Alignment Hardware Finishes Wooden Extension Table

click image to zoom The alignment locks were quite a bit easier to install. Just lay the top upside-down, center over the seam, and attach with four screws. The alignment locks, as the name implies, provides some alignment benefit, but we decided they were not good enough to be used on their own for that purpose, which is why we used the table pins for the alignment issues. The alignment locks were mostly used to lock the tops together and prevent them from pulling apart once they were brought together.

With the pins and locks installed, it was time to turn our attention to the star of the table, the piece of hardware that was going to make the entire table function, and that was the table extension.

I mentioned earlier in the previous post that we found metal and wood table extensions online, which showed us that this kind of project was indeed possible. It also showed us that we would probably have to make our own extensions because none of the metal units would fit in the space we had available and we did not trust a wood-only extension to provide enough vertical support or stiffness.

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So we made our own table extensions from three 20″ 200lb. rated ball bearing drawer slides. The resulting assemblies were incredibly heavy, silently smooth, and functioned perfectly!

We attached the legs and gave the table a test run! The final table was stained a beautiful, warm, rich brown and finished with two coats of dull-rubbed conversion varnish.

The table is sitting on a sheet of melamine to help even out some of the inconsistencies of the concrete shop floor. The final table with one leaf installed is in the client’s home and she loves it!