On 01/15/13 7:40 AM, dadiOH wrote:
SMS wrote:
We have a queen size Murphy bed in a bedroom that was supposed to
double as an office. I built in using kit hardware.

Now I'd like to have a 60" wide fold down table/desk attached to the
closed bed, but the table needs to be able to fold up out of the way
when the bed is lowered. Something like this
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S79847779/#/S99821537
but I haven't bought anything yet.

I don't see a problem with attaching a hinged 30" x 60" table top to
the bed, but what are some ideas of holding it open?

The bed is about 62" wide.

I could use chains, but I think this would look funky.

Doesn't have to, certainly easy.

None of the fold-out shelf brackets are good for a 30" deep table top.
There are some non-folding 22" brackets
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TII0JY/.

I thought about two hinged 24" wide panels that fold out horizontally
and support the desk.

You really only have two possibilities...

1. Support the open table from the top
a) flexible (chain or rope)
b) rigid (sliding or folding stays)

2. Support the open table from the bottom
a) attached to the table bottom (fold down)
b) attached to the bed (fold out)
c) rigid (sliding or folding stays)

In either case, you only need two points of support for the table since it
will be attached at the back to the bottom of the bed. Those supports need
not be at outboard edge of the table, 2/3 of the way should be fine assuming
that the table top is reasonably rigid.

For rigid stays, I am thinking of something like lid stays such as these but
bigger. Not all that hard to make from wood.




...link snipped due to length...

Your link takes me to the Google search page for "lid stays". There's no
indication of which lid stay you are suggesting.

In addition, my usenet server won't let me reply with your link included
because of the 79 characters per line limit. The link is 292 characters.

Just thought you'd like to know.