# Sofa table stabilization



## Lachawieca (Sep 26, 2018)

I imagine that this isn’t exactly what the forum is for but I was still hopeful for some ideas. 

I making this table to a be a industrial style sofa table/ bar table. It’s meant to sit behind the sofa facing the tv with some bar stools to have a beer or even some food during a party(think Super Bowl). 

The issue is that(as I’m sure many of you have probably already figured out) the table isn’t as stable as I’d like it to be for beer glasses behind a sofa. 

The legs are all industrial black pipe, nothing special, with some furniture pads underneath. I am able to play with the feet to make it flat and even but if I were to lean on it while standing up, it would like top over. 

Any ideas on stabilizing it besides just getting a bigger piece of wood and width out the legs? Also, don’t want to bolt it to the laminate floor, of course. 

Any help is much appreciated. 

Thanks!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The frame of the table is made of 3/4" black pipe like you use with natural gas. If you look at the picture at the feet it has floor flanges on it. Those are probably screwed to the floor. That is what makes that table stable. If screwing it to the floor isn't an option you could screw it to a couple of 1x4's large enough to keep it tipping over.


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## sunnybob (Sep 3, 2016)

With that height and width, that table will always be unstable unless screwed to the floor. in a room with a bunch of party people, you dont stand a chance of stabilising it any other way. Even adding weight to the base will not help.


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## Packard (Jul 27, 2018)

If there is room under the couch, then make the legs much longer to reach under the couch. The added length will provide substantial stability in one direction and the added weight will help in the other direction. You can also ballast the ends of those longer legs for better stability. 

Hospital over-bed tables use this configuration for the legs. Though the table top also does, you do not have to.

In your case you can screw the legs to 3/4" x 6" by 30" boards that reach under the couch.

https://www.rehabmart.com/include-m...overbed table_overbed tables.jpg&newwidth=650


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## Saw Dust Rules (Jul 21, 2018)

I make lots of similar tables, you can see them in my Gallery photos. You need to spread the legs further apart which will also allow you to move the long stretcher to between the legs.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

You are dealing with a high center of gravity, the wider the legs are apart the harder it will be to tilt over, ideally with something that high the base of the legs would be wider than the top.

Something like this:


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## Andrew Ray (Aug 21, 2018)

Thank you all for your advise and guidance! 

Sorry for a late reply. I can’t get the website to work well with safari on my phone. Google chrome is great though. 

I think spreading out the legs on the bottom is what I’ll try first. That seems like a nice way to do it without hanging the style too much.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Andrew Ray said:


> Thank you all for your advise and guidance!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Yes, there are dozens of photos of similar tables online, however most of them are designed to be against a wall holding knick-knacks.

You can't argue with physics or control excited super bowl fans, a base that narrow is an accident waiting to happen.


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