Folding wooden table for the kitchen do it yourself

Recommendation points

• What will we do
• Swivel, sliding or classic “book”
• We make table legs
• The main frame is very simple
• Hidden storage sections
• Tabletop options

Collecting cabinet furniture is a pleasure. All costs pale in comparison to the convenience of using items made “for themselves”. We suggest that you study the common designs of folding dining tables, as well as the technique for assembling them, and you can make a folding dining table with your own hands..

What will we do

The main advantage of folding tables is their mobility, and for this they must be lightweight. Exactly to the extent that the housewife can cope with their transformation and movement. It is unlikely that a solid wood table will be easy to lift, and with its small dimensions, such material is completely inappropriate.

It is supposed to use light and thin slats of laminated chipboard of factory or self-cut to create the base of the table.

For countertops, the choice is almost unlimited. You may prefer the familiar particle board, but also look out for MDF panels, furniture boards or 40mm kitchen countertops made of particleboard with acrylic or vinyl sheeting. However, keep in mind that for most of these materials, the seamy side is different from the front one, it simply does not withstand normal operating loads. This moment can be of decisive importance in some table designs..

Swivel, sliding or classic “book”

There are really many ways to transform the countertop. The simplest and most familiar of them is used in a pedestal table with two lifting tabletops on piano hinges and swivel legs as a support for them. The table is not always convenient: the person sitting at the central section simply has nowhere to put his knees, and besides, when unfolding it, he often has to be moved and turned. The aesthetic value of such furniture is almost zero, but the “book” is the most budgetary version of the table.

Sliding tables have a rigid frame with fixed legs. Only the tabletop undergoes transformation: it moves to the side to the middle of the frame, while the open part is covered with the second half, which is stored separately. These tables are great for spacious dining rooms, transformation is done in a few simple steps..

By the way, there are several layout options, for example, the edges of the tabletop can be shifted with an insert of the central segment. Or, for example, the tabletop can be folded in half on hidden mortise hinges and folded back onto the open frame after sliding. Do not bypass the rotary structures, in which the tabletop does not move to the side, but rotates perpendicularly, after which it is complemented by the second half.

We make table legs

The legs for the “book” are assembled from three laminated chipboard slats. Two of them are fastened with the letter G on 60 mm confirmations. To do this, at the end of a 100 mm rail, it is necessary to drill a through hole by 4 mm, expand it with a 6 mm drill to a depth of 70 mm, and then with a 10 mm drill to a depth of 60 mm. In other words – manually and step by step to perform milling for a recessed confirmation.

To prevent the table top from swinging on the sides, the leg is covered from the end with a 100 mm wide bar and fastened with 45 mm confirms in three arbitrary places, hiding the traces of the previous fastening. The specified bonding method is the least noticeable and most durable, but you can also use overhead corners, dowels or ties..

For a sliding table, legs of two laminated chipboard planks folded perpendicularly are suitable. Between the legs of the same material, a rectangular frame is assembled, which holds the base of the table. Another, more complicated option is to assemble square boxes from strips 84 mm wide and pull them together with confirmations. Such strict and discreet legs will fit most interior solutions, while providing good stability and allowing you to comfortably stretch your legs.

You can also use chrome pipes or turned products as legs for all types of tables..

The main frame is very simple

For sliding and rotary tables, the main frame is made of laminated chipboard slats with a width of 120-200 mm. In general, the frame encircles the legs in a circle and hides the traces of the countertop attachment. Square legs can also be fastened not with an external belt, but with intermediate inserts. The upper ends of the parts must be brought out flush; to give diagonal strength, it is possible to add jumpers inside the frame. The elements are fastened with furniture corners from the inside.

The total length of the base should be 40-50% less than the length of the unfolded tabletop. The width is chosen in such a way that the overhang of the tabletop at the edges is at least 100–150 mm.

When assembling the base under the “book”, the main dimensions have a stricter relationship. The center segment of the table top determines the overall width of the table, which should be 20-25 cm less than the length of the side wings. That, in turn, should be less than the table height by about 50 mm. Since the legs are hidden inside the base when the table is assembled, its minimum width when folded is at least 300 mm.

The base itself is assembled in the shape of the letter P and is reinforced with one crossbar 400 mm wide in the center on the edge. It is possible to mount it from the inside with furniture corners, but in this case it is better to prefer confirms. Leg loops are attached at least 50 mm to the edge of the side walls.

Hidden storage sections

Often, the inner space of the table base is used to store dishes or household chemicals. The easiest way to organize storage space is inside a folding “book”. The width of the central segment should be increased by 200–250 mm and several horizontal shelves should be used instead of one vertical bar. It is also possible with a blank sheathing of the inner box and installation of doors at the ends of the base.

Due to the complex shape of the legs, the door will be 100 mm wider than the box on both sides, so it is important to remember one point: the handle on the door is installed on the side where the table leg is in the folded state. Accordingly, under different wings, the direction of opening the doors and the location of the legs should be opposite..

In sliding tables for arranging a niche, it is enough to knock out the frame from the bottom with a solid sheet of MDF and add several transverse strips for a more durable fixation of the bottom. Another option is to use frame strips up to 400 mm wide and fasten the base along the center. Drawers can be installed in the formed niches on full extension rails.

Tabletop options

The tabletop for the “book” must be assembled upside down, spreading the sheets of chipboard on the floor and carefully aligning them. The wings are connected to the central section with piano hinges, then the dowels are drilled to fix them to the ends of the base. Additionally, it is necessary to provide restraints in the center of each wing so that the leg does not fold from accidental movement of the foot.

The most versatile mounting option for sliding table top is on drawer rails. For this, the tabletop or its halves are supplemented with a pair of longitudinal ribs, the distance between which is 20 mm greater than the width of the base body. The guides can be used both normal and full extension, their length should be comparable to the overhang of the table top in the unfolded state. This installation allows you to maximize the size of the unfolded table, while at the same time strength and stability are not compromised.

If the table top is assembled from two halves, they can be folded with the front surfaces to each other and embedded hinges into the ends. With this option, the front surface of the unfolded countertop always remains intact, that is, its individual parts will not have varying degrees of wear..

Also very useful are metal dowels at the ends of different segments of the tabletops, which provides greater solidity and eliminates the formation of sides and drops.