Raising Table Legs For Your Next Show

By on November 16, 2009
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Raising Table Legs For Your Next Show

By: Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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28 Comments

  1. avatar

    mary

    November 16, 2009 at 2:51 pm

    Great show tip Dale…Thanks

  2. avatar

    Janice

    November 16, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    Great idea! Thank you so much for such a wonderful tip. I will definitely use it at my next jewelry “soiree”!

  3. avatar

    Virginie

    November 16, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    I use these PVC pipes too with the same tables. I spray painted them silver so if they show under my table cloth, they look nice and part of the table itself. I put a rubber stopper at the bottom too. My “leg extenders” fit snuggly on the legs of the table, so they don’t move at all, and my tall husband love to use my raised tables in his workshop/garage. Thanks Dale. Love your tips.

    • avatar

      Cindy Schneid

      March 6, 2012 at 8:01 am

      Like your idea of painting the PVC. Like the idea of a rubber stopper, but having trouble imagining what it looks like and where you found it. Can you give some more details please?

  4. avatar

    PAMELA NEWMAN

    November 16, 2009 at 3:41 pm

    Hi Dale,
    I am thrilled that you have told artist about this idea. My husband and I have been doing a show every Sunday at the world renown Santa Barbara Arts and Crafts Beach Show right along the beach in Santa Barbara, California for 11 years. We also raise our tables with the PVC pipes, but we have put end caps on the bottom. That way if you are outside at a show you won’t sink into the grass or get dirt stuffed up into the legs. Also, you won’t scratch the floor if you are at an indoor show. We use 4’X2′ tables and put the legs on before we turn the tables upright. We secure the legs with a short strip of duct tape, so they won’t fall off when setting the table where we want it or if we move it somewhere else. we are always changing our display.

    Your videos are fantastic and I love your new book. I have been doing wire jewelry for 30 years off and on and have seen a fantastic growth in it.

    Keep up the great work.
    Pamela Newman

  5. avatar

    Pat Childers

    November 16, 2009 at 3:45 pm

    I appreciate this tip on raising the table. I am one who has wished that the table were a little higher. Thanks so much.

    Pat

  6. avatar

    Donna

    November 16, 2009 at 3:52 pm

    Great idea! Would love to Dale\’s display, too.

  7. avatar

    Julie

    November 16, 2009 at 5:10 pm

    That was a very good tip. How long was the PVC Pipe cut to actually give the extra 4 inches of height?

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      November 16, 2009 at 8:13 pm

      All table legs are formed differently. What I did was to measure the straight distance of my table leg (from the bend down) and then added my desired, additional height, which in this case was 4 inches.

  8. avatar

    Adrienne Lindsey

    November 16, 2009 at 5:43 pm

    I really like the idea of the PVC pipe for added height. thanks for sharing.

  9. avatar

    Edward D. Rice

    November 16, 2009 at 6:21 pm

    I carried four full sized 8″ cinder blocks to my first show, just to raise the table. Duh! Your way is so much easier and smarter. Thanks for the tip!

  10. avatar

    Rachel Ison

    November 17, 2009 at 2:45 pm

    Thank you!! A great tip. I also love your book.

  11. avatar

    Rhoda

    November 18, 2009 at 12:35 am

    Great, easy and inexpensive tip! Would have liked to see the end result with the 2 tables side-by-side . . . which was behind where Dale was standing. That would have made for a great visual!

  12. avatar

    Dita

    November 19, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    Thanks so much for this tip and the comments and extra tips that were generated. Dita

  13. avatar

    Cindy Lietz, Polymer Clay Tutor

    November 19, 2009 at 9:01 pm

    This is an awesome idea Dale! Wish I had thought of that. Have used boxes stacked on the table and small Christmas trees to get some needed height. This would raise things up even higher. Plus would give more storage under the table! Thanks!

  14. avatar

    Lila

    November 23, 2009 at 1:43 pm

    I’ve been doing this for years. Not only is it easier for the backs of the customers but it is more professional to have a counter height table.

  15. avatar

    Krister

    November 29, 2009 at 7:12 pm

    Thanks for the tip, Dale. How long are the PVC pipes you used on your table?

