Over the years I have built a number of table tops to go over existing
tables to make them larger.

Construction has usually been discs of MDF or Chipboard ( often made
in pieces for ease of handling ) that just sit on the existing table.
Its covered by a cloth so looks are not important . This is standard
practice in restaurants.

I now have to make another for my daughter and I wonder if there is a
better lighter material.

Ideally a sort of MDF foam sandwich board that is cheap and could be
edged.

I would appreciative of any ideas.



Chris

On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:38:21 +0100, Chris
wrote:


I now have to make another for my daughter and I wonder if there is a
better lighter material.

Ideally a sort of MDF foam sandwich board that is cheap and could be
edged.

I know of an 8ft x 4ft table top (made as an overlay for an existing
table for when the whole tribe turns up once a year) made up of 2 x
6mm plywood sheets glued one to either side of a 1" thick sheet of
Kingspan (polyisocyanurate foam) of the same size . The aluminium
backing was pulled off the foam and it was glued to the ply with
Polyurethane adhesive. When set it was edged with Beech. The table
top was then finished and varnished. The result is a very rigid
lightweight table which is usually stored in the garage roof but is
easy to move around and which looks quite decent.

--
Peter Parry.
http://www.wpp.ltd.uk/

On Oct 17, 9:38 pm, Chris wrote:
Over the years I have built a number of table tops to go over existing
tables to make them larger.

Construction has usually been discs of MDF or Chipboard ( often made
in pieces for ease of handling ) that just sit on the existing table.
Its covered by a cloth so looks are not important . This is standard
practice in restaurants.

I now have to make another for my daughter and I wonder if there is a
better lighter material.

I have made plenty of 2000x1000mm table tops from 7mm 3-ply, with
40x20 mm timber edging glued on (with the 40mm vertical). They are
very light and seem to be strong enough to put on trestles. I can
usually find ply sheets with damaged edges at 30% of the normal price
and cut the edges off.

Chris wrote:
Over the years I have built a number of table tops to go over existing
tables to make them larger.

Construction has usually been discs of MDF or Chipboard ( often made
in pieces for ease of handling ) that just sit on the existing table.
Its covered by a cloth so looks are not important . This is standard
practice in restaurants.

I now have to make another for my daughter and I wonder if there is a
better lighter material.

Ideally a sort of MDF foam sandwich board that is cheap and could be
edged.

I would appreciative of any ideas.



Chris
Unless the replacement tabletop is somehow fixed to the table won't a
lightweight version be more inclined to move around? Or to put it
another way isn't the weight part of the requirement?

Andrew

On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:33:13 +0100, Andrew May
wrote:

Chris wrote:
Over the years I have built a number of table tops to go over existing
tables to make them larger.

Construction has usually been discs of MDF or Chipboard ( often made
in pieces for ease of handling ) that just sit on the existing table.
Its covered by a cloth so looks are not important . This is standard
practice in restaurants.

I now have to make another for my daughter and I wonder if there is a
better lighter material.

Ideally a sort of MDF foam sandwich board that is cheap and could be
edged.

I would appreciative of any ideas.



Chris
Unless the replacement tabletop is somehow fixed to the table won't a
lightweight version be more inclined to move around? Or to put it
another way isn't the weight part of the requirement?

Andrew

Andrew

I usually fit small blocks to the underside to register the top on
the table.



Chris