DIY Flip Table

Construct the railing frame for the table from 2-by-2 inch red oak boards. Make the frame 30-by-60 inches, fastening four 2-by-2-inch boards, mitered to 45 degrees and connected with 3/8 inch headless wood screws driven through pre-drilled 1/4-inch pilot holes.

Span the 30-inch dimension inside the frame with two 26 1/2-inch by 2 inch red oak boards, at 20 and 40 inches from one end of the 60-inch dimension. Connect the boards to the 60-inch sides of the frame with the same pilot-drilled and screwed operation as with the frame, drilling through the 60-inch sides and into the ends of the 26 1/2-inch boards.

Invert the 36-by-72-inch tabletop plank on a work surface and center the 30 inch-by-60 inch frame on it. Mark and drill 1/4 inch pilot holes three inches deep for the attachment of the frame to the tabletop. Make the holes at 8-inch intervals around the rectangular frame and place three equidistant holes in each of the 2-inch cross members. Drill the first hole through the 2-inch frame and into the tabletop. Immediately drive a 3-inch wood screw through the 2-inch board and into the top. Drill a second hole in an adjacent location on the frame and drive that screw. With the frame securely immobile, drill and drive the remaining screws.

Measure, mark and use a table saw to cut the four pieces of 2 inch red oak plank for the hinged side-legs of the table. Make the first pair 18 inches-by-30 inches; the second pair 22 inches-by-30 inches.

Router out twin sunk, hinge-plate dadoes on both the long dimension sides of both short and taller side-leg boards. Drill and drive 3/8 inch-by-1 inch wood screws through the pair of hinges on the exterior side of the side-leg boards, enabling them to fold inward and under the table when it is reduced to cocktail table height. Repeat the operation on the other pair of side legs.

Drill and screw-attach a single 1 inch sliding cabinet connector between the upper and lower side-leg segments, making the attachment on the outbound sides of the side-leg segments. This enables the side legs to be locked into the extended configuration while dining. Repeat the operation on the other side leg.

Connect the two side-leg assemblies to the table frame, by screwing them in the same pre-drilled fashion to the short-dimension sides of the 30 inch-by-60-inch frame.