Picnic Table Legs Help - Woodworking Talk

rfranscella · 07-16-2007, 02:02 PM

I downloaded a desgin for a picnic table and built it. The problem is that I built the table wider than the plans, I wanted to. The issue is the angle on the legs is now incorrect and the feet are too narrow. The table top I built is 39" wide. I am having trouble determining the angle for the legs. The legs are the typical cross type. BTW, the benches are not connected. Please help.

Big Dave · 07-16-2007, 08:51 PM

If I'm picturing it right in my head then it doesn't matter how wide the table is the angle will stay the same. The only difference will be where you cross them and nail or bolt them together will be lower with a wider top.

If you can post a pic so we can see first hand your dilema. It will help us come up with a solution.

**TexasTimbers** · 07-16-2007, 10:10 PM

Welcome to the gang. At least Dave can picture your dilemma, I can't. If you made the top wider, did you spread the feet further apart to accomodate it?

The issue is the angle on the legs is now incorrect and the feet are too narrow.

If you did spread the legs out to accomdate the wider top to keep it from being unstable, that will change the angle. It's a simple matter to determine the correct angle. But I don't see how they would then be too narrow.
In order to keep the top at the same height as the plans call for, by making the top wider and wanting the legs to have a correspondingly wider footprint you would have to both extend the length of the legs and spread them too, and therefore the angle cuts will have changed on both ends as well.

As usual I am confused.

As dave says pictures will do the trick.

rfranscella · 07-17-2007, 02:42 AM

Thanks for chiming in on my problem. I went back to my high school geometry to figure it out. Basically, I figured out the angles based on Pythagorus' Theorem. Here is the website I used http://www.csgnetwork.com/righttricalc.html

Any change in the angle means a change in the length of the leg.

Line a is the distance from the floor to the bottom of the table and line b is the distance between the 2 legs. If those 2 measurements are the same then the angles are 45 degrees.

Please, I am not an egghead. This is my first time doing geometry since high school.

**TexasTimbers** · 07-17-2007, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfranscella

Any change in the angle means a change in the length of the leg.

that's true, but the opposite is not necessarily true. I can't speak for dave but I think that might be what he was referring to. You can extend the legs obviously without changing the angle. You just wouldn't be able widen the footprint for stability that way without drastically increasing the height of the table.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfranscella

Please, I am not an egghead. This is my first time doing geometry since high school.

Hopefully you don't think anyone was inferring yoiu are. We don't do that on this site. We joke and kid but we don't insult.

I think the challenge in any forum like this where we try to help each other is almost always understanding the question.

I am not good at visualising so I have to take stabs and guesses ond oftentimes I look like an igmo by so doing. The thing I have going for me is I am not so vain that I am really care if others do.

The goal is to try and help and as unorthodox as my attempts often are, in the end, that's really what I am trying to accomplish as we all are in our own way.

Let us know what you do with it or even post a picture if you don't mind.