Do It Yourself - How to Build a Drafting Table

Create a Table Base

• Do you prefer a standard four-legged table base or a trestle base? Neither is difficult to construct.

  A four-legged base is little more than four legs joined by four apron pieces. You can simply nail the apron pieces to the legs, forming a square with the legs reinforcing the corners, or you can use more elaborate joinery to connect leg and apron. Mortise-and-tenon joints take more work to create but result in a strong table. A trestle base can be even simpler. Attach a perpendicular upright (with its top rounded, so the tabletop can tilt smoothly) to a "leg," which can be as simple as a length of 1-by-4 inch board, laying on one of its long edges on the floor. Make two of these assemblies and connect them with a few braces. Again, you can make the base as elaborate as you like, but the essential frame will remain the same.

  Neither base costs a great deal to build nor takes much time. And once you have one built, it is a simple matter of choosing which of three methods to mount your adjustable top.

Special Adjustment Hardware

• Manufacturers make specialized adjustment hardware for drafting tables. They often include some sort of ratcheting device for setting the tabletop’s angle of tilt, although some use a rod that slides through a locking sleeve. The ratchet hardware provides specific angles, while you can set the rod-and-sleeve assembly for any angle.

  Some hardware assemblies require the purchase of additional hinges for the table’s top; some do not. You usually attach the hardware directly to the underside of the tabletop. If you decide to make your own adjustment mechanism from wood, you will need to attach two rails to the underside. These serve as mounting points.

Straight Wood Adjusters

• Some builders prefer to make their own adjustment mechanisms using straight pieces of wood. They use nuts and bolts to attach them to wooden supports on the bottom of the tabletop. You will want to use these in pairs on either end of the tabletop. Four-legged tables usually use ratchet-style adjustments. You create these by using two wooden pieces; one is notched while the other has a sharpened end that fits the notches. Drill a hole in the unsharpened end of the sharpened piece, and bolt it to the bottom of the tabletop so it pivots freely. Mount the notched piece on the top of the table base, so the sharpened piece can lock into the notches. Moving the sharpened piece to a different notch raises or lowers the top. You will need to use hinges at the point where the top connects to the base. On a trestle table, the top is bolted to the top of the trestle with a single bolt, so the top can pivot. Bolt one end of a single straight piece of wood with an adjustment slot cut through it to the same under-table rail that connects the top to the trestle. Drill another hole in the trestle, but closer to the floor. Run a bolt through this hole, then through the slot in the adjustment piece. Add a large washer and wing nut. To adjust the table angle, loosen the wing nut and raise or lower the table. The slot will slide along the bolt. When the angle is where you want it, tighten the wing nut to hold it in place.

Curved Wood Adjusters

• Only trestle tables use curved adjusters. Cut a large wooden half-circle. Cut an adjustment slot into it that mimics the curve but is back from the rounded edge. Mount the flat edge against the under-table support, with the halfway point of the flat side located where the tabletop/trestle pivot point is. Drill a hole through the trestle, positioned so that a bolt can pass through both the trestle and the slot. Place a large washer and wing nut on the outside of the slot for adjustment.