Fatboy
Established Member
I've been asked to make a display table to be taken to trade shows. It needs to be sturdy enough to withstand being put up/taken down at around a dozen shows a year and thrown into a garage when not in use but light enough (and simple enough) to be put together by one person. It will have people leaning on it hence the requirement that it is sturdy.
The size is the problem, it needs to have a sturdy 8'x4' top and be able to break down into small enough parts to get into the back of a car! I cut a sheet of 18mm mrmdf into 3 x 800x1220mm sections as being the easies sizes to handle with domino biscuits along the edges to line then up when slid back together. They'll have a felt top stuck on.
I envisaged a set of 3 legs, like these but 1000mm wide, which I have already made. http://www.finewoodworking.com/assets/u ... _5197A.JPG with three rails of 2200mm halp lapped into the tops and a fourth tying the bottom of the leg sets into place. Worked a treat, slot it all into place and it was sturdy enough yet easy to erect and take apart again. Now they say the 2200 rails are too long for the car and can they be halved to make transport easier. I can do that but the legs are only 40mm wide so little room to join two half rails together. I could make the centre leg wider but I've already made a wheeled dolly to transport it all in whioch is snug fit.
Any thoughts how to join the two halfs of the rail together and retain some rigidity? They don't want too much in the way of fittings, just a simple slot together job. All softwood too.
The size is the problem, it needs to have a sturdy 8'x4' top and be able to break down into small enough parts to get into the back of a car! I cut a sheet of 18mm mrmdf into 3 x 800x1220mm sections as being the easies sizes to handle with domino biscuits along the edges to line then up when slid back together. They'll have a felt top stuck on.
I envisaged a set of 3 legs, like these but 1000mm wide, which I have already made. http://www.finewoodworking.com/assets/u ... _5197A.JPG with three rails of 2200mm halp lapped into the tops and a fourth tying the bottom of the leg sets into place. Worked a treat, slot it all into place and it was sturdy enough yet easy to erect and take apart again. Now they say the 2200 rails are too long for the car and can they be halved to make transport easier. I can do that but the legs are only 40mm wide so little room to join two half rails together. I could make the centre leg wider but I've already made a wheeled dolly to transport it all in whioch is snug fit.
Any thoughts how to join the two halfs of the rail together and retain some rigidity? They don't want too much in the way of fittings, just a simple slot together job. All softwood too.
