plans for picnic table

["Wild Bad Bob"]

Buckeye,
just got out of the shower, I do some of my best thinking in there. Next time you are at the store go to the magazine area, and look through home decorating/design magazines, look at any table with a table lamp on it or the pic of a room/area rug with a floor lamp base showing. I guarantee all and every one is battery operated. Yes battery operated, why do I say that, because you will never, never, I mean never ever, see a cord!!!!!!!!!! They air brush them out of the pics for that clean "perfect" look. Maybe they air brushed out the bench and table leg supports for that photo expose'. Otherwise go on the web to Rockler, WoodCraft, Wood Workers Supply ect, and you will not run out out choices/options for different hardware options for what is needed for that set up.

[BuckeyeDennis]

Buckeye,
just got out of the shower, I do some of my best thinking in there. Next time you are at the store go to the magazine area, and look through home decorating/design magazines, look at any table with a table lamp on it or the pic of a room/area rug with a floor lamp base showing. I guarantee all and every one is battery operated. Yes battery operated, why do I say that, because you will never, never, I mean never ever, see a cord!!!!!!!!!! They air brush them out of the pics for that clean "perfect" look. Maybe they air brushed out the bench and table leg supports for that photo expose'. Otherwise go on the web to Rockler, WoodCraft, Wood Workers Supply ect, and you will not run out out choices/options for different hardware options for what is needed for that set up.

I suspect you are right about pins sliding in vertical slots in the wall bracket. I think I can just make out the slots in the photo. That would take care of anchoring the benches horizontally.

As for the table, you could have a spring-loaded something in the vertical slot pop out underneath fixed pins mounted on the table, and that would provide the vertical support for the wall end of the table.

As far as leg braces, they wouldn't be necessary if you could rely on friction to keep the legs from sliding on the floor. Just like a ladder. Of course, my kids would soon learn to kick the bench legs out from underneath their seated siblings!

["Wild Bad Bob"]

BD I agree, kids are kids, I would not even trust a spring loaded hing, I can see it now, 3-4 antzy kids on 1 bench, a teasing, pushing, giggling, legs a swing, and boom a leg goes out, some of them had there legs under the bench. You know, even if it was a horizontal wooden stile like on a tresel table, that you manually inserted between the 2 bench legs prior to putting it into the horizontal position.
My original point was, and maybe I was too aggressive, and have too much experience (cant ever, never have enough) I design all my own projects, not most from my head, but I look at pics of furniture for weeks that I want to make, then take the items in it I want, get the drafting board out and start drawing, I am in a project now that was like that, plus going to make a wood workers work bench, I got a magazine with a plan in it, it did not have all the features I wanted, I have looked at hundreds of different ones on the net youtube ect. I have what I want in my head, will start drawing soon, but most likly as it progresses and I see some other features will get modified along the way. If I can, just have not figured it out here yet, post some pics, links. They have sub albums and if you click on the pics they enlarge, I used a store bought plan for the chair and foot stool, project from hell, it took 3 days to machine the wood, 2 weeks to finish, had to be done b4 assembly.
photobucket.com/user/rbursek/library/control%20box?sort=3&page=1
photobucket.com/user/rbursek1/library/?sort=3&page=1

["Wild Bad Bob"]

I will try again
[email="photobucket.com/user/rbursek1/library/?sort=3&page=1"]photobucket.com/user/rbursek1/library/?sort=3&page=1[/email]
photobucket.com/user/rbursek/library/control%20box?sort=3&page=1

["Wild Bad Bob"]

photobucket.com/user/rbursek1/library/?sort=3&page=1

["Wild Bad Bob"]

My "steps to the Gods step stool" originated from this pic, but needed to dress it up a bit!!!!!!
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=pics+of+step+stools&qpvt=pics+of+step+stools&FORM=IGRE#view=detail&id=C1261ADC78BD8A02B96F09264D84

["Wild Bad Bob"]

Ohps wrong link this should be it,
Wont work

[steve4447]

Ohps wrong link this should be it,
Wont work

Not as easy as building it without plans?:)

["Wild Bad Bob"]

Steve you mean with plans? Thats why you make your own plans, and I have seen allot of plans that had wrong/conflicting dimensions in them, from the drawing compared to the cut list.

[steve4447]

Indeed that sometimes happens...Very common on big projects...And some are even comical ....like the often repeated gag of the specks calling for a 5/8 hole to be drilled centered in the end of 1/2 inch stock....But plans can also be a great help and the way to express an idea to the next guy who can't read your mind..

Over the years I have seen a lot of ideas come and go usually from the top down...Put one that actually was a good one came to us when I worked in a die shop decades ago...

All of our foremen carried a little pad in the pockets of their blue jackets that they wore....They were supplied by the company and printed and and bound with a tear off like a note pad and printed with the words in BOLD ...Write it Don't Say it...They drew pictures too...

When ever one of the bosses told you anything ...New job...change of any kind...He would tell you what to do make sure that you understood what he said and give you one copy and keep the other...when the job passed on to the next guy ...the notes stayed with the job....

If there was a mistake the owner would look at all of the copies....And there was almost never a mistake....And I never had to scrap a piece of metal...