Making tables from quartz offcuts - how to attach legs

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Tgeorge

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After our kitchen worktop is installed I expect to have a couple of offcuts of marble style quartz. Rather than waste it, we have asked the fabricators to polish 3 edges and give us the offcuts - each of which are 900mm by 300mm

I would like to convert these to hallway tables that sit against a wall. I plan to use 4 hairpin legs like the ones below.

What is the best way to attach the hairpin leg to the quartz slab? The quartz is 20mm thick. I was thinking I can attach the legs to a 5mm or 10mm plywood base with screws and then attach the quartz to the plywood using some sort of adhesive.
Would that work? If so, what is the minimum thickness of plywood that will be needed? I don't want it going too thick.

Any other ways I can do it? Any other kind of legs or frames available that make this easier?


81Fh1E6IfPL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
Perhaps You could cut squares out of plywood/mdf, 18mm, cut at 45° Like fence post caps.

You could use something like puraflex to glue them to the underside of your quartz.
 
Drill, epoxy resin (Araldite) then fix with something like roof bolts cut down in length (pushed into the resin, legs temporarily supported whilst the resin goes off)

Quartz can be drilled with a diamond hole saw and a bit of water
 
Mr Chibs said:
Perhaps You could cut squares out of plywood/mdf, 18mm, cut at 45° Like fence post caps.

You could use something like puraflex to glue them to the underside of your quartz.
Click to expand...
Thanks Mr Chibs. I do not understand why we need the 45° cuts?
 
JobAndKnock said:
Drill, epoxy resin (Araldite) then fix with something like roof bolts cut down in length (pushed into the resin, legs temporarily supported whilst the resin goes off)

Quartz can be drilled with a diamond hole saw and a bit of water
Click to expand...
Thanks JobAndKnock. That sounds like something I could try. I don't know much about drills - is a diamond hole saw something that can be used with a standard powered drill?
 
Tgeorge said:
Thanks Mr Chibs. I do not understand why we need the 45° cuts?
Click to expand...
Was thinking you could use thicker wood but make it look a bit thinner :cautious:
10mm wood won’t give you enough meat to screw into.

job&knocks is the proper way... depends if you don’t mind drilling your quartz... 20mm is not that thick.
 
I would nut and bolt (with countersunk machine screws) a triangle of ALU plate, say 4mm thick, to each leg and PU40 to the quartz.
 
If the stone guys are cutting and polishing the off cuts, could they drill to your pattern?
And potentially add glued in metal bushes?

if making console tables, another option might be to make up a frame of steel or alloy.
Right angle on the wall, two flat bars coming from the wall to the front legs.
Flat bar across the front, 2 legs at front.
Fix it to the wall
Then silicone the stone on top.
 
Tgeorge said:
I don't know much about drills - is a diamond hole saw something that can be used with a standard powered drill?
Click to expand...
Yes. I'll post a few links later on when I'm back on my laptop.

Basically, though, they look like a tube with a steel rod at one end and are used with water as a lubricant for drilling glass and hard stone (like quartz).

You might even be able to find a local fireplace firm, granite worktop firm or stone mason (monumental mason or gravestone maker) who can drill the holes for you.

It may also be worth looking at glass fittings (as in glass ballustrade fittings) for the task
 
If they are sitting against a wall why not use a batten and two front legs just to provide a support. Batten should be sufficient to take the weight.
 
Diamond drilling - this video shows a tile being drilled by Chez, but fundamentally the same approach works for granite and quartz. Note how he starts the drill bit, and an angle:


The drill bits do clog up very easily and you may only get 1 to 3 holes out of a bit before it glazes and clogs - this video shows the "brick triock" for cleaning and deglazing a diamond core bit (which as Roger Bisby says isn't known by even quite a few tradesmen):


And if you recognise him from the telly it's because he used to be on Watchdog a number of year back

Cheap diamond hole saws can be had from eBay - so cheap against buying in the UK that it may be worth the wait (delivery can be slow)

Although I was thinking in terms of drilling part way through and Aralditing the legs onto the bottom using cut down machine screws (and maybe washers) Harry talking about drilling through put me in mind of the fittings which are sometimes used for glass balustrades, etc:

Glass Fitting.jpeg
 
JobAndKnock said:
Diamond drilling - this video shows a tile being drilled by Chez, but fundamentally the same approach works for granite and quartz. Note how he starts the drill bit, and an angle:


The drill bits do clog up very easily and you may only get 1 to 3 holes out of a bit before it glazes and clogs - this video shows the "brick triock" for cleaning and deglazing a diamond core bit (which as Roger Bisby says isn't known by even quite a few tradesmen):


And if you recognise him from the telly it's because he used to be on Watchdog a number of year back

Cheap diamond hole saws can be had from eBay - so cheap against buying in the UK that it may be worth the wait (delivery can be slow)

Although I was thinking in terms of drilling part way through and Aralditing the legs onto the bottom using cut down machine screws (and maybe washers) Harry talking about drilling through put me in mind of the fittings which are sometimes used for glass balustrades, etc:

View attachment 263803
Click to expand...
That was brilliant. Much appreciate the effort to pull that post together! Looks like something I could reasonably manage. Off to order the diamond saw
 
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