Thread: heavy table with removable legs - how???

How are they attached now?? Lag screws are just big screws with hex-heads, the problem you will face with any screw into timber is loosening with repeated cycles of insertion/removal. You may get more mileage installing threaded inserts into one component, then bolting through the other component into this. Pics would help....

Hi gordo, I'm thinking a cam + bolt system would be the way to go, but it depends on what type of legs you've got. If they're not turned and have square faces then it should be easy.

On one of the internal leg faces (so that it's not seen) you drill a hole (35mm diameter for the hafele maxifix cams I normally use) to the desired depth and insert cam. In the leg top you drill a hole through to your cam hole (10mm for maxifix bolts) so that the cam bolt lines up with the positioned cam.

Then in your table top you fix the cam bolt in position to be accepted by the cam. To do this I normally use a screw-in sleeve which has an internal thread to accept the cam bolt.

So you do this for each leg then bang, put the top on, tighten up cams, and you're done. I use this system for bed construction where the load is putting fair stress on the joints so in a table-top scenario it would be well solid.

Are you considering making up new parts, or do you want to do as minimal a modification as possible?

(I really like keyed through-mitres, but they're a lot of work! )

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Are you considering making up new parts, or do you want to do as minimal a modification as possible?

(I really like keyed through-mitres, but they're a lot of work! )

I haven't started cutting the base parts yet so it will be no trouble to modify the design. I thought about through mitre, but think they will take to long to make. the lag screws i am thinking of may also be call hanger bolts. they have a wood screw one end and bolt thread the other end

Gordo, I've used the lag screws you refer to on a large table I made years ago. Table is 3 metres x 1.2m and seats about 10. Point is, it has rails of jarrah, a chip board top and 100mm square jarrah legs. It's a big heavy brute that is rebuilt every year around christmas. The lag screws are fantastic and pull everything up beautifully. I'd use them again in a minute.

Originally Posted by Stephen Taylor

Gordo, I've used the lag screws you refer to on a large table I made years ago. Table is 3 metres x 1.2m and seats about 10. Point is, it has rails of jarrah, a chip board top and 100mm square jarrah legs. It's a big heavy brute that is rebuilt every year around christmas. The lag screws are fantastic and pull everything up beautifully. I'd use them again in a minute.

I'd pretty much decided to use them, and now, I'm 110% sold. Yep, i'll give them a run, what's the worst that can happen, if it doesn't work, i'll glue/dowel it together.

Thanks