Baseboard legs- Updated question in last reply

[barney121e]

I have a 6ft by 4ft baseboard, which is best way to do baseboard legs. Have seen premade mdf and metal legs but not cross braced. How important is cross bracing? Would 4 legs say 50x50mm timber be ok, or would 2 more legs in the middle help?

Any help much appreciated.

[centenary]

I have a 6ft by 4ft baseboard, which is best way to do baseboard legs. Have seen premade mdf and metal legs but not cross braced. How important is cross bracing? Would 4 legs say 50x50mm timber be ok, or would 2 more legs in the middle help?

Any help much appreciated.

One leg in each corner of 2 x 2 or 50mm x 50mm smooth planed timber would normally be sufficient. However, you need to make sure the baseboard frame was sufficiently study for whatever thickness your baseboard is made of.

You should be ok with a frame made out of 3 x 1 or 76 x 19mm smooth planed wood, including a couple of cross braces using a baseboard of 12mm ply and 4 legs.

[Flashbang]

Hi
You may also like to consider using 63mm x 38mm CLS timber for the legs. CLS is normally used for stud partition framing on internal walls, but its smooth finish and slightly rounded edges make it ideal for baseboard legs. It's also considerably cheaper than 44mm x 44mm (Old 2" x 2") PSE timber
Example - Wickes today list 44 x 44 x 2400mm at £6.47 but 63 x 38 x 2400mm CLS is £3.50 Other suppliers are of course available too.

[FatController]

I would suggest cross bracing. Those legs are going to want to wander, putting strain on the joints.

[Wolseley]

I used adjustable metal table legs from a major hardware chain (in my case, Bunnings, as I live in Australia). My layout is 8'x4' and I had the plywood (9mm) cut into three pieces so that the layout could be taken apart if it needed to be. Each piece of plywood was braced with whatever the metric equivalent of 2''x1" softwood is, and four legs were screwed into the purpose built metal plates, one in each corner, so that each section of baseboard is freestanding. I did not consider bracing the legs, and have had no issues with them at all in the five years the layout has been in use.

I decided to use these legs rather than make my own from timber but, had I chosen the latter course, I would have braced the legs.

[barney121e]

Thanks for all the replies, is a big help.

[barney121e]

If i were to brace legs where should i put the bracing pieces, near the bottom or top, or at an angle?

[FatController]

Given how solid those legs look, I'd suggest some close to the the bottom to stop the legs from wandering. I don't think you need any diagonal ones for strength.

[barney121e]

Given how solid those legs look, I'd suggest some close to the the bottom to stop the legs from wandering. I don't think you need any diagonal ones for strength.

Those aren't my legs. I have 4 legs, 63 x 38. There is a little movement both ways so not hundred percent sure i need bracing but would help i suppose.

[FatController]

Doh! - sorry - not reading the thread properly. Even so, my answer remains given the size of the legs. You just need something to keep those decent sized legs in place, near the bottom. It doesn't need to be very big at all, just strong enough not to snap. 12 x 12 or similar, I would suggest?

[centenary]

Crikey, do some people not have dining tables?! Do their dining tables 'wobble' on 4 legs?! This baseboard has 12 and its only 8 foot in length.

Those legs look far sturdy enough imho and even have wide fixing points under the table. OK if the legs were 2 x 2 pieces of wood, some bracing at either the bottom of the leg or boxed in at the top would likely be needed. I think the bracing being talked about is a little over engineering.

[ChrisGreaves]

Those aren't my legs. I have 4 legs, 63 x 38. There is a little movement both ways so not hundred percent sure i need bracing but would help i suppose.

The proof is in the time after pudding arrives, as they say.
(1) Invite four or six people over for dinner.
(2) Serve enough wine
(3) Serve dinner, ending with pudding
(3) During pudding start cracking lewd and raunchy jokes.
If the twelve legs can stand all that, and if no glassware falls through the cracks, your tables are robust.

Note A: That there are two items "(3)" is a measure of how much wine is to be served
Note B: A 2,000 piece jigsaw puzzle is not an acceptable substitute for dinner, unless you promise six teenagers a treat once the jigsaw is completed.

(signed) "Accept-Table" of Bonavista

[aleopardstail]

Pondering legs for a baseboard here too

situation:
- 12'x7' board, in modules that are either 4'x2' or 3'x2'
- against a wall along one of the short sides
- that wall end cannot have legs due to an obstruction on the floor
- uneven floor
- must be able to be dismantled, doesn't need to be "transportable" but a few times a year dismantled to use the space for other things, will also need to be dismantled to make space to construct it.

thinking
- wall end can be supported on a shelf with a suitable "lip", the modules secured to each other but otherwise resting on the lip, like that money was in my account officer
- the 4'x'2' modules then all get two legs, with height adjustors built into the feet (bought a pack from amazon that fit wooden legs) each probably 1 1/2" square timber taken from any passing pirates, not worked out where the parrots go as yet, possibly a curry
- the upper end is a 2" square plate that screws to a fillet on the baseboard framing, this also has a hole, and a threaded bar

two legs screw to a board, which can then be adjusted to be level in both directions, attach the next board and repeat. the two 3'x2' boards are fixed between at the ends without their own legs.

in effect no span exceeds 4' and the only bit thats not so adjustable is the shelf end - and even there it could see four (very short) legs fitted to make that adjustable as well.

thoughts? its reasonably cost effective, when dismantled the legs (all of identical size) go in a pile, and to assemble its a case of fitting to legs to a board, then lose fitting to the next board, level then tighten up.