I'm trying to attempt to make use of some wood that I've got and turn it into a table.
I've looked everywhere for table legs which I can screw into the wood but every table leg I see needs a minimum depth of 25mm for the wood, whereas my wood is much thinner at 18mm.
Is there anyway to attach table legs to this thin wood? Or any other way I can make this into a table?
Would love the help!
Ive looked everywhere for table legs which I can screw into the wood but every table leg I see needs a minimum depth of 25mm for the wood, whereas my wood is much thinner at 18mm.
For my Imperial unit friends, 25mm = 1", and 18mm = 11/16".
Assuming you want to keep this as simple as possible, is there any reason you can't screw through the top of the table into the legs instead of screwing the legs into the tabletop? In other words, screw from the top down into the legs. You'll have screw heads showing on the top, if that bothers you.
Is there anyway to attach table legs to this thin wood? Or any other way I can make this into a table?
Often, tables are made with an apron around the perimeter of the legs that serves to 1.) stiffen the top and 2.) give the legs a better place to attach to. The image below shows a view from outside the table.
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There are a few ways to accomplish this type of joint. The image below shows one such way. If you google "table top apron construction" or similar keywords, you'll find a plethora of ways to do it.
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In the case of using an apron, the legs themselves are usually not attached directly to the table top. Instead, the apron is attached to the top, which is a far more robust connection than just a single screw from a leg into the top.
18mm isn't actually particularly thin, many smaller pieces use 1/2" material (roughly 13mm) for their tops and numerous sizeable tables have tops 18mm thick or less.
For tables, legs are almost never truly attached directly to the underside of the top, they are most commonly attached to something (a batten or a mounting flange of some sort) or made into a framework structure (the apron assembly) and it is those which are then fixed to the tabletop in some way.
every table leg I see needs a minimum depth of 25mm for the wood
This requirement is based on the screws that are shipped with the legs (plus probably a margin of error built in).
It's possible that all you need to do to successfully use a commercial leg like this for your application is to substitute the screws supplied with shorter screws of the same gauge or thickness. The hold will not be as good, but it may be good enough.
In your case screws can only be safely driven in approximately 12mm which may not seem like much but it could be sufficient because of the number used.
You could use a countersink drill bit then use some wood filler to fill in the countersink. Hope you figure it out. Post a pic when you are done or let us know what you did.