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      December 1, 2009 at 11:15 am

      For Krister, to plan the necessary length of PVC pipe you will need: first determine how high you would like your tables to be; then measure the distance from the bottom most joint on the table leg to the floor and add the additional height you want then cut your pipes. For example if your tables are 32 inches tall and you want them to be 38 inches tall (a difference of 6 inches) and from the bottom joint of the leg to the floor is 4 inches, you would add the desired additional height of 6 inches to the leg segment of 4 inches and cut your pipes to 10 inches long.
      Please be aware that all tables are not created the same! For example I have purchased four 6-foot tables over the years, all made by the same company, and 3 of them have different leg styles! To make set-up easier to figure out, I used a marker to put a number on the bottom side of each table and marked my pipe extenders accordingly.
      Dale/Cgr

  16. avatar

    Paupy Joi

    April 3, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    Dale, Great tip so simple, direct & effective. Thanks Paupy

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  18. avatar

    Ronda

    July 29, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    Hi dale,
    Love the idea for raising tables will have to try it soon.
    I have used for the past 2 years the cone shaped raisers for beds that you can get at any walmart store and Im sure you can get them at other stores too. when your are on soft ground they are great because they flare out on the bottom and make the tables very stable. I will be getting some pvc ones too. Then I can have three different hights and you can control the hights more. And I love the idea of being able to move the table around when setting up and not having to mess with the cones.
    Ronda

  19. avatar

    Dennis Nilsson

    August 9, 2010 at 5:21 pm

    Federal Law ADA {Americans with Disibiity Act} requires that sales and display counters be no more than 36 inches high. As I understand the wording is not clear whether they all have to be 36 inches or less or if only part of the display counters have to be 36 inches or less.

    If you could research this subject it might be helpful to help us not anger the Feds, State Inspectors and mostly customers in wheelchairs. One Renaissance Fair we do was told that they could not open several years ago unless the whole Fair was in compliance with the ADA requirements.

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      August 10, 2010 at 10:16 am

      Hi Dennis,
      First, kudos to that particular show, for their attention to this detail. Yes, I have been in shows where we could not open until the aisles were pulled back. Personally, I have never had any problems with the table height I use, and if I do have someone who cannot see an item, I simply bring the item to them, or hold the entire box for them : )

      Yes I did the research for you. The main page is: http://www.ada.gov. A lot of this applies to fixed businesses. To simplify things, I have copied the text of the table height that would apply to ‘special event’ vendors. (Notice there is a phone number for folks to call if they wish to check details for their particular question.)

      The Americans with Disabilities Act
      The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a Federal civil rights law that prohibits the exclusion of people with disabilities from everyday activities, such as buying an item at the store, watching a movie in a theater, enjoying a meal at a local restaurant, exercising at the local health club or having the car serviced at a local garage. To meet the goals of the ADA, the law established requirements for private businesses of all sizes. These requirements first went into effect on January 26, 1992, and continue for both for-profit and non-profit organizations.

      For small businesses, compliance with the ADA is not difficult. To help businesses with their compliance efforts, Congress established a technical assistance program to answer questions about the ADA. Answers to your questions about the ADA are a phone call away. The Department of Justice operates a toll-free ADA Information Line (800- 514-0301 voice and 800-514-0383 TDD). In addition, tax credits and deductions were established that can be used annually to offset many costs of providing access to people with disabilities.

      Sales items may be located at any height but sales staff should be available, on request, to reach items for customers

      It is not necessary to locate all merchandise within reach of people who use wheelchairs. Items can be placed at any height but staff should be available to assist customers who may have difficulty reaching or viewing items.

      At sales and service counters, such as ticketing counters, teller stations in a bank, registration counters in hotels and motels, and other counters where goods or services are sold or distributed a counter that is at least 36 inches long and that is not more than 36 inches above the floor will make the counter accessible. It is also possible to provide an auxiliary counter nearby or to use a folding shelf or area next to the counter, if doing so is readily achievable.

      If you cannot provide an accessible sales or service counter or auxiliary counter nearby, such as a table or desk, you may provide a clip board or lap board for use until a more permanent solution can be implemented.

  20. avatar

    Jessica Le

    August 27, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    I used this idea this weekend at our local craft show, and it worked really well. It was a simple but awesome advice. Thank you!

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  23. avatar

    Kathleen Howard

    March 6, 2012 at 2:50 pm

    Dale,
    I appreciate the riser information. Do you have a picture of one of your tables set up for a show? I would like to see how it compares to my set up and maybe get some ideas from you. Thanks