01The three real differences
None of them is about the alloy. All three show up on the drawing before anything is cut.
The consequence: a table top usually needs all four edges machined or broken, because somebody will sit at the end and run a hand along it. It also needs a decision about legs — through-bolts are the cheap answer and the wrong one on a food surface, because every bolt head is a place that cannot be cleaned around.
02Fixing legs without drilling the working face
Four options, in order of how much we like them.
| Method | How it works | Surface intact | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welded spigots | Leg sockets welded to the underside, drilled and tapped | Yes | Needs the leg spacing on the drawing before welding |
| Bolted through | Bolts pass through the plate into the leg | No | Fast and cheap; each hole is a cleaning problem |
| Underslung frame | A frame bolted to the underside; legs bolt to the frame | Yes | Best for heavy tops and for levelling |
| Friction / gravity | Top sits on a frame with a locating lip | Yes | Fine for a 30 kg laboratory top, not for a 90 kg bench |
We ask for the leg spacing before we weld a single spigot, because moving one afterwards means redoing the underside and the grain around it. A 10 mm top on four legs is a 79.3 kg/m² plate sitting on four points. That is a punching load at each leg, not a distributed one, and it is why we ask for the leg spacing rather than assuming a frame that fits.
03Edge treatment on a table top
Every edge is a hand-height edge, so the profile matters more here than on a kitchen top that is against a wall on three sides.
- R3–R6 radius — the safe default for a table people sit at.
- Folded return — stiffer, and it hides the plate thickness; common on canteen and laboratory furniture.
- Square machined — correct where the top butts into a wall or against another unit, and the only profile we can inspect to ±0.05 mm.
Finish is No.4 brushed with the grain along the long side, unless the top is a laboratory surface specified to 2B. Either way the grade — 304 for a dry room, 316L where chlorides sit — is a separate decision from the edge, and both belong on the same drawing.
04Ordering a table top
Send the plan size, the leg or frame positions, the height to the top surface, and the four edge profiles. If there is equipment going on it — a press, a centrifuge, a sink — give its mass and footprint: point loads are what deflect plate, and they are what the frame has to be sized for.
We cut, machine, fold, weld, grain and inspect in one building, quote in 24 hours and hold a lead time of 15 working days from a confirmed drawing; freight days are separate and quoted as their own line. Parts are packed on-edge with edges protected, and a photograph of each finished part is taken before the case closes — which is what makes a transit claim a short conversation instead of a long one. The inspection sheet records the edge tolerance and the key dimensions, and it is the document the warranty is settled against.
Countertop specification · Workbenches and frames · Edge profiles · Send a drawing