/diy/ - Do It Yourself

put a small square shim under the leg that wobbles... or.. sand that long legs down slightly...

If I had to guess, one of the legs isn't completely perpendicular to the floor. Sand em down or screw in adjustment feet.

Are you putting it on carpet or a solid surface? You may want to consider felt feet for a hard surface too.

I'd suggest adjustment feet like >>498484 said.

>>498460
ugly table op but this is easy fix
cut the problem leg shorter
/thread.

Tabletop looks great imo. Anyway, the legs currently are all even length, so even though sanding/cutting would work, and that's probably what I was going to end up doing anyway, I didn't want to mess with lengths of the legs.

Also, that would just fix the wobble, and the tabletop itself would still have a slight slant. I was trying to see if there was a way to make it square without basically starting over.

are those outdoor 4x4? shouldn't bring those in the house

>>498514
the table can't have a slant if the legs are the same length. it's an impossibility.

>>498531
1980plzgo

Ok, fixed it. Basically just put an extra board underneath going diagonal from one of the corners to the other and hammered it in, which kind of pushed apart the corners a bit. Perfectly level now. Not very pretty from underneath, but you can't see it from any normal viewing angle. Thanks for your input, guys.

>>498531
Why? They didn't have any untreated 4x4s.

>>498541
The frame was the problem, not the legs. Everything was good until I put the tabletop on. I have no idea what I did, but somehow that gave it a slight twist, pulling two of the legs up and towards each other and slight slant to the table. It was a very slight rock, and sanding the legs would have made it functional, but it would have bothered me still. Pushed it back apart and it was fine.

>>498571
>Why? They didn't have any untreated 4x4s.
Treated wood is not advisable for use in making furniture. It's especially not advisable to be used anywhere near food.

Congrats on making a table that you can only use as patio furniture or a workbench in the garage. Seal it and put it on your deck because it doesn't belong inside. And you SHOULD NOT eat on or near it either.

>>498571
>Why? They didn't have any untreated 4x4s.
Treated wood is not advisable for use in making furniture. It's especially not advisable to be used anywhere near food.

Congrats on making a table that you can only use as patio furniture or a workbench in the garage. Seal it and put it on your deck because it doesn't belong inside. And you should eat on or near it either.

>>498460
"hi gusie my scewhole poison table is wobbly"
fix the legs anon
*fixes legs*
"oh no it was a mystery issues with the frame i was right"
klel

>>498576
Ah, ok. I never heard that. I'm still new to this whole thing and this is my first real project. Thanks.

>>498587
I don't understand the fascination with the legs. I said in the original post the the thing was out of square and asked if anybody had suggestions on making it square again and I got people telling me to cut/sand the legs. The length of the legs was never the problem in the first place. I don't know how I can make that clearer. Anyway, it's done now and so am I. Your belief, whatever that may be, is irrelevant.

Thanks to everyone who actually had info.

>>498576

You're thinking of the older stuff, the newer crap doesn't offgas anything. And he'll be fine eating off it, it doesn't have a PT top and his hands aren't going to contact the 4x4's while eating off it.

Only thing to worry about would be a dog or maybe a cat deciding to chew on the legs.

>>498599
I'm glad you fixed your table. it would of been a shame if such a fine piece of furniture was wobbly.

>>498571

>Why? They didn't have any untreated 4x4s.

Next time you do something like this just buy twice as many 2x4s, glue em together and sand em flush. Probably cheaper than the treated 4x4s anyway.

How do you plan on finishing that by the way? Paint or stain?

>>498638
Thanks. I'm glad, too. Can you show me a picture of the very first thing you ever built? I would like to see how beautiful and flawless it is.

>>498658
Thinking stain. I'm now thinking of replacing the legs, but if I don't can I even stain treated wood, and would there be a huge noticable difference?

>>498460
what you could do is make adjustable feet. Like, drill holes and then drive a big bolt upwards into each leg. Then you can precisely adjust the height of each leg by turning the bolt. Course, the table will be sitting on the bolts, not the wooden ends of the legs then. But there are ways that this can be accommodated.

As far as "my table warped", you used thick wood. Which is wrong.
Wood tends to change shape with changes in humidity. To minimize the effect, you need to use thinner pieces of wood and layer them with the grain axis alternating, so that the (uneven) bending effect is minimized.

This is how (and why) they make "butcher block" table tops--they wanted a thick+wood top, but they knew the problems that would appear if they just a single big & thick piece of wood.

>>498564
Hey OP. I'd put that table in my house if it was stained and finished in an aesthetical way. It looks a lot better than my first projects.

I fixed exactly the same problem you had exactly the same way about a week ago. Only I used the thing in the pic, don't know the proper English term. I used glued mortise and tenon joints and applied the tension when the glue was only just applied. I let it sit like that for 2 days before releasing the tension and it remained in proper shape.

