something easy to take apart... you just know as soon as you finalise a joint, you will have some reason to want to take it apart again?... Its not that I dont do "dainty", its just that I have had many a repair that has been replacing and upgrading the bit of straw some twonka thought strong enough to be a support?.... So I tend to go HUNKING great support and face it off with a bit of half-round or other routed face board.... Maybe its because I have kids kind of thing?...?... Also, I see some suggestions to use not-wood... be that Laminated plywood or MDF fibre board, when cutting that stuff, ALWAYS use a mask?.... If you dont know, getting a face full and lung full of that stuff makes you cough for a week and itch for a month... its terrible stuff and I aint sure id its not cancer-forming....  I do not do MDF. BTW, 2X4 is now so generic it can be anything from 1.5X2 to 3X6, dependant on finish, planed or un-planed.... |
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Post by kharnynb on Dec 5, 2012 10:09:00 GMT
The only real woodworking i do is mostly functional around the house. nothing fancy. I did the new benches on our sauna and doors for the wardrobe(mostly dogproofing the coats and shoes.)  |
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Post by rory on Dec 6, 2012 15:02:31 GMT
I was going to post pictures of the rabbit hutches I made as a kid but saw the quality of the woodwork you're on about and thought better. Those pictures look great.
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Post by alabastersandman on Dec 8, 2012 8:39:11 GMT
Urban I would go with something like this for support. Run 2 rails built like this down the length should be plenty of support. The reason I do it this way is the 5/4 board is stiffer and usually straighter than other cuts. And The 1x4 makes it stronger and easier to attach to the table top. That is definitely a better way to affix the support rails than using brackets. I also agree with SD in "over-build it". You will have a relatively long stretch of table and as we all know, tables are notoriously susceptible to being used as storage, even if only for a moment. Even a holiday meal for a dozen or so people can add up in weight rather quickly, with all the food, plates, elbows... As far as what sections to use, I can only say to pick whichever ones that give the best fit your needs. |
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Post by alabastersandman on Dec 8, 2012 8:56:55 GMT
"The only real woodworking i do is mostly functional around the house. nothing fancy.
I did the new benches on our sauna and doors for the wardrobe(mostly dogproofing the coats and shoes.)"
Nice, and finished. I've been re-modeling the main bathroom and laundry room. Started them both over five years ago and still am not done with either. Tore out the carpet and painted trim in the living room, put down some faux wood vinyl tile, and replaced the trim with new wood that I stained. That was one and a half years ago. That's done except making the new heat & cold air return vents.
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Post by alabastersandman on Dec 8, 2012 9:03:39 GMT
I was going to post pictures of the rabbit hutches I made as a kid but saw the quality of the woodwork you're on about and thought better. Those pictures look great. If it serves it's purpose, it's a success. |
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Post by kharnynb on Oct 22, 2013 9:45:07 GMT
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