Fold down desk

RazHao | Posted in Jigs, Fixtures, Tips & Tricks on October 16, 2019 05:53am

Hello,
I’m trying to make something like a cupboard that has a fold down table. I’m using birch wood for the project and the slab will have around 1″×18″×48″ and I was thinking about using hinges and 2×150 N gas pistons for lowering the desk slab. Is there a better solution? Most projects using gas pistons have a fold up part that is not as heavy.

Replies

daverichards | Oct 16, 2019 09:59am | #1
Do you have a sketch you can show of what you are planning?
chipsawdust | Oct 18, 2019 11:25am | #2
Without seeing it, my personal preference is to leave gas pistons to cars :)
But if it's a bit heavy they may be a good choice.
Deleted | Oct 20, 2019 03:30pm | #3
“[Deleted]”
RazHao | Oct 20, 2019 03:36pm | #4
It's going to be something like this.
daverichards | Oct 20, 2019 05:25pm | #5
How tall is the case and what do you plan to do with the door when it is folded down? Are you planning on using it as a desk? If you are concerned about the weight, you might consider building it as a torsion box. Gas cylinders could work but I think they'll add some unneeded complexity. In order to work properly you would need to balance them and adjust them to suit the weight. I'd be more inclined to use chains or sliding lid stays maybe. Depending on the exact dimensions and the use case for it, maybe it would fold down and push in a little bit to keep it from sagging at the front.
RazHao | Oct 21, 2019 01:23am | #6
The case is 120cm (47 inches) tall and the fold down piece will be a desk for a laptop, or painting. I assume the "body" is heavy enough not to flip over.. worst case I could anchor it in the wall but I was a bit intimidated by the folding down mechanism since I didnt want it too look bad but also function well and this pretty much my biggest project so far so I lack some experience. Thank you for help!
daverichards | Oct 21, 2019 07:54am | #7
You could do something like this.
https://youtu.be/i0a-QXOlJeQ

Pins on the lower corners of the door/desktop guide it back in grooves cut in the sides.
RazHao | Oct 22, 2019 09:41am | #8
I have not thought about this. Thank you this is amazing! It might be a bit more work but this way I have even less metallic stuff
daverichards | Oct 22, 2019 09:49am | #9
Less metallic stuff is good. It really shouldn't be much more complicated. Narrow the shelf at the bottom of the center case so there's somewhere for the door to slide in and add grooves for the pins on the fold down door. You could use spring loaded pins (shop made) to hold the door in place yet make it removable.