The concerns about the treated wood are not entirely misplaced, but probably too late. Your wood is probably treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) or alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ); I would be surprised if it was something other than one of those two. Sawdust created when working with CCA-treated of wood is not something you want to inhale or even get on your skin. I always work outside, wear a good dustmask and shower within a few hours when sawing or sanding treated lumber. It however poses no risk at all once it's finished unless you burn it indoors or take a bath in vinegar with it. Ones bound to the wood's lignin and cellulose CCA become practically water-insoluble and does not leech at all in an average indoor environment. And that's not even taking a nice acrylic or PU varnish into account, that'll shield the wood even more. If your wood has been treated with ACQ, then there's even less of a risk, and you can take that bath with your coffee table

>>498576
>>498531
These guys are probably just repeating things they heard without actually understanding the underlying reasons. Pressure treated wood still has a bad rep, especially with the old timeys, because of the chemicals used in the past. (hence >>498543) Creosote, pentachlorophenol (the infamous PCP), .. killed you just the same as the bugs and fungi, just a bit slower. These however are rarely used anymore, and not something you'd find in your local hardware store.

Enjoy your table. Your work is worthy of it.

>>498718
Wrong but better pic.
This is the one I intended.

>>498718
Thank you so much. It's good to hear some actual info and some facts behind backing it up.

OP, when you move are you going to rent a Sikrosky Skycrane?

OP, do you eat anvils for breakfast?

OP, did you measure in inches when the plans were in cm?

OP, has the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency contacted you about building them a new reactor vessel?

>>498759
>>498760
>>498761
>>498762

Edge, distilled.

>>498740
No problemo. Adding to my previous post; judging by the greenish tint of the legs i'm pretty sure it was treated with a copper-compound. (A lot of Cu complexes have a green-blueish colour) CCA is by far the most 'dangerous' of those in use today, so, again, I'm practically sure you're safe. I read all the related wikipedia-pages in English by now; they confirm what I said and imho they are pages of respectable quality in general (which isn't always the case in my own language). You might want to read through them for additional information if you're interested.
This all pertains to new storebought wood of course. Reclaiming older treated wood and using them for indoor furniture is still a big 'no no'; pointing out the obvious. I'm also not a big fan of furniture made out of pallets and think its popularity can be dangerous. Pallets are kind of an 'international product'; allthough even their treatment is regulated in most western countries, there are plenty large manufacturers that still use wood-preservatives that should be banned by now. (I'm looking at you Russia and China.)

I've stained pressure treated wood on multiple occasions (a deck, a few benches and a fence) and didn't run into any problems. Simple logic does suggest you might see the colour difference between the legs and the rest of the table afterwards, with the difference being less noticeable with a darker stain.
Let us know how it works out. I'm curious and love to see results.

>>498460

Can't you just, gently, try and pull it the right way? Maybe losening a screw or two a little bit and then trying to pull, perhaps with the help of a friend?

>>498460
I've got no comments on the straightening of your table, nor on the treated wood used.

I'd just like to say, I like your table, I think it's simple, but visually pleasing. Well done, especially if this is your first project, but even if it isn't. I'm sure it will look even nicer when you finish and seal it.

>>498695
good work shutting
>>498638 (this cock sucker)
down, op.

I like the table. way better and more ambitious than my first project. keep it up. post the finished product when you are through.

>>498638
> would of
> of

>>498832
that's almost a bigger fail than ops table.
almost.
op google DOWELS plz lel

>>498839
Ok, since you asked nicely. Here you go:

"Adowelis a solid cylindricalrod, usually made ofwood,plastic, ormetal. In its original manufactured form, a dowel is called adowel rod. Dowel rods are often cut into short lengths called dowel pins. Dowels are employed in numerous, diverse applications including asaxlesin toys,detents(e.g., ingymnastics grips), structural reinforcements incabinet making, and supports for tieredwedding cakes. Other uses include:
As furniture shelf supports.
As moveable game pieces (i.e., pegs).
As supports for hanging items such as clothing, key rings, tools, toilet roll dispensers and picture frames.
To precisely align two objects in adowel joint: a hole is bored in both objects and the dowel pin is inserted into the aligned holes.
As a core to wrap cable or textiles around."

Hope that was informative enough for you. Let me know if I can help you out again.

>>498460

bevel the legs of your table to prevent splintering up the sides.

can't see the bottom of them well but they look like straight cut in your pick.

>>498718

I'm >>498621, they stopped selling CCA in favor of ACQ in 2003 in the US and EU. Dunno about other places.

>laying down tile in my basement

Jesus christ, I have never done anything so damned tedious in my life

Could anyone provide me some tips to make it go along faster?

Why is OP using pressure-treated wood for a coffee table? Regardless of the reasons, sanding/planing the wood removes much of the protection provided by the chemicals because you're shaving the part where the chemicals reside.

Op just put a ship on the leg that wobbles dont be an idiot

>>499028
shim not ship