Move Banquet Tables With a Single Hand

Rectangular banquet tables frequently need be moved. Often only one person is available to move them, especially in church basements. They are too heavy to lift and carry far. Dragging them, whether folded or open, is hard on the person, on the floor, and on the table. The device described in this Instructable will allow one person to move a banquet table easily with one hand. I call it a table mover. 

Two versions of the table mover are presented here. The first comes from the days before I had a welder and relied on simple tools. The second includes stronger parts of steel at key points in the device. The photos and commentary related to the second version follow in the second half of this Instructable.

The minimum needed for making a table mover is:

• 3 feet - 2 inch x 2 inch pine or fir
• 30 inches - 2 inch x 4 inch pine or fir
• 2 pieces of 3/4 inch plywood 4 inches x 4 inches
• 3 lag screws 1/4 inch in diameter and 3 to 4 inches long
• 5 washers with 1/4 inch holes (Fender washers would be preferred.)

On the second version I also used:

• 3/8 inch steel rod
• angle iron
• push caps

You may wish to substitute lawnmower wheels for the wheels made from 3/4 inch plywood. Those would also require 1/2 inch bolts or rod for axles and a more substantial way of attaching them, which could involve welding.

Start with a piece of 2 x 4 that is 30 inches long. A piece of 2 x 6 instead of 2 x 4 has some advantages, but 2 x 4 will do.

Make a recess a quarter inch deep or more at each end as near to one edge as possible. Do this with a router, or use a hammer and a chisel. The legs of the table will rest in these recesses. The recessed areas are intended to keep the table legs from sipping off of the table mover when in use. The distance between the legs on different tables is not standard, so just drilling a hole 2 inches in diameter is not a satisfactory solution.

A welded bracket of angle iron would be the ideal way to attach the handle, but not everyone has access to a welder. An acceptable way to attach the handle is to cut a notch at an angle and fasten the handle in place with a washer and a lag screw. The angle of the notch is about 30 degrees off of the vertical or 60 degrees off of the horizontal.

Scribe two equal circles about 4 inches in diameter on some 3/4 inch plywood. Turn them on a lathe or cut them as smoothly as possible with a bandsaw. A jigsaw will do the job, too.

Drill a hole at the center of each 1/4 inch in diameter.

Drill a 1/4 inch hole directly into the end of the bed for lag screws to serve as axles. These holes should be fairly low and as far toward the side of the 2 x 4 on which the handle mounts as possible.

Place a washer on each lag bolt. Slide a wheel onto each lag screw. Follow it with another washer. Screw the lag screws into the bed tightly enough that the wheels do not wobble, but loose enough that the wheels can turn. The wheels may resist turning easily until the table mover has been used and the axle holes loosen a little.

With one hand lift the end of a table. With the other hand slide the table mover under the table. Lower the table legs onto the recessed areas. Allow the weight of the table to cause the handle to rotate toward the table so it comes to rest against the edge of the table. Go around to the other end of the table. Lift it and drag or push the table where you want it.

If you run into a narrow area and cannot get enough turning radius to make a corner, etc.; manually swing the table end as needed and set the table mover under the table again. Sometimes you can get out of a tight spot by placing the table mover under the opposite end of the table and dragging or pushing the table to get it where you want it.

Not only is this an easier way to move six and eight foot long banquet tables, but it saves time because it is not necessary to take each table down, move it, and then set it back up. Just move the tables while they are already set up.

The next steps illustrate variations I used to make a sturdier version of the table mover with some welded steel parts at key points.

I cut a piece of angle iron from an old bed frame and welded a piece of 3/8 inch rod to it. To hold the pieces in place, I placed the angle iron into the jaws of a vise and rested the steel rod next to the corner of the angle iron. A magnetic corner for welding held the rod in place until I could tack weld the rod to the angle iron. Then I removed the magnet and finished the weld. 

With more angle iron from an old bed frame I made a bracket for securing the 2 x 2 handle to the 2 x 4 bed. I cut the angle iron at about 20 degrees and welded the two pieces together. This piece makes a big improvement over the all wood version in the first half of this Instructable. In the wooden version, the handle can develop some looseness, but this steel bracket makes for a much more durable product. (The hole was part of the original bedframe and has no relevance for this project.)

The bed of the table mover is a 2 x 4 that is 30 inches in length. Drill holes for sheet metal screws in the bracket. Position the bracket so it is centered on the bed. Drill into the wood for the screws and attach.

Drill the angle iron on the axle assemblies. Fit them onto the ends of the bed and drill into the wood. Attach with sheet metal screws. Add a washer as shown.

I did not want to spend extra money for commercial lawnmower wheels, so I made wheels from some old oak nearly 7/8 inch thick. (When I welded the steel rod to the angle iron for the axle assemblies I included the thickness of the wheels in determining how much rod to extend beyond the end of the angle iron.) I cut the wheels on a bandsaw.

I used a drill press to make holes for the axle. It is important that they be as precisely centered as possible. I reamed the hole with the drill bit a little so the wheel will turn freely on the axle. I also used some motor oil to lubricate the wheel on the axle. Let the oil soak into the wood so it becomes its own oil impregnated bearing.

I put the wheels onto the axles and retained them with push caps. Rather than use a router to inlet a place to retain the table legs, I used wood cleats to make a recess six inches long on each end of the bed. I attached the handle to the metal bracket with screws.

See step 6 again for how to use the table mover.