Replies

1. 
   ring | Aug 07, 2008 06:45am | #1

   You didn't mention the size of the table, but it's my guess that your 7/8" thickness is actually enough without any shims. Glueing some shims as you suggest would give you more bite on the screws, but don't forget you'll need to add the same on the extension leaves as well. In any case, it is definitely the norm to use aprons on such a table. First of all, you need them in order to hide the slides from view. Secondly, they should serve to stabilize the table top sections and help keep them flat. Thirdly, they are often necessary to attach the table legs.

   David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e

1. 
   Dzhek | Aug 10, 2008 05:04am | #5

   Thanks for the feedback. The tabletop (unextended) is 38" x 48". My comment about aprons was not about the basic table aprons themselves which are necessary as you point out, but continuing the 'apron' on the extension leaves. As you say, it stiffens the leaf and in addtion provides a nice, finished look to the extended table.

   I'm still a bit uneasy about the 7/8" tabletop thickness that would give only about 3/4" holding depth to a screw to ensure that it does not penetrate the table top.

   Dzhek

1. 
   ring | Aug 10, 2008 08:19am | #7

   The only disadvantage I can see to putting the apron on the leaves is that it increases the storage space required. Otherwise, as you said, it seems the way to go.I still think your 7/8" thickness is enough for the screws, BUT DO WHAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH.David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e

1. 
   oldusty | Aug 10, 2008 06:25pm | #9

     David and All ,

          I apprenticed in an antique restoration shop and we did a lot of tables .

                   Different ideas on leafs , the European leaf came in like 2' wide pieces with no aprons and always made of a secondary wood (don't ask me to quantify which) .

       The idea is when you have a big crowd for a meal you may also use a table cloth in those days so the leafs were not seen in many cases .

           Storage has to be a concern as well .

                        dusty

2. 
   oldusty | Aug 07, 2008 05:26pm | #2

     Dzhek ,

             Your 7/8" thick top is fine for accepting screws from the slides imo .

       What I have seen quite often on older table tops were corner blocks glued in small sections like 3 - 4" long glued to the side of the slide and the bottom of the table top on the stationary sections for reinforcement . It is really important imo that no screws fall on the joints of the top boards .

        The extension boards or leafs are best kept flat when you also put an apron on them and look better . I have used the sash locks when the leaf is a larger one like 18 - 24 " models , some of that will be determined by the base support .

             good   luck         dusty

1. 
   Dzhek | Aug 10, 2008 05:05am | #6

   Thanks...this is very helpful.

   Dzhek

3. 
   zolton | Aug 08, 2008 05:57am | #3

   And contact me when you're ready, so I can tell you how to decorate - for "heightened effect" - the places where the screws pierce the top of your newly and beautifully finished tabletop...

   In other words, check each and every screwhole in the slides once you get them in your shop. One of the counterbored holes on the commercial slide unit I bought was drilled a good quarter inch deeper than the others, and its screw poked through the top. A word to the wise..

   Zolton

   If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon

1. 
   Dzhek | Aug 10, 2008 04:44am | #4

   Precisely my worry and reason for my post to ask for advice. Seems to me that 'locally thickening' the top by 1/4"-3/8" under the slide would do the trick, even though that requires similar shimming on the extra leaves.

   I had not thought, however, about the potential for error in the slide's countersunk depth. Good point.

   Thanks very much!

   Dzhek

4. 
   joinerswork | Aug 10, 2008 03:53pm | #8

   Dzhek,

   The advice you've been given is good.  7/8" is adequate thickness for attachment of the slides, the larger the diameter of the screws, the better.  I use #12 or 14's.  If there are many leaves to be added, a center leg, attached to a batten spanning the central slide segments, adds strength, and helps eliminate the sagging that is a part of the extension slide design--if it has slop enough to slide, it has slop enough to sag, when fully extended.  The batten is screwed to the slides, and the leg can be attached to it with a thru tenon and removeable wedge, so it can be taken off when not wanted.

   Make sure the slides are perfectly parallel to one another, and perpendicular to the edges of the tops where they meet.

   For a traditional means of connecting the tops and leaves, look for "table yokes", in the online catalogs of Horton Brasses, or Ball and Ball.

   Ray