A few years ago at our annual family gathering where we all ‘make stuff’ Peter and Yasue from Seattle came with a dream to create a card table to accommodate their love of playing bridge. They adored the mottled beauty of Brazillan Lacewood and were able to find some boards at a local store. They came with enthusiasm and a plan to make a card table with folding legs. The boards were edge glued and sanded to make the top and tapered legs were machined in my shop and attached using a commercial metal device to allow folding of the legs. They went back to Seattle with a finished table that ultimately turned out to be unstable and very wobbly. We had tapered the legs too much and the folding mechanism was prone to collapsing. This summer Cathy and I were visiting and were able to bring the table back to my workshop for repairs. I used walnut to make a new apron and developed my own version of a “folding” leg. You can see the essential elements in the following photos.

The large shiny circles are magnets which attract and hold the legs in place.  The leather thong holds the leg from falling away.
The angle iron has a threaded hole to accept a thumb screw which tightens the leg against the apron holding it secure.