Lagun Table mod

[HoosierB]

First idea for a floor mount bracket. To be placed center of the dinette "footwell", close to the exterior wall. 1/4" plate steel should be enough... and not very obtrusive, vs. the vertical flip-down table leg.

[Blue~Go]

Oh I see. You will have an L-shaped mount that accommodates the Lagun base. That's clever. I figured you would have something interesting in mind.

[HoosierB]

Hex-head lag screws should work to secure the bracket to the 1 1/2" ply floor.
Second idea was to spread the load with a longer (side to side) base plate. Instead of a 5x5", maybe a 10"x5". ???

[HoosierB]

A "60cm teak folding table" ordered today from SVB in Germany. Same table as the one the Danish sailor