Escape 19 Wobbly Table Fix

[Harold Kroeker]

Part 1 of 4

After spilling far too many cups of coffee due to my inability to keep my elbows off of the unstable table in my Escape 19, I finally fixed it.

The problem with the stock table legs is that the ends of the posts are folded to make a taper that fits in the flanges mounted on the floor and table. The taper at the end of the column is not a precise enough fit in the sockets to stop movement which results in a wobbly table. The first picture shows how the stock post fits in the base.

I considered turning new tapers out of Acetal/Delrin and grafting them onto the column ends and actually went so far as to make one prototype out of steel. It fit perfectly into the flange that I had measured to get the taper angle, but wobbled in the other flanges because the taper angle was slightly different in each one. There was no way that I was going to have posts that only fit in one location and in one orientation so I abandoned that idea.

Instead, I replaced the stock flanges and posts with high quality units made by Zwaardvis for use on boats. The second picture shows how the Zwaardvis column fits in the base.

[Harold Kroeker]

Part 2
What I ordered:
Floor flanges: Z10-4075BLY60mm (9.875” diameter, $45.99 ea)
Table flanges: Z10-4067BLY60mm (7” diameter, $25.99 ea)
Columns: Z60-7279VEL27.5-2 (27.5” long 60mm diameter, $38.20 ea). The 27.5” columns were a special order item but 26” columns (Z60-8266VEL26-2) are usually in stock. The total height of my columns with the bases is 28.75” which is 0.5” higher than the stock ones at 28.25”. If one were to use 26” columns, the table would be 1” lower than stock. The first picture shows the new and old columns and bases side by side.

I ordered the bases from Pier Supply http://piersupply.com/Seating and the columns from Jamestown Distributors http://www.jamestowndistributors.com .

I weighed the old columns with flanges and each one weighed 1214g (2 lb 10.8 oz). I weighed the new columns with flanges and each one weighed 2166g (4 lb 12.4 oz). The total weight gain for this project is therefore 1904g = 4 lb 3.2 oz = 4 Warsteiner beer.

Installation:
I removed the floor flanges, shaved down ridges where the flooring had been raised by the screws, and filled the old holes with Quickwood Epoxy Putty from Lee Valley http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...at=1,190,42997 but I have also seen it in Home Depot and the like. The end result looks good enough considering that most of them will be covered and will keep any water on the floor from going into the old holes and rotting the plywood floor. The filled holes are shown in the second picture.

[Harold Kroeker]

Part 3
Installation continued:
I mounted the front floor base as close to the wall as I could using the screws that I removed from the old base. Since the new base is larger in diameter than the old base, the hole for the column moved as well so I had to move the front base location on the underside of the table. I left the rear table base location on the underside of the table where it was and found that the holes in the new base line up perfectly with the ones from the old base. The first picture shows the moved table base, the second picture shows the mounted floor bases.

[Harold Kroeker]

Part 4
The picture below shows the completed project. It is every bit as stable as I hoped for. There is still some play in the table due to the sliders that allow the table to move but all of the wobbly is gone.

[Garand]

That's a great upgrade Harold. Looks like something to add to my list of "some-day" projects.

Dave

[Jim Bennett]

Good job, Harold.

I have to wonder if the wobbly legs are a random thing. Ours have next to no noticeable wobble, but others have complained. Granted, we rarely eat inside, but on cold miserable mornings, I have had my coffee there.

[eskap]

My 17B has this type of table (option) and it too is wobbly. I like what you have done here and will add it to my 'to do' list. Thanks for great pics and instructions!