Ideas wanted for demountable banquet table

[Beau]

Hi all

At Easter we have the opotunity for a large family gathering in a semi converted barn. We are looking to seat 14. My basic idea is to use 12'x6"x2" boards (already milled from douglas fir) and mount them on some sort of trestles. It will have to be demountable as the barn wont normally be used for dining. It would be nice for any leg/trestle made to have other uses such as builders trestles. Not looking at anything fancy just workmanlike possibly just bare milled faces. as said the only wood I have so far is some 8 x 12' 6x2s. I can mill whatever is need for the legs just waiting for me to come up with a design.

Any thoughts?

 

[Sofa]

We have our Christmas and other large family gathering stored in the garage and it has been used for about 15 years and is easy to store. I use loft boards which just slot together and are super cheap strong and when you place a table cloth over it just looks like a regular table. In terms of support I use use three stanley trestles to rest it upon. The good thing with these boards is you can put hot dishes on it and not worry about stains and such.

 

[Jameshow]

If your using a table cloth, scaffold boards are 13' and you'll need 4 for 3' width,
One extra for strapping underneath..

But if you have DF then why not but it will be very heavy!

 

[Beau]

If your using a table cloth, scaffold boards are 13' and you'll need 4 for 3' width,
One extra for strapping underneath..

But if you have DF then why not but it will be very heavy!

I'm intending to use 8 so 4' wide. I was thinking of just screwing the boards to the under support (depending what it is) in place so only moving 1 board at a time.

 

[Beau]

We have our Christmas and other large family gathering stored in the garage and it has been used for about 15 years and is easy to store. I use loft boards which just slot together and are super cheap strong and when you place a table cloth over it just looks like a regular table. In terms of support I use use three stanley trestles to rest it upon. The good thing with these boards is you can put hot dishes on it and not worry about stains and such.

Some worksite type trestles is a great idea. Cant see any Stanley ones the right hight but this looks suitable https://www.toolchimp.co.uk/vaunt-heavy-duty-adjustable-height-saw-horse-twin-pack

I'm doing a major renovation of a house anyway and some solid trestles wouldn't go amiss

 

[HamsterJam]

I wouldn’t over think this.
IKEA sell legs that screw onto a plate mounted on the underside of a table top. Not sure how many you’d need to support the weight of your Douglas fir top but they’re pretty cheap and very quick to deploy plus will be the right height for a table and have a small amount of height adjustment to account for any unevenness the floor.
In addition they don’t take up a lot of knee space under the table.
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/adils-leg-dark-grey-80488191/
All you’ll need is something under the table to hold your planks together.

 

[HOJ]

Absolutely nothing like the idea you have in mind , but I thought I'd post them up anyway.

Made for banquet dining in a Barn conversion I worked on years ago, the trestle legs all fold up on themselves for storage along with the tops.

 

[Beau]

Absolutely nothing like the idea you have in mind , but I thought I'd post them up anyway.

Made for banquet dining in a Barn conversion I worked on years ago, the trestle legs all fold up on themselves for storage along with the tops.

View attachment 196560 View attachment 196561

I like your folding system very much.

I've just been to Toolstation and bought 2 trestles. Feel a bit foolish for not thinking of them in the first place. Always used fixed wooden ones a made donkeys years ago and had no idea the humble trestle had come on so far

 

[Terry - Somerset]

A 12ft+ table top will be heavy and difficult to transport. Not an issue if stored in the barn, otherwise might be a pain.

Alternative top would be two (possibly three) parallel bearers between the trestles. On these would be laid (say) 6 boards (loft panels) of (say) 4 x 2ft to cover the length of the table. The 4ft width could be T&G to provide some extra stability. Boards could be firmly located and easily removed with dowels into the bearers.

A 4x2" should provide adequate support between the trestles. As this may restrict leg room if positioned at the edge of the table, it could be a centre bearer with (say) 2x2" at the edges.

To locate the bearers on the trestles would need a simple frame to ensure level and stable.

Storage would then be 3 long bearers + 6 panels + 2 trestle locators. A much more manageable proposition which could be assembled or dis-assembled in 5-10 minutes.