So yesterday I made and installed a folding bedside table!
I wanted to have a bedside lamp and a place to rest my phone whilst charging (to all you life gurus - yes I'm aware I shouldn't have a phone by the bed!).
At this point I want to share my creative process with you - mainly because I'm curious to know whether others with visual minds do similar things so please comment and let me know if you do anything similar or different.
In my mind I started thinking about the space in which it needed to fit, and how I wanted the final thing to look. It needed to fold down as it was going next to a cupboard that wouldn't be able to open otherwise. I took inspiration from a folding table I'd seen once before. But this needed to fit in a much smaller space. So in my minds eye I shrank the table and then began deconstructing the components in order to know how I was going to build it.
1) the main table - I measured the space it needed to fit in. Despite feeling I could go to the DIY shop and get something that would fit - I wanted to be accurate. 30cm x 30cm was the size that would look good in the space.
2) Thinking about how it attached to the wall I realised I would need to make a baton. I decided a T shape would work best as it would support the fold out arm when extended and I could also support the top of the table with it.
3) The folding arm - a triangle in shape
This planning enabled me to create a shopping list of: a shelf and a long piece of wood that I could saw off into smaller pieces in order to build the arm and batton. I realised I would also need some screws and 4 hinges (2 for the table and 2 for the arm to swing out).
I went to B&Q (mainly because it was close. I don't have a particular affinity to the store - but perhaps in future I should consider a local supplier as I'm trying to be as ethical and responsible as I can - although I must say that the people in my local store have been very helpful - genuinely).
When I got there I found the supplies I needed. I also picked up 4 extra right angle metal brackets - the idea that came to mind in the store was that I could fasten the baton to the table with them.
I then sketched out an exploded view diagram - so I could easily see how it was all going to fit together. I regularly do this as I find it easier to see what parts go where. This probably stems from all those LEGO things I built as a child - It must have helped me with my visual memory (thank you LEGO for helping me flex that muscle and develop this skill).
I then started to saw...
A happy accident occurred as I was sawing the shelf. After I'd sawn the shelf, I realised it was made up of 4 thinner strips of wood that had been glued together. I decided I could save some time by breaking the wood along one of the joins (instead of awkwardly cutting along the grain and risking the wood splintering off - this may or may not be true, but it was a worry of mine with a hand saw). So I took the left over piece (29cm) and decided to attempt it.
What ended up happening was the wood broke off near the glue joint, but it broke in a meandering wave - following it's own groove - clearly the glue bond was stronger than the wood itself!) ......BUT...... I really liked the look and decided to actually make that piece my table!
As a result, my measurements on my sketch were off - so I decided to measure as I went. Sawing one piece at a time and seeing how it fit together.
A couple of things I hadn't thought about as I built the piece:
If the support arm underneath is the full length of the table it'll poke out when folded against the wall! So I had two options:
1) make the arm half the length of the table (15cm). This will allow the arm to hide under the 10cm x 30cm table that will stay up. But it will then only support 5cm under the fully extended table OR -
2) move the arm closer to one side - that way there is more length able to hide under the fold. But with this the weight distribution wouldn't be even through the centre of the extended table - it would be off to one side!
- I opted for the smaller central piece because I wanted it to be as sturdy as possible and the central piece would allow the weight/pressure to disperse through the wall attachment T section.
Attaching the arm to the T piece with the hinges would be fiddly:
- Instead of only creating a singular length and hypotenuse that attached to the wall T piece, I created an L piece that was secured by one of the spare metal brackets. By making an "L" the hinges could better attach to the arm and I also wouldn't have to saw angles. Whilst this compromised the design idea of having a triangle support arm, I was actually happier with the look in the end.
The arm needed to be slightly lower (as you look at it) so it could smoothly travel over the main desk hinges located underneath the table. This meant that I had to use wood glue to stick a 4mm piece of wood to the underbelly of the table so that when the arm folded out it was fully supported and the extended table didn't look 4mm limp!
I wanted the arm to be well attached to the hinged part, so I ended up drilling into the hinge part in order to put a screw through it and into the arm. It seems to have worked and the wood hasn't split (I always make smaller pilot screw holes so the wood doesn't split as easily).
Below is the finished bracket attached to the wall.
All in all it cost me £20 and took approximately 3 hours total. Here is the finished product:
Happy building :)
LINKS:
IKEA NORBO - the original inspiration for the folding table
LEGO - Go inspire yourself - build anything!