# What is the best way to attach metal legs to wood table top



## doigtscarres

Technical question.
What is the best way to attach these type of legs to a 2" walnut table top?










Table design










Typically the legs have holes to place screws or bolts.
But how do I ensure the stability of the legs and screw them to the wood?

Thanks for your suggestions.

Laurent


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## GeorgeC

I can think of nothing other than lag bolts. However, beware, from what I can see they will not be very stable side to side.

George


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## Toolman50

GeorgeC said:


> I can think of nothing other than lag bolts. However, beware, from what I can see they will not be very stable side to side.
> 
> George


+1 on the lag screw. Pre-drill a hole smaller than the diameter of the screw. If your top is 1 3/4" thick, use a 1 1/2" long lag screw.


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## doigtscarres

Thanks for the suggestions.
The side by side stability is what worries me. Especially because the table top is impressively heavy.
I was thinking taking a metal plate(1/8" or 1/4"), bolting the legs to the metal plate and screwing the plate to the table top. That will give me more than 4 screws per slabs, and lock the side by side movements. If I am not too lazy I would incrust the metal plate in the wood. It may depends on the final height that I may get. The other option that I was thinking about was to lock the side by side movement by welding a perpendicular bar from the leg to lock that axes.

hummm, will see.
I am currently waiting for the legs and will get them in a week or 2.

I will post the result when done ;-)

Thanks
Laurent


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## FrankC

I would go with the perpendicular bars, you have to be careful you don't fasten anything across the top that will not allow for expansion, as it stands it looks like the style of leg you have will flex enough to not be a problem.


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## bob sacamano

where did you get the legs ?


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## doigtscarres

*Final result & Info*

The legs were ordered here: 
http://steeltablelegs.com

Here are some of the challenges that I had with this project.
I will post the full story and process on my website soon (http://butre.fr).

1) I had issues with the zinc sheet when I glued it to the middle piece slab, and while I bended it around it, it didn't stick everywhere making some loose "bubbles"... will do better next time.
2) I believed I used a too thick zinc sheet (0.33) and it was really hard to bend around the middle slabs and have perfect edges with flat sides. Therefore I do get a little bit of gaps from places to places along the joints between the slabs.
3) The wood is massive (2.5" thick over 103"). The table weight a ton  and once on the heavy sturdy legs, it was wobbling !!! I had to put cables cross on the legs to reduce/remove the flex on the legs.
4) The middle part of zinc has been aged with culprit sulfate, I could have done a better job, I find it a little bit too dark, but that's easily fixable. I just need to sand it and polish it again and redo it.
5) Finally I still have to do a little bit of work on the edges.

Overall, I am pretty happy with the result :thumbsup:
Here is a quick pict at the result.

Laurent


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## woodnthings

*here the issue I see*

Everyone likes the clean and simple look of the rectangular shaped legs. Any braces detract from that look, and that's probably why you went with the cables.... :yes:

A rectangle is an "unstable" geometric shape, since it will fold at the corners, unless braced. Think of a cardboard box with open ends. Push on it from the side and it will fold over. Close one end and it's much stronger. Close both ends and it quite strong when push from the side. 

Well, be aren't gonna close in the ends, are we? So the only alternative is to use a larger, hollow section and bend or weld the shape. The legs are 3/8" thick flat stock according to the product description, not real strong in my view. 

Other solutions might include a horizontal brace a few inches off the floor and possibly a second a few inches down from the top. You would still have an open look and not have any elements at diagonals. Even one diagonal from corner to corner would greatly strengthen the shape, but would add a dramatic visual element. 
Small triangular, square or even round braces in each corner might be unobtrusive. Cables as you know strengthen the design, but are unobtrusive for the most part. It's a very tough engineering vs design issue. :yes:


Nice looking table!


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## Levi Z

Hi everyone. I just wanted to speak up in this thread. I am the maker of the table legs that doigtscarres used on his project. 

First, I just wanted to say, HOLY CRAP doigtscarres there is no slowing you down. I admire your vivacity.

Also, sorry you had to go through so much to make them work for you. At the time you bought these legs, we only offered them in 3/8" flat bar. Since then, we began offering different designs that can handle the weight of this table with ZERO wobble. But as woodnthings mentioned, people really like that clean bent steel look. So now we offer that same design in 1/2" thick for all dining applications like yours. This removes any flex/wobble in that direction. 

As far as lateral stability goes, with that particular design it really comes down to the weight of the table and the type of wood. We don't get any complaints. But for piece of mind, we will weld a 5" wide, 3/16" thick mounting plate on that design for free. Just email us and mention that you are a member of woodworkingtalk. 

doigtscarres, I feel bad that you had to modify the legs to make them work. email me and I will get you a discount code for 40% off another set of legs.


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## GeorgeC

Thank you Levi Z. There are not many like you who would come on a forum and make offers like you have done.

There are also probably not many manufacturers who take the time to browse forums to see if anybody is using their products.

You are a credit to mankind.

George


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## nspusmc

hi, this is my first post


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## Levi Z

Wow. Thanks GeorgeC. I truly appreciate the kind words. 

I am glad that my table legs ended up in the hands of a user on this forum because it led me here. I have a lot to learn about woodwork and this forum looks to be an extremely valuable resource.

(Accidentally signed in on my wife's account above. Couldn't figure out how to delete the post. Her and I just did a live edge slab bench that she is going to post on here. You guys can tell us what we did wrong


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