Hello,
I have been search quite a bit here and in other places but could not find what I am looking for.
I am searching for the dimensions of the base of the table in proportion to thetable top.
I found all the information about the height, circomference ratio to people being seated and how far the legs need to support the top so the table does not flip (70% of the top).
I could not find the bottom base dimension (ratio) where the legs or pedestal meet.
Thanks!
Replies
not clear
Sorry but I don't understand what your missing. Maybe a drawing would help us to understand the problem.
I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I have a similar question. I'm getting a round wrought iron table base made and have plans to make a solid wood top for it. I looked on line and could not find the 70% ratio mentioned above, just found references to how far apart people can comfortably sit at a table (23-24").
I 70% the recommended ratio of width of legs to width of table top to prevent tipping?
Table base dimensions
As I understand the question, you want to know how wide to make the base so the table remains stable when someone leans over their plate and plants their elbows on the edge of the table.
My answer: It depends.
What is the design of your base? Will it have three legs, four legs, five? Will the base be solid - round, square or something else? Will the table be on solid floor or shag carpet?
My suggestion would be to build a full sized prototype out of scraps and cheap lumber. Find what satisfies your need for stability.
Frosty
I hadn't seen the 70% number before, but it sounds reasonable as a starting point. I interpret that number to assume the usual leg and apron structure, Thus legs on a 4-foot table would have a diameter of about 2.8', leaving an overhang of about 8" (4 - 2.8 / 2). It also works for a pedestal table, where the effective support of the pedestal is extended outward by the feet and the corresponding cross-supports under the top.
But, I'd also agree iwth Frosty - it depends - on the design, use, etc. A table in a bar/lounge might need more than the 70% due to the greater likelihood of people leaning on it. Or, you might be able to support an 8' table on an 8" center pedestal with no feet. All you'd need to do is extend the pedestal through the floor and hold it in position in the basement - like the mast on an old wooden ship. ;-)
Table support
Ralph,
"like the mast on an old wooden ship. ;-) "
Do you have to calculate the wind direction - and the amount of grog consumed?
Frosty
calculations
Wind usually isn't an issue indoors (except in "old folk's" homes), but high grog-consumption levels might require sturdier supports and/or a mast of larger cross-section. ;-)
Thank you all for the replies.
Yes I am looking for the base dimension and how it relate to the table top dimension as circled in the picture.
Assuming my table top is 48" diameter (24 radius) and with an optional leaf of 20".
Tere must be a ratio or a simple way to determine that footprint in relation to the top.
The base will be square and I will have 4 curved legslike the second picture which is just to illustrate the what I am looking for.
What that style of legs called anyway?
Thank you again!
just take your photo and explode till you can get a measure of the top in figures that you can work in. project down to the base and calculate those dimensions. then you don't have to waste anyone's time
.
ron
feet
That style is called a Cabriole Pedestal Foot, and are seen in plain or ball-and-claw styles.
You can get an idea from commercially-available components:
http://www.osbornewood.com/pedestals-and-more.cfm
Their legs have a 13.5" reach, so combined with an 8" pedestal would provide a 35" base. Applying the 70% guideline, that would support a 50" round table. Larger oval tables, and tables with leaf extensions would typically have two pedestals.
I think you might be right RalhpBarker,
I have seen a plan from woodstore.net for a pedestal round table and they used 16" per foot that yielded 16*2+8=40" of base.
The part of the leg I was looking the name for is the curvy part, in the second picture, that forms kind of basket under the table top.
Thanks!
Go shopping
One way to figure it out is to go "shopping" for a round table. Bring a tape measure and measure a selection of tables and I suspect some ratio wiil appear. Might even be 70 percent. This may require some creative dialog with the sales rep so they don't know you are building a table, not buying.
I have considered thatt but abstained for 2 reasons:
I would be waisting someone else time and hope
most of retailers now do not carry the style I am looking for. They just take the order and drop-ship the table from the manufacturer.
not,
that's a great way to find what's wanted. in lieu of a tape measure one can "measure" using the various appendages of the body. "that table is two arms and a hand in diameter..." the only trick here is to avoid muttering to oneself and thus drawing the attention of a sales person, as the sales people simply interfere in this process.
eef
Use phizzikx
Take your bathroom scale to any table. Sit down and measure the weight of a relaxed elbows on the table pose. Add some weight based on the size of your in-laws. Take that weight value and put it at two seating positions on one side and put on a force diagram of the round table with the table's center of gravity. Calculate how far the center of gravity shifts with elbows. That's your minimum foot radius.
Simple.
That's sound like a feasible ide notatexa,
I think a diagram of force might yield my answer. I may need a dynamometer. I probably can hack one together.
You can calculate the tipping point. Determine the weight of the table. Take the weight of the table times the radius of the base call this A. Subtract the radius of the top from the radius of the base call this B. Divide B into A. This gives the maximum weight that can be applied to the edge of the top before it will to tip.
what's the unit of weight?
What units of measurement are used in this calculation? If I use metric millimeters for my dimensions then is the weight in grams or kilos? And if I use imperial inches the is it pounds or ounces ?
Round Table With 3 Legs
I have been looking everywhere and cannot seem to find the formula necessary to determine leg position. We have an 8' round table that we want to put 3 12'x12' legs. How do I determine the leg placement?
Hey,
Picture a square that fits inside the circle. The legs should be long enough to fit to the edges of the square.
Mikaol
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