# I Want to build a Train Table with folding legs



## Bkubiak

IT looks like it will be in HO scale, will keep the 027 scale set for around the tree during the holidays.

I am looking for ideas and construction plans. It will be probably be started with a 4 x 8 and cut down maybe a tad smaller possibly 42 inch wide x 7ft long

I need ideas for just building the table and making it sturdy and lightweight

The 027 set I have now was given to me on a sheet of 4ft x 6ft 3/4inch thick plywood and it is heavy as hell and difficult to move around.


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## Gansett

Just something to look at. No idea of their stability. 
I built a table using similar, but more costly, legs for when we had the massive onslaught of relatives for holiday dinners. No problems.


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## Gansett

Just something to look at. No idea of their stability. 
I built a table using similar, but more costly, legs for when we had the massive onslaught of relatives for holiday dinners. No problems.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Waddell-Folding-Banquet-Table-Legs-2-Pack-2775/100048820


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## Big Ed

JackC said:


> Just something to look at. No idea of their stability.
> I built a table using similar, but more costly, legs for when we had the massive onslaught of relatives for holiday dinners. No problems.
> 
> http://www.homedepot.com/p/Waddell-Folding-Banquet-Table-Legs-2-Pack-2775/100048820


Not a bad ideal but I think I would make something myself. It says they will support up to 400 lbs but a lot of reviews say those are crap. Not drilled right, flimsy etc.

One,


Needed table legs for a 4 x 8 plywood sheet to be used as a train table for my grandkids. I sure wish I'd bought something different. The overall quality was low and it took some twisting of metal to get them in the right shape. They work fine as table legs but they won't fold flat and the folding mechanism is very flimsy as well. Save your money and buy a good set of legs unless you never plan on folding them.

I think your better off building legs out of wood then adding hinges?

2 for $21 bucks is not a bad price if they were made better, maybe there are better ones for a little more money?

Now I am not one to really believe reviews but these seem to be built poorly,

I am not exaggerating when I say I have never bought a worse product. I don't mean just hardware, I mean in general. Nothing works about this. All the metal is crooked. The holes are mis-aligned so you can't put screws through. The moving parts are so stiff I can't move them with my hands. I have to use a mallet. That's right guy, a mallet. Do not reccomend this product to anyone except your morrtal enemies.

They do sell a better one,
I bought these folding table legs to use under a 4X8 plywood table to. The legs are too narrow to balance such a large top.Also the metal would flex too easily. If I did use them, the legs would have collapsed before the table lost it's balance.
The Home Depot description does not specify what size top you can use with these legs.
Also, Home Depot does sell a better quality folding leg, but it does not come up in any search. I found out about them in an email from HD after I returned these legs.


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## Bkubiak

Home depot has something called heavy duty workbench legs. They do not fold but perhaps I can figure something out. I'll go and look at them tomorrow, they have knockouts for electric and can be bolted to the floor.


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## The New Guy

Something like this would be cool.

You might search for auction companies near(ish) you. Industrial/commercial equipment changes hands constantly. Folding and rolling tables are a staple.


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## Gansett

Home depot was the first to pop up on my search. There's many other sources for 'banquet table folding legs'. I've dealt with Rockler before and was never disappointed.

http://www.rockler.com/banquet-table-and-bench-legs-choose-table-or-bench-legs#product-tabs


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## Ray Haddad

Banquet table legs tend to collapse when you bump the table. No matter how well they make that locking mechanism, it always fails. I suggest wooden leg supports that are installed on an axle with a locking pin at the lower end to give it two point stability.


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## Big Ed

Here you go, something like these would work,
Copy and paste,
Can be mounted to virtually any size of table leg! Supportive of even large or heavier tables, this folding leg bracket also offers the advantage of fitting any size leg to the folding flange of the bracket!
Top of bracket measures 2-3/4" x 2-3/16" overall
Leg mounting bracket measures 1-3/4" (W) x 2-3/16" (L)
For added security, these brackets feature "positive lock" in both the open and closed positions.
Mounting screw included. Statuary bronze finish.
Sold per pair.








$15.39 a pair


First ones I found.
http://www.rockler.com/folding-leg-bracket

What kind of room will it be in?
You can make it hinged to a wall so it folds up and locks into place, sort of like a hide a bed.

Install a pulley setup so you raise it up to the ceiling?
We have some threads here on those if it might work for you.


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## Gansett

Plenty of options given yet we have no idea what you really want.
Making this table both sturdy and lightweight may prove difficult. Of course our degrees of sturdiness and lightweight can vary quite a bit. Tell us what your ultimate plan is and I'm sure someone will get back with a great idea.

FWIW I never had a problem with the folding banquet legs I used, in fact it was PITA to get them folded at times. Admittedly they did cost more and were not from Home Depot.


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## Bkubiak

The workbench table legs from HD are not available in the store, they can be ordered only with free shipping right to the house, about 40 bucks, I looked at their folding legs for 26 bucks, did not look very sturdy.


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## DonR

When I had a 4X8 N scale layout decades ago,
I used 4 store bought wood legs that are threaded
to screw onto a metal fitting 
that is attached to the under side of 
the table top.
Very sturdy. They were designed for a 'kitchen' table.

I would suggest instead of going with folding legs, Make L shaped
legs of 1X3 or 1/4 wood screwed together. Then bolt these in
each corner. Just unbolt when you want to removed them.
Cheap. Easy. 

Don


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## Bkubiak

I think I have a good idea of how to handle tyne legs now
What about the top, what do most use? 1/2 inch plywood???, Lowes sells a rather stiff foam board in 4 x 8 size I could put over the plywood for sound deadening, need some cost saving ideas or the wife will be wanting a new dining room set if this gets too expensive


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## mustangcobra94

you can use 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch is fine cover it foam and you can also dig into it to make ditches and valleys


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## Magic

Bkubiak said:


> I think I have a good idea of how to handle tyne legs now
> What about the top, what do most use? 1/2 inch plywood???, Lowes sells a rather stiff foam board in 4 x 8 size I could put over the plywood for sound deadening, need some cost saving ideas or the wife will be wanting a new dining room set if this gets too expensive


Actually you could get SWMBO a new dinning room table and just put your layout on it.   

Just thinking 

Magic


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## The New Guy

Bkubiak said:


> I think I have a good idea of how to handle the legs now
> What about the top?..


A collapsible table will need to be small enough to handle...I'd suggest a hollow core door slab.
Craigslist, habitat and salvage yards sell them cheap. More rigid than plywood, and light enough to move.


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## kix662003

The "crap" legs from Home Depot work for me on my 80"x96" train board, but I can lift it from above and don't have to handle it by hand. Still, with the stabilizer bars on the ends, the legs are not wobbly and all the extra width hasn't ever been a problem. I also think that handling the size and weight will make the difference.


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## Big Ed

kix662003 said:


> The "crap" legs from Home Depot work for me on my 80"x96" train board, but I can lift it from above and don't have to handle it by hand. Still, with the stabilizer bars on the ends, the legs are not wobbly and all the extra width hasn't ever been a problem. I also think that handling the size and weight will make the difference.


It looks like you modified the legs a little?
Those are the "crap" legs or the next step up?

Most I guess would mount them on each end, maybe they take the weight better like you mounted them?

When it is down do you unhook the cables?


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