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14th September 2022, 03:53 PM #1Member
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table top options for large dining/crafting table?
i'm in the daydreaming/feasibility planning stage of a large table. this table will pretend to be a dining table, in order to be welcome in the house, but in reality it will mostly be used for crafting -- pattern drafting, fabric/leather cutting, leatherworking, etc. it'll be the largest horizontal working height surface in the house, so it'll probably also be roped into service as an assembly table for wood projects...
off the rack dining tables just aren't wide enough to comfortably cut fabric on, nor are they tall enough for me to stand and work at, so i'll need something bespoke
for the table top, i'm shooting for finished dimensions like:
length - 2100mm
width - 1250mm (n.b. this is wider than a standard plywood sheet!)
thickness - 50mm
the width is fairly critical because i need to be able to get 48" (1219mm) wide pattern paper/fabric/etc laid flat with extra room to tape the edges down. tbh i'd like it even wider -- 5' would be ideal -- but this is what will fit in the space ergonomically
the thickness is partly to avoid needing aprons, because i hate bashing my knees on them when sitting, and partly because i expect to do some clamping to the top and/or hammering on it, so i want the top to have some heft and rigidity in its own right
the length isn't critical, but it's about normal for a six-seater anyway, so it's the least problematic dimension
this is much larger than i can possibly deal with in my small, handtool workshop, so i'm expecting to need to outsource the top. i'm hoping to find out what kind of things are possible, and what kind of businesses i should seek out. i'm also open to specific referrals if you are or know someone local -- i'm in the ballarat region
i intend to make the substructure myself -- i'm anticipating some kind of tusk-tenon'd trestle table thing. but i feel like i need to figure out what i'm doing about the top before i get too into the weeds on the substructure
my options as i currently perceive them:
- i see bunnings has finger-jointed glulam "table tops", such as this. nothing in a suitable size, but maybe this sort of thing can be ordered (from where?) in custom dimensions? fj-glulam seems cost effective in standard dimensions, but i'm not sure if that carries over to custom work
- i think a traditional table top made of wide, thick boards, edge-jointed, would be prohibitively expensive just in materials cost. though it seems like it would be a lot less labour than gluing up hundreds of small bits, and maybe the difference washes out in the end?
- could possibly just face-laminate some plywood sheets together to get the thickness, and add a hardwood border to achieve the desired width and make for a nicer appearance. still can't do this myself in my small shop though
- going all the way back to absolute basics, i could just stick a sheet of plywood on a screwed together 2x4 frame and have something built in a weekend, but i would like something nicer than that! though not so nice that i'm scared to use it
i think it would be okay, perhaps ideal, for the top to be in two full-length half-width pieces, which are then joined in the middle with some kind of removable hardware? because i suspect a top this large would be unmanageable as a single piece
what do you all think? are any of these options obviously better or worse than the others? any that i haven't even considered, but should? and what kind of business should i seek out to have this made?
thanks
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14th September 2022, 04:31 PM #2GOLD MEMBER
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A slab of Californian redwood would solve your problem. Light weight and stable. How many would you like?
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14th September 2022, 05:34 PM #3.
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There is usually a significant difference between the heights of dining tables at which people sit and most kind of work tables where people usually work standing, especially wide tables where you have to reach over etc
We discovered this when after upgrading our dining table SWMBO commandeered the old one for a sewing craft table. Its not that big, 1m wide x 2.1m long x 760mm high but after working on it for a few days she deemed it way too low so I made up some 90x90mmx160 mm tall pine blocks and drilled a 50 mm diam x 60 mm deep holes in one end of these blocks so the bottom of the tapered table legs ends could fit tightly into the holes, resulting in a final height of about 880 mm. SWMBO does sits at that table for some activities using a stool.
I've worked on that table on some projects but found it is still too low for me. My workbenches in my shed are 910 and 920 mm high
When having family gatherings we have converted that table back to sit down dining and it is dead easy - just lift each end in turn and remove the wooden blocks.
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14th September 2022, 05:42 PM #4.
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14th September 2022, 06:30 PM #5Member
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oh yeah: i plan for this hypthetical table's height to be ~1050mm, which is apparently our standard bar height in australia. it's in my comfortable standing-at range, and means i can just get standard bar stools for sitting on (so i won't have to add "bespoke seating" to the project scope). i have no qualms about asking visitors to sit up on bar stools, though i don't really have visitors round anyway
my current fabric cutting table is an event/picnic folding table, which was way too low, but i've raised it up to 1070mm by extending the legs with some pvc pipe. the working height is great now, but it's still too small (and very flimsy). and lately i'm finding myself putting projects off "until i have a bigger table", so i figure maybe i'd better start organising that bigger table
in my mind the legs (and height, etc) are a solved, or at least postponed, problem. but i need to sort out a top, and since the top i need is bigger than i can make myself, that means figuring out what i want to order and where to order it from
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14th September 2022, 07:08 PM #6
Veneered ply/MDF is an option, but you'd likely be looking at over $200 for a 2400x1200x18 sheet... and you'd still need to add a 25+ mm frame around it to give you the desired width.
Still, you could make the frame 50mm deep and use it as the basis for a torsion box. That'd give you the strength you'd need while still being lighter overall than a solid top..
If I was to source this out, I'd be more inclined to go to a bespoke joinery than to a modern flat-pack kitchen manufacturer.
- Andy Mc
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15th September 2022, 07:09 PM #7GOLD MEMBER
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Im one of those strange blokes that prefers a soft bench top. Most of my work is in Australian cedar so a soft bench is much more sympathetic. Yes, dings do happen but an annual steam brings the surface back to level after a quick sand. I do have a hardwood bench as well. It is what it is.
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22nd September 2022, 08:57 AM #8
I made a bench from recycled hoop for my wife’s sewing spot upstairs.
On danish bookcases to which I added junk drawers.
Its about 2m x .8m x .85m high.
She uses those hobby cutting mats when wheel cutting fabric etc.
Her latest project is a quilt for our first grandchild.
So she could work on it fully spread out I made a foldable larger top from 3mm MDF taped together.
Also a set of spacer/rulers for layout/trimming etc.
Here are the legs for our dining table downstairs, powdercoated junk.
I have more in the garden wot are bench height.
H.Jimcracks for the rich and/or wealthy. (aka GKB '88)
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