Expert: Jamie Yocono - 2/21/2009

Question
Hi Jamie
Thank you for taking my question.
I have made an 8 foot long trestle table. Now I want to make two 8 foot long benches for either side.
The table and benches will  be heavily used by children and young folks and I worry about the benches tipping backwards with kids on them (you know what kids are like).
The seat width will be 12 inches.
Question..How wide do you suggest the  spread on the legs (where they hit the floor) should be in order to avoid "tip overs"?
Many Thanks  

Answer
Hi Elmer,

If I understood your question, you're asking about the footprint of the bench base, and how big it has to be so that the bench won't tip over.  And....I'm just guessing, but I think you meant the seat depth is 12", right?

OK, let's say the top of the bench is 12" by 96". In theory, if the legs have the same footprint of the top, then the bench won't tip. But generally, you don't build something with the legs that same width. Instead, the top usually overhangs a bit. A bench that is 12" deep on the seat, but only has a 10" leg footprint is going to be prone to tipping. Not a good thing!

You also have the weight acting as a counter balance for you. Let's say you have an 8" overhang on each end of the bench. There is no way that bench is flipping end for end, it's length is the counter weight for ensuring that's not going to happen.

So the main concern is the bench tipping forwards or backwards.

On thing you could do is splay the legs outward, sort of like the way picnic table benches crisscross and splay out at the bottom. This allows two things to happen - the legs stay out of the way near the back of your legs (when seated) and the legs are at their widest point at the bottom, where they hit the floor. This wider footprint gives you a lot of stability.

You didn't mention what design you're going to use, some choices are four legs or a trestle base. Usually, the bench is designed to match the table, so that will be your determining factor. So if the design is a four-legged design, you might want to splay the legs out a bit, so that they have as wide of a footprint as possible. That will gain you some much needed stability. But that also means that you may have to work some tricky angles on the legs and aprons.

If you can get away with it, a trestle base is much easier to make, and will give you the stability you need. You can make the bottom piece a little wider (longer), to give you some much needed balance.

OK, I hope this makes sense.  Without knowing more details about your design, I'm not sure I can help much more. Feel free to write back if you need more help, or have more questions after reading this.  Good luck!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com