DIY - Camping Table Repair

I am a high school Cross Country Running coach. I love coaching and the kids I work with are great ... most of the time.

At a meet last season, the folding table we use to organize paperwork and race numbers broke in half ... Of course, nobody was sitting on it, nobody put heavy water cooler on it, nobody was anywhere near it, and nobody saw anything. It just mysteriously broke in half.

I believe the kids call this "sus".

We had a discussion with the team about taking care of our gear and reminded them that if we use funds to buy a new table we have less funds for other things. Then, the table sat in my garage for months.

In this Instructable I will show you what broke and how I repaired it.

Hardware

• piece of scrap wood at least 1" x 1" square and 10" long ... hardwood such as oak would be best
• 4, 1/4" bolts 1.25" long
• 2, 1/4" bolts 2" long
• 8, 1/4" nuts
• 6, 1/4" lock washers

Tools

• drill
• belt sander or sand paper
• saw

This table is intended to be used for camping so it is very light weight. One half of it can fold down to make a smaller table supported by two legs as shown in the picture. When it is set up at full length, the second half the the table is supported by legs at one end and hinges at the other (spoiler alert, the hinges are a problem)

The hinge was a plastic piece that was bolted to the "two leg" side so that it could swivel. This plastic piece extended into a metal tube on the "one leg" side and was held in place by a rivet. There was a hinge like this on both sides of the table.

As you can see in the picture, the part of the plastic piece that the rivet holds in place broke off. This happened to both hinges. (Apparently, a hinge made of a plastic held in place with a rivet it no match for high school athletes.)

My replacement (and hopefully stronger) hinge can be constructed as follows:

1. Cut piece of hard wood 5" long and run it trough a table saw so that it is the same width and depth as the original plastic insert.
2. Using the original hinge as a template, round the top of the piece of wood and drill a 1/4" hole centered near the end.
3. With a 2" bolt, attach the rounded end of the wood piece to the inside of the rail on which the original hinge was attached.
4. On Drill 1/4" holes through the wood and metal rail on the "one leg" side of the table. Secure the wood to the trail using the 1.25" bolts.
5. Repeat for the other side of the table.

After testing the fit and function of the wooden hinge, I removed it a painted it a grey that better matched the table.

Thank you for taking the time to read my Instructable!

If you found it because you're searched for "how to repair a table" I hope this helps

... and goodonya for fixing something instead of throwing it away and buying something new!