[dvd3500]

Please move to another area if this is the wrong place for this....
 
Good morning fellow humans,
We got rid of our dining room table.
I think it is 80 CM by 200 CM (i.e. two section 1 meter long each) with a leaf about 50 CM.
The old frame was heavy steal which we got rid of.


I was able to save (read: hide) the tops from the skip/junk yard and now that I have convinced my daughter to get rid of her drum set I want use this for a semi-permanent layout.

I want to be able to fold the table up in case I do have to tear it down for some reason.

I have a simple and some not so simple questions.
Simple question: What is the ideal height for a slot car table?
I think the original is was about 80 cm high but I am thinking something higher would be more comfortable.  I was thinking 1 meter but I was wondering if someone has experience and help?

The big question is how to make the legs fold (without it costing a ton of money).

It of course has to be stable as people me lean on or against it.

Ideally I would be able to add the leaf to make a decent sized table.

My main goal is to just have a track to mostly do tests and have fun runs.

Folding table legs exist but are not too high and relatively expensive.

I am also fairly clueless on how to get the sections to hold together and be stable.
I was thinking of a flat U shaped bracket that you slide a piece of wood through to keep in place, or a rotating piece of wood.

I am pretty sure though that none of my ideas will work because they almost never do...  

I am on the continent of Europe in the heart of the EU so brand names may or may not be of help...
Thanks!

[JasonB]

Regarding height, bear in mind that a standard dining table is around 72cm tall, and a standard kitchen works surface around 90cm. These are the two heights which you'll find it easier to use if you want to buy in your legs.

When we worked on the J-Trak system, Duncan started with a table height of 90cm, but quickly reverted to the lower 72cm, as it was better for youngsters, people using wheelchairs, or anyone that wanted to sit down. If none of that is an issue then 90 cm is a good height to work at, that's why they make kitchen work surfaces that height.

Most of the portable tracks I've seen use screw in legs, rather than a folding structure, as they are so simple to use, and cheaper to buy.  They usually have a baseplate that you attach to the bottom of your table, then the leg screws into that, and they have adjustable feet to account for uneven floors. If you choose the lower height of table then Adils legs by IKEA are really good value. If you go for the taller height, then you can search for breakfast bar legs. These are generally more expensive, being less common.

Alternatively you could make your own folding structure, but that's obviously a lot more involved.

[dvd3500]

Thank Jason,
I hadn't thought of the screw-in legs. For my purposes that ought to be sufficient.

I am leaning towards 90 cm so as not to have to lean over to pick up cars ...

The easiest thing for folding would be big hinges.
I forgot to mention the old table had a pulley and cable system to open up the middle and make space for the leaf.

Adding the leaf in might be tricky. By not having the 2 halves slide apart it won't fit as originally designed.
It could simply just be a really small table by itself and I could use velcro to hold it in place...

[Scuderia_Turini]

Hello DVD3500,
It would be less complicated to simply join the two pieces together with two long strips (battens) of wood underneath. With detachable legs you could simply prop it against a wall and remove the legs.
80cm by 200cm is the size of a house door.
My layout base is 80cm from the floor and that is a good height to be able to reach over to put cars back in the slot.

Leo

[dvd3500]

Thanks Leo.


I want to be able to take the two big sections apart for storage if i need to. Since the table is made out of some sort of pressed would I don't want to use screws to hold things together as screwing and unscrewing will cause the holes to get bigger.

Maybe I am just not visualizing correctly what you are trying to say...?

[Scuderia_Turini]

Hello again,

I'm simply saying that "Making a folding table" that is robust is not going to be a simple and inexpensive task. 

All the doors in my house are  75cm by 200cm and when decorating, it is easy for me to remove the hinge pins and store doors temporarily in another room or hallway.  My suggestion was that you join the two table tops together permanently . I had assumed temporary storage but can understand that a smaller package might be easier for long-term storage.


Leo

[dvd3500]

Ahh.... Now I get it...

I will give that some think...

[JasonB]

I like Leo's suggestion, because as has been said, folding tables can be complex and expensive.

Something like this might work though...

Here are your three pieces all set up.

   

The end piece has two battens screwed to the underside of the table top, with two pieces of dowel glued in.

   

The middle piece also has two battens which slide inside the battens on the first piece.

   

Each leaf has holes in the underside which the dowels slot into, so you angle the second piece upwards...

   

... slide together, and lower to locate the dowels into the holes. The dowels would need to be rounded off at the ends for this to work.

   

Repeat for the third piece...

   

... and build your track.

   

The second and third pieces would ony need two legs as each would be supported by the piece before.

[Scuderia_Turini]

That is a neat interlocking arrangement Jason. Have never seen anyone suggest that before - good one!

Leo

[JasonB]

Thanks Leo.

It actually reminds me of how Scalextric Classic track fits together.