Attaching wood table base to a granite top.

[Peter Christensen]

There was a remnants sale at a countertop place and we bought a slab of granite that they will cut into a small tabletop and a larger oval table top. We are going to use them outside on the decks because the weight will help keep them from being blown away. The prairies are a windy place.

I will be building bases of wood and want the option of being able to remove the tops for storage or refinishing. Bases will consist of Oak legs and skirts. I want to know if there is any hardware that can be epoxied to the granite that can be screwed to the skirts much like buttons or clips that hold a wood top? I don't want to silicone the granite to the bases the way countertops are attached.

Thanks for your experience and suggestions.

[Jamie Buxton]

You can epoxy metal to granite, and wood too. I’ve used West Systems 105.

[robert wiggins]

With granite being the weight it is, consider allowing the weight on no-skid pads between the two surfaces to be sufficient. Easy removal for storage or refinishing. If this proves undesirable the epoxy methods can always be employed.

[Peter Christensen]

I was hoping to find something like these undermount sink clips in a decent quality and hopefully in a stainless. The table (2 1/2' x 4' oval) will get moved around some and that's the reason to fasten it rather than have it sit on the base.

[Sam Murdoch]

I "think" - meaning I don't know for certain - that if you were to epoxy the type of stud plate you show in the link - to the underside of the stone - especially so that the epoxy locked into the holes, you could get a strong enough bond to hold those studs. Perhaps you might also need to scratch up the stone at the pad locations to insure a bit more lock of the epoxy - maybe using a dremel type tool with the right grinder tip.

When you mention moving the table/base around I get concerned because the weight of the top - if lifted - might really stress those epoxied pads more that the epoxy can hold. This is the unknown to me. However, if you put nice glides as feet under the base and slid the table around rather than lifting and moving, I'm guessing that this set up would be very strong.

Not all epoxies are created equal. Would be worth study specs.

My 2¢ - Sam

[Peter Christensen]

More or less what I had in mind Sam. I suspect the table will be slid around more than picked up but a pack of ten fasteners should be strong enough to hold the wood base on.......I hope.

How were the Marble tops on antiques attached?

[Sam Murdoch]

Occurs to me that you could also epoxy a piece of ply to the underside and then build your base with an apron or top frame that would "frame" the plywood or otherwise hide the ply edges and could be attached with screws to the plywood sub top (more directly and strongly from underneath than into the edges). That would be a very secure set up and I think, worry free.

[robert wiggins]

More or less what I had in mind Sam. I suspect the table will be slid around more than picked up but a pack of ten fasteners should be strong enough to hold the wood base on.......I hope.

How were the Marble tops on antiques attached?

Ten Velcro patches totaling about 10 sq. inches would probably suffice either sliding around or picking the base up when the top was picked up. Easy top removal may be possible also, depending on the technique.

[Wayne Lomman]

Marble tops were never attached on antiques in my experience.

The sink clips you show will work fine. Roughen the area before epoxy fixing in place. Use a high viscosity product. Cheers

[Yonak Hawkins]

Peter, when you have the slabs cut you could have them drill some holes in the bottom side matching up with studs you put in the base. This would hold the tops in place yet allow them to be lifted for storage.

[andy bessette]

I would use 3M 5200 to bond granite to wood.

[Alan Rutherford]

Occurs to me that you could also epoxy a piece of ply to the underside and then build your base with an apron or top frame that would "frame" the plywood or otherwise hide the ply edges and could be attached with screws to the plywood sub top (more directly and strongly from underneath than into the edges). That would be a very secure set up and I think, worry free.

I have a similar project which is still in the worry-about stage, but this is the only solution I've come up with. Plywood has the advantage that it offers a large area to glue and will not move with the seasons, which of course the granite won't, either. Then it can be attached to the wood base any number of ways. In my case with a rectangular top, I will probably laminate 2 stringers from several thicknesses of 3/4" ply and glue them on edge so they reinforce the top as well as offer a solid connection to the base.

[Sam Murdoch]

I have a similar project which is still in the worry-about stage, but this is the only solution I've come up with. Plywood has the advantage that it offers a large area to glue and will not move with the seasons, which of course the granite won't, either. Then it can be attached to the wood base any number of ways. In my case with a rectangular top, I will probably laminate 2 stringers from several thicknesses of 3/4" ply and glue them on edge so they reinforce the top as well as offer a solid connection to the base.

I wrote - EPOXY - but some PL Construction adhesive would serve more easily and just as effectively. The 5200 cure time is so relatively slow that it takes the fun out of using for anything other than marine use, where its other features are key.

Sam

[Lee Schierer]

Many years ago I was asked to see what I could do to keep a marble table top from sliding off an oval table at our church. I took the top and base home. Put the marble upside down on a work bench and then centered the table upside down on the marble. I then made four wooden blocks that would fit in the spaces of the table frame. These four blocks were attached with epoxy to the under side of the marble. That top could be removed if needed but it would no longer slide around.

[Alan Rutherford]

I wrote - EPOXY - but some PL Construction adhesive would serve more easily and just as effectively. The 5200 cure time is so relatively slow that it takes the fun out of using for anything other than marine use, where its other features are key. Sam

No argument with the epoxy. "Glue" was sort of generic.