Heavy *#$&! table!!

[FRED SMAILES]

I'm curious as to if anyone has tackled the table in a 13 Boler. HEAVY... and I still use and plan on keeping the dinette. But, would like to make the table top light enough that Marilyn could crash when she wanted without me around. Mine has the fold up leg and ledge mount.

Any old posts that come to mind?
Fred

[Robert Johans]

I'm curious as to if anyone has tackled the table in a 13 Boler. HEAVY... and I still use and plan on keeping the dinette. But, would like to make the table top light enough that Marilyn could crash when she wanted without me around. Mine has the fold up leg and ledge mount.

Any old posts that come to mind?
Fred

You could fabricate a frame from aluminum square tubing (reinforced appropriately, of course), then affix some attractive 1/8' or 1/4" plywood to the top of it. Use a wood edging veneer with contact cement to dress the edges, if desired... Couple coats of polyurethane, and Bob's yer uncle!

[peterh]

Plenty of us have swapped the heavy MDF table tops for birch plywood, which weighs 1/3 to 1/2 as much. Our table is made of 3/8 birch that has been built up to double thickness (using carpenter's glue and clamps) at the edges to both add strength and make the table top the right height when we drop it down into a bed. After getting the table to the right thickness and shape I laminated it to match the counter tops I made.

If you're not as handy you could just go with 3/4" birch plywood and paint or urethane it.

[Rick Harmer]

I'm curious. Our Boler has a very lightweight fibreglass table with folding leg. I want to get rid of it because it seems too light for sleeping on, the damn thing can't bear having me sit on the edge! Going to go for the birch plywood, 3/4 inch you say?

[FRED SMAILES]

Man I like both those ideas.
I think I'll look into the birch as I want to run the same idea
for the cupboard and closet doors as well.
Thanks
Fred

[Perry Mac Donald]

I'm curious as to if anyone has tackled the table in a 13 Boler. HEAVY... and I still use and plan on keeping the dinette. But, would like to make the table top light enough that Marilyn could crash when she wanted without me around. Mine has the fold up leg and ledge mount.

Any old posts that come to mind?
Fred

A good strong light weight table top can be made from 1" x 3" poplar , an outer frame and a few cross pieces with a 1/4" ply of your choice of wood grain . All glued and screwed

[Gina D.]

I second the birch ply. Light as a feather and finishes up very nice. Strong, durable, I personally don't think its expensive.. others do, but for the size you need, you are only talking a few bucks more per sheet.

[Amy M]

How does one get it to the right shape? Is this something a lumber yard would do?

[Raya]

I usually use a circular saw on plywood. I typically prefer to use a table saw for cutting, but plywood sheets are often kind of big and clunky for that. I would finish up the edges (the rounded part) with a jigsaw.

That said, you can usually have cuts made for you at a lumberyard, or even at Lowe's or Home Depot. They have these big saws that run on tracks/frames for cutting large sheet goods. You just have to watch to make sure they are measuring accurately (and then they probably still aren't responsible if it's wrong).

If you haven't used powertools much, then a circular saw can be a bit intimidating (I know I still find it that way). But a jigsaw is pretty user friendly, and a basic one is not expensive. So, you could have the yard make the big square cuts in the plywood, and then round the corners yourself at home (plus you'd have the tool for future use).

You can also cut corners with a hand tool, but plywood can be a bit stubborn.

I bet some of the woodworkers here will chime in with more ideas,

Raya

[Per Walthinsen]

I found a sheet of 3/4" plywood with a kind of kraft paper facing at the local lumber yard. Used for making outdoor signs, so it is quite weatherproof and very smooth. Cut it to shape, glued strips of hardwood to the edges, laminated some formica top and bottom (so it wouldn't warp later). Shaped the corners with a drum sander then routed a 45 degree angle on top and bottom of edges.
If I were to do it again I would lay out a pattern on the underside for lots of holes drilled partway through on the underside before gluing on the formica. Easy to do, and there would be a weight reduction with minimal effect on stiffness.

[Raya]

I found a sheet of 3/4" plywood with a kind of kraft paper facing at the local lumber yard. Used for making outdoor signs, so it is quite weatherproof and very smooth.

I think that's MDO, right?

[peterh]

That said, you can usually have cuts made for you at a lumberyard, or even at Lowe's or Home Depot. They have these big saws that run on tracks/frames for cutting large sheet goods. You just have to watch to make sure they are measuring accurately (and then they probably still aren't responsible if it's wrong)

I have a table saw and an extra set of hands (Lynne) that can make cutting full sheets of plywood at home much easier. Another alternative is to clamp a 2x4 or other straight piece of lumber in the right spot hand use that as a guide for a circular saw. The 2x4 method has the advantage of allowing you to make long, straight cuts at an angle, something that will come in handy for Lynne and I as we work on our Surfside project trailer. (Our plan for the Surfside is to have an asymmetric bed that is 54" wide at the shoulder end of the bed but tapers down to 48" at the foot to make room for a kitchen counter on the street side.) When cutting plywood it's a good idea to use a saw blade that's designed for plywood because it makes a nice smooth cut that doesn't tear up the top or bottom edges of the plywood.

