lewisc Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 I'm helping a friend re-do a table top on a table his dad made in high school. It's more sentimental than anything. It had a glass top and was changed to a piece of MDF at some point. The plan is to put a solid top on it. We took the top off and it was held on with some glue and 4 threaded rods in the top of each leg (probably the same threaded rod the glass was held in place with). How would you go about attaching a solid timber top with the rails being lower than the top of the legs and to account for wood movement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ..Kev Posted March 25, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 Some figure 8s would work on the inside corner of each leg.. My only concern with that would be picking up the table. That table looks heavy and I can see where it's natural to pick it up by the top. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 A solid top could be rigidly attached to one long side, and "float" along the other. The floating side might be made with "keyhole" fasteners. so it drops down and slides into place in a slot. The slot allows for wood movement. The fixed side could then use L-brackets, figure eights, or even a piece of steel plate bolted on to of the leg and overhung on the inside to allow screws up into the top. A shallow recess under the top would hide the plate. Steel plate one one side and keyholes sized for carriage-head or "elevator" bolts should be sturdy enough to lift it by the top without worry. Of course, tooling to cut a large keyhole slot for bolts might be difficult to find, but the same effect can be done with short sections of sliding dovetail. Does the threaded rod extend all the way through the legs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 2 hours ago, ..Kev said: Some figure 8s would work on the inside corner of each leg.. My only concern with that would be picking up the table. That table looks heavy and I can see where it's natural to pick it up by the top. I have heavier tables than that and pick them up by the top with 4 figure 8's. I think my dining table only has 3 and i move that around by the top all the time. I's say 4 figure 8s at the inside corners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 +1 for figure 8s. If they are going to be moving it around a lot (up and down stairs to move, etc) they can hold the table by the upper or lower rails rather than the top, which would probably be more comfortable anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 Any possibility of returning to a glass top as originally conceived? No need to attach as the glass is heavy enough to sit on rubber feet at the corners. No one would pick up a table by the glass top (at least not twice). And it might just be a better look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wimayo Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 The figure 8s are a good idea. You could probably mount 2 or 3 for extra strength on each leg and they would not be seen. You could also use corner brackets, something like these, on the inside corners of the legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted March 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 I forgot about figure 8's. I think they'll be the most unobtrusive option. We can drill a hole in the top for the figures to sit flush. I'm not quite sure what the timber is. It looks like stained pine but it was made over 35 years ago, the he doesn't know. This is what the threaded rod looks like. Going back to glass wouldn't work well because I'm not sure we could get a good look with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 26, 2020 Report Share Posted March 26, 2020 Did the glass have holes in it, or did the threaded rod just fasten a rubber pad to the legs, for the glass to rest on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted March 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2020 Not sure. I'm guessing the glass had holes and some sort of screw on piece to hold it in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted March 26, 2020 Report Share Posted March 26, 2020 There are these types of things, but I'm not sure they were really around 30+ yrs ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted March 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2020 My father in law has a coffee table that has timber screw on pieces like the metal one pictured. Either way, he's decided to go for solid timber which is easy enough to make. The attaching part had me a little stumped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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