2001 April | The Knife Collectibles

Sturdy Folded

Posted April 30, 2001 By admin and has no comments yet.

Sturdy Folded

How do I build a dining table that mounts to the wall like a shelf?

I’m moving into a small apartment and there is no room for a dining table and four chairs. I have a low window in my kitchen and I want to mount a wide shelf under it for my kids and I to eat at. It has to be sturdy, I have two rowdy little girls. I would also like to make it so it folds down when I’m not using it. Does anyone know how to do this?

First, decide what dimensions you need. Obviously it needs to be small enough to fit under the window when it’s folded down. You can buy pine ‘craft panels’ at most lumber stores, if one of those won’t work for size then get some plywood with a nice surface on one side, and if you buy it at a place that specializes in plywood they will likely cut it to size at the store, and then you’ll want to sand the edges. You can also buy tabletops and lengths of wood countertop at IKEA. Once you have the size of tabletop you need, finish it with several coats of a sturdy finish, and I would use oil-base varnish or paint here, as it’s going to take some abuse. I have used water base polyurethane on a bathroom counter and it stained. Or go to a fabric store and buy some colourful vinyl as a tablecloth, you could staple it to the wood.Then do as the previous poster suggested–batten(that’s just a piece of wood) on the wall, hinges, and folding legs(these could be just lengths of 2×2) with a secure system of fastening the legs when in use. If the batten is as thick as the legs, the table will sit flat against the wall when folded. See what they have at the hardware section for securing the legs, and the specialty plywood store might be a good place to find those too.