How can I fix a glass top to these fancy wooden legs?

[el_Pedr0]

I've got this lovely table base and am hoping you lot will be able to help me put a glass top on it to make a coffee table.






Q1: What methods can I use to attach the glass?

My aesthetic preference is for methods that do not require a hole in the glass. But I am going to get the glass made, so if holes are a must, then so be it. For inspiration, I've got a glass TV stand and it has these smart looking circular discs adhered to the underside of the glass which provide the mounting for the legs, but haven't got a clue whether these are a fixing type that are generally available.





All suggestions welcome.

Q2: The distance between the legs is about 50cm. What size and shape table top would you suggest? Would you go for something round or oval or something else - I was thinking something a bit triangularish but with rounded corners - almost like a super simplified Australia shape.

Thanks

 

[el_Pedr0]

Hmm. Looks like those metal 'adapter plates' are a pretty standard fixing (albeit needing to be UV bonded). But on reflection, a round disc won't really work with this third leg because it has no horizontal surface:



Looking at a similar type of table, it seems like this top is just rested on top of the legs perhaps with some little rubber pads


Is this viable, or will it forever be liable to being knocked/tipped off the legs?

 

[clogs]

I know you can buy non slip soft clear patches to lay the glass on....
they are not a glue on thing they just stay /stick there over time....
imagine a flat blob of silicone but without the stickyness....
hope that makes sence.......?
This way the weight of the glass does the work over time....and you can still remove the top....

 

[jcassidy]

For a modernist design, you want a clear top. You could just sit the glass on the wood directly. Look up Noguchi coffee table. Really heavy safety glass (18, 20mm, or even thicker) should sit solidly and not be liable to getting knocked off, yet can can be lifted off.

My own coffee table has glass sitting on rubber grommets - see photo.

For that one leg with no horizontal surface, I suppose you will have to carefully insert a dowel to hold the grommet, or recess the other 2 legs so the glass sits directly on the wood of the 3rd leg?

Lovely table, btw.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

You can get things that look look a bit like mushrooms: a flat pad with a stalk that fits into a drilled hole. I found an example here, but there are other styles available.

 

[Cabinetman]

Yes , I think it just sits there under its own weight, perhaps go for quite a thick bit of glass, it won’t be cheap by the time you have it polished (with a slight bevel ?) though

 

[el_Pedr0]

Thanks all. So rubbery things it is then. Might consider sticky-on ones first to limit any invasive procedures to the wood (although @jcassidy makes a good point about the third leg).

Yes, perhaps not cheap, but willing to spend a bit on it: I love the shape of the legs, and it was given to us by the wife's old man. I've had quite a bit of glazing done over the last couple of years so have some trusted glass folk that won't add a rip off margin on top. (That said, 18mm sounds a bit on the thick side from a visual perspective, given the overall modest dimensions of the table).

 

[jcassidy]

Hermann Miller who make Noguchi coffee table, etch the signature on the side of the glass.

That said, the glass on my coffee table (Danish, '60s) is 9mm and tinted slightly bottle green. However it does move about a bit which is annoying.
The rim is ground opaque, but not bevelled; just ground slightly to take the sharp edge off.

 

[JBaz]

I made a pair of these tables some years ago.

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The glass is 1/2" or 12mm toughened with polished and bevelled edges.
The round pads are rubber foam (very cheap) and self-adhesive one side. The glass will move if pushed from the side, but in normal use it stays put.

With your 3 legs and only 2 flat surfaces you might need adhesive on both sides of the (2) pads, and maybe something on the bottom of the 3rd leg to level the surface (if that is important).

 

[el_Pedr0]

Excellent design choice there - those cushions are a perfect match to the rug.

The tables are quite nice too

12mm looks good. Hopefully I'll be able to go with something like that, but I will have to ensure the weight is sufficient to counter the greater propensity to tip given I have only three points of contact vs your four and that my overhang might be a touch bigger.

Ah, yes! level the third leg from the bottom! That's an interesting one. Will have to investigate

 

[owen]

Those legs looks pretty funky, are they any different the other way up? When I have covered dining tables with toughened glass in the past I've just used clear rubber bumpers, think 3M made the last ones I used

 

[Richard_C]

Few things to think about perhaps. What will the overhang be? If the top is round or "bloboid" (irregular triangular ish perhaps) and the overhang is limited then gravity and small pads should do the job. If you aim to have a square or rectangle the overhang at the corners might be a BSL (British Standard Lot) so you might need fixings.

Will it be moved often? If so you might want to fix it otherwise every time it's moved you will need to take the top off and move the base then put top back on. If it's rarely moved, gravity wins.

And finally, you could start with gravity and escalate to sticky fixings later if needed, but not the other way round.

Really nice base, good luck with it.

 

[Fergie 307]

You could try cutting discs from the sort of silicone bobble mat used to hold work on a flat surface. They will compress and stick it more effectively than rubber I would have thought.

 

[Droogs]

get some of the clear silicon jelly feeling pan tops that prevent splashes etc from lidl and cut little bits off as they are super sticky and see through

 

[mbartlett99]

If you want a non permanent fixing use "museum gel" - its a silicone based transparent gel that museums/galleries use to fix objects down. It provides a surprising amount of stick but does not adhere as such. Its usually invisible but use just a dap as it does spread. We use it for fixing art work/objects while at sea.