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Office Conference Room Table Fabrication-How to make sturdy office furniture

September 8th, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

The first time I was asked to fabricate a table for an office it was by a gentleman that was over six feet tall and close to three hundred pounds. He had two brothers in the business that worked in the office with him. The three of them were equivalent to one third of a professional football team, big men. When we initially met, he told me to make sure that it was a sturdy conference table.

The table’s design called for it to be ten feet long and four feet wide. On all four corners it was to have forty five degree corners about eight inches in length. The top of the conference table was to be Formica (or, “plastic laminate”) and the edge detail was to be beveled edge molding. The support legs were to be plastic laminate as well.


Discussion how to make:

Conference table-top
Table sub-top
Support legs
Center strut

How to make the conference table top

We made the counter out of three quarters of inch thick plywood that was built-up to look as though it was an inch and a half thick around the edges. The top surface was covered with Formica.

We then attached the plastic laminate beveled edge molding onto the conference table’s edges with yellow glue.

Fabricating a sub-top

We cut another piece of three quarters thick ply wood that the table support legs (or, “bases”) would attach to. This was a rather large piece that extended eight feet long and forty inches wide. On the underside where the support legs were to attach, we glued and screwed ¾” thick strips of oak that were two inches in height. We used four pieces and actually created a channel for the support legs to drop into at each end of the conference table’s sub-top.

How to make the support legs

Every thing was fabricated using three quarter inch plywood. We doubled up on the thickness when we made the legs so they were one and a half inches thick. Both legs were approximately thirty inches in width and thirty two inches high. They were laminated on both sides with plastic laminate that had a black colored granite look.

Making the center strut or beam

This piece of laminated ¾” thick plywood was 12” in height and five feet long. The plan called for it to extend between both conference table support legs and attach to the underside of the sub-countertop with L-brackets.

How to assemble the conference table top

1) Lay the sub-top flat on the floor.
2) Insert the 1-1/2” thick support panels into the oak end channels and fasten with screws.
3) Insert the center support beam/ strut between the support legs and fasten them using L-brackets and by screwing through the support legs.
4) Attach L-brackets on the outside of the legs facing towards the end of the conference table.
5) Flip the sub-top over and stand it into an upright position. You will need someone to help with this because it is going to be heavy.
6) Place the finished Formica plastic laminate conference table onto of the sub-top and screw it fast from underneath.

Learning how to make a conference table is really a matter of using common sense. Just think about how you can construct the table in order for it to be extra sturdy. Custom made office furniture should always be stronger than some thing that is store bought. The fabrication method that you design should always include plenty of support brackets.

Categories: Making Counter Tops
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