That said, I prefer to get the lumber people to cut my plywood with their big sheet cutters when I can. Most places will do it for free, and since most of their sheet cuts are on plywood they already have the right blade in the saw. It's a lot easier to have them do it on their sheet cutter than wrangle with a big sheet at home, and most places will do it for free. Others charge a nominal fee ($0.50 or so if you need more than one cut). Most of the time their cuts are dead-on accurate, but it pays to watch them and double-check their measurements before they make the cut.

One point to remember when buying plywood for trailer projects: there are many different types of plywood, each with a different range of uses. Some are good for trailer floors, but bad for tables. I could spend a lot of time talking about the differences, but generally speaking:

• Plywood surfaces are graded A-B-C-D-E, like this "A-B," where one side is an "A" grade surface, the other "B"
  • "A" grades are solid wood that has been sanded smooth
  • "B" grades have small voids in them that have been filled and sanded smooth. Also called "Paint-Grade" plywood.
  • "C" "D" "E" grades are unsanded, with a wood grain texture and increasingly large voids like knot holes and ply tears.
• "Interior" plywoods have "D" graded layers in the middle, and are a poor choice for table tops.
• "Exterior" plywoods have "C" graded layers in the middle and somewhat weather-resistant glues. They are OK for tables, not so good for trailer floors.
• Named wood plywoods, like "Oak" or "Birch," usually have "B" grade layers in the middle that make them perfect for tables.
• "Marine" plywoods have hardwood middle layers that are glued together with water-resistant resin that make them perfect for floors.

• I like "Birch" plywood for most of my trailer plywoods. It is strong and lightweight.
  • 1/4" thickness for cabinet walls and upper-cabinet floors.
  • 3/8" thickness for shelves and surfaces on which heavy appliances (like a fridge) sit on. It can also be used for table tops that won't be used for dinettes where the table gets used for a bed with a heavy adult sleeper on top.
  • 3/4" for table tops that get dropped down for an adult-weight bed.
• 1/2" or 5/8" marine-grade plywood is great for trailer floors. It's stronger and lighter than the OSB board most trailer makers use for floors and is very water resistant.
• If you can't find or afford marine ply for your floor, look for "B-C Exterior Grade" plywood and coat both sides with resin or oil-based urethane.

[Amy M]

Great info, Peter. Thanks.

[Pat B Ohio]

Who has that neat compartment table? I remember a picture of a recessed plexiglass top and pockets with little things....dice, checkers, ect... It was neat...Donna you have the good memory!

[Donna D.]

Who has that neat compartment table? I remember a picture of a recessed plexiglass top and pockets with little things....dice, checkers, ect... It was neat...Donna you have the good memory!

Pat, I think you're thinking about the 1978 Scamp that belonged to Jayes, here's a link to her Shutterfly album and the table (the one I'm thinking you're referencing): Jayes Scamp Table

[Rick Harmer]

Um,had the wood cut to rough shape,I'll do the curves,etc.But..went for 3/8 ply.Haven't tried it yet,will it support one adult,or is there a way to reinforce the table underneath?Any thoughts appreciated!

[peterh]

Um,had the wood cut to rough shape,I'll do the curves,etc.But..went for 3/8 ply.Haven't tried it yet,will it support one adult,or is there a way to reinforce the table underneath?Any thoughts appreciated!

There are a couple of ways to reinforce 3/8 ply. The easiest and most obvious is to glue and clamp 3" wide strips of 3/8 ply across the front, back, and one every 16" in the middle of the table, then fill in the sides. Something like this, if you ignore the "slide" for the pedestal leg in the center.





We get away with less support on our table because it's primarily meant as a bed for grandkids (someday), but it does occasionally get used to make a cozy corner nest where the two of us can curl up on the dinette bed and watch a movie. We get away with climbing on it because it has an extra support that fills in the cutouts on the corners and supports one end of the table, and neither of us weigh over 175 pounds.








The tuck-in support is another way you can do things, but it is bulky to store. I plan to replace it at some point with something a little more compact.

[Steve Hilby]

Here's a hollow-core table I built for a friend's Burro.

The frame you see in the picture was covered with 1/8 plywood, then Formica on the top and an aluminum edge:

Here's the finished product. Light and strong.

[Matthew A]

I used 3/4" birch and just traced the old table to the new wood then cut sanded and varnished. I still wanted some support underneeth and wanted something that did not take up much room so I drilled about 1/2" into the underside of the table and put two wooded pegs. Next I got tubular aluminum (with a diameter that fit kind of snug on the wppden peg) and cut them to length to support the bed. When I put the table down I just slip the aluminum legs on and the bed is very solid. When the table is in the up position all that showes are the pegs and they hang down about 1". Now my kids jump and bounce on the bed and I don't worry.

Another mod I did with the bed was to cut another piece of the same wood and put legs on it (the wooden legs are held on by the same pegs used above) and not the person on the forward part of the bed has something solid uder the cusion at the edge of the bed. The legs slide off the pegs just as the aluminum does above. When I make the bed into a table the 3 pieces (Bed addition and 2 legs) come apart and store in the bench.

Here are some pics.

[Matthew A]

Pic of the table addition to fill in the gap between the table and end of bed.