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Prototyping an Inexpensive Set of Folding Table Legs Out of Construction Lumber

2x4s, unfancy hinges, screws and little else

By Rain Noe - April 23, 2018

in Furniture Design

In order to maximize free space, the photo studio I run on the side contains almost no furniture. Different crews fill the space with different things, from racks of clothing for a catalog shoot to tons of lighting equipment for a documentary interview. And sometimes they build small sets in there. So space is at a premium.

However, one thing the studio badly needed was a table. Something big enough for a crew of four to eat lunch on (far as I can tell, the models don't eat lunch, or any meals at all), and big enough for a product photographer to spread items across.

I wasn't going to buy one of those plastic folding banquet tables because I am trying to lower my plastic usage. But fortunately a crew recently built some backdrops for their shoot, and after they left them behind, I salvaged all the 2x4s from them. So for zero dollars in material costs I got to experiment with building this thing, which I'd been wanting to try for a while.

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The form factor is designed around the hardware; I had a crapload of butt hinges from an old project that I dismantled. (The white paint you see on them throughout these photos is from that project, a defunct tool cabinet.)

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This project uses 12 butt hinges in total.

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The long aprons are half-lapped to the legs. I used screws rather than glue because this is a prototype, and I want to be able to disassemble and modify it if something breaks.

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The side aprons are split into two components, and each half of each side is made from four 2x4s glued edge-to-edge. My original brutish thought was to just make these aprons a plain rectangle--i.e. the 2x4s would all be the same length--but I reasoned it would be too heavy.

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So I cut the first two 2x4s down for the inner sections and cut a taper into the third. The negative space is not enough for someone seated at the end to place their legs under, but a long enough tabletop should solve that problem.

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For practice's sake I built this entire thing with hand tools. The 2x4s required a lot of planing to get them S-4-S. Using a chisel, I recessed all of the hinges, so that the thing would fold relatively flat when closed.

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I didn't size the tabletop to any specific dimension; I just grabbed an existing piece of plywood close enough in size that I didn't need to alter it. I edge-banded it and called it done.

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I screwed two cleats to the underside of the plywood.

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These cleats lock the side aprons into the open position when the tabletop is put in place.

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I chamfered the bottom of the legs, to prevent splintering if someone slams a rolling piece of equipment into them, and added self-leveling feet (the studio floors are wonky).

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It's not attractive, but is perfectly functional. The table is surprisingly sturdy and rack-free, even in the long dimension.

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After my clients have had the chance to knock this thing around for a while, I'll revisit it and figure out how to improve it. In particular I'd like for the tabletop to somehow integrate with the legs when it's in the stowed position.

I've wanted to build this for a long time but always subconsciously put it off, because I didn't know if it was viable and hadn't worked out the details. Then something Jimmy DiResta said in one of his videos, when he was trying out an unconventional construction method, inspired me:

"I don't know if this will work," he said, "but if it breaks, I'll just fix it."

Those are words to live by.

o

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Christian Jacques

6 years ago

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Excellent take on flat fold campaign furniture with at hand materials.

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Scott Brown

6 years ago

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Good use of at-hand materials. The concept is old, and while I like the more "leggy", traditional table appearance, the short, hinged web on the ends to facilitate that seems like a weak point, especially with butt hinges which usually have a sloppy action. Piano hinges aren't free, but would go a long way to strengthening and streamlining a future iteration. Also plywood.

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Eric Strebel

6 years ago

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Excellent, well done!

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Sean Thackston

6 years ago

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Some nice hand-work there Rain. Seems like your wood-working course is paying off.

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amunta nul

6 years ago

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rain posting something he designed?! and i like it?! what a time to be alive.

Cool concept, I like how the table top locks the legs in place.

How sturdy is it? Strong enough for someone to sit on it?

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Juan Cano

6 years ago

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Very nice! May have to make one for myself.

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