Hello,
I am in the process of building a dining table that must accommodate a couple of leafs, each leaf approx 18 – 20″ long, so I would need a slide that would open up to about 40″ max. The length of the table w/out the leafs will be approx 65″ long x 42″ wide
I see that Rockler has some slides avail which look pretty rugged. I also noticed a company called Selby offering this hardware but they may be for the furniture industry only.
From looking at the literature for the hardware it looks like each left and right slide simply screws to the bottom side of the table.
Has anyone out there used table slide hardware and if so, what are some of the things I should watch for. They come either in wood (lower cost) or metal and some are 36″ when closed while others are approx 20″ when closed. The client does want a smooth operating mechanism which he can operate by himself – would metal be the choice for this?. I know the slides would have to be very durable since they are what support the table due to split side aprons.
Thnaks,
Frank
Replies
Frank,
I've used both wood and metal slides over the years, and you can get good results either way. The metal slides inherently have tighter tolerances, but they do have their problems as well - more susceptible to dust and junk buildup. And I've seen one case where a spilled drink caused them to rust because the owner didn't bother to clean up thoroughly.
Probably the most important thing is to get a slide that suits the measurements you need; if you need 40" of opening, don't get one that opens 60". Every additional "telescope" adds free play, whether it's wood or metal.
Personally, if I were making a table today I'd prefer to go with wood slides (usually oak), just because of the look and "feel".
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
I'll second what ring says. I prefer the wood slides, and I usually use the ones with the gear action. They operate smoothly, and allow the table to be opened up from one side, as the other side automatically opens with it. Very nice, especially when your customer is elderly. Those large slab table tops can get pretty darn heavy.
The table I'm building right now has the gear action slides, and I get them from Rockler.
Jeff
Last year, I built a large (120" when fully extended) dining table. I bought wooden slides from Lee Valley and was very happy with them. Good quality workmanship and they slide open/shut easily. You do really need a second person to manage opening & closing easily, though I did it myself many times during construction and finishing. The pair I used was the second pair... first from another supplier was very poorly constructed and essentially unusable.
Thanks for your responses!
I looked at my Lee Valley catalog and they state for both the 4-leg and gear driven pedestal extenders "they are slightly arched to compensate for sag; the four-legged table extender is convex and the pedestal style is concave" They also state "Equalizers (to prevent tipping) are used only on the pedestal style.
I'm wondering if I used the pedestal extender (with the nifty gear drive)on my 4-legged table if the table sag with the leafs installed would be greater than normal due to the concave design of the equalizer slide. Has anyone used the gear driven equalizer slide on a 4-legged table with good results?
Frank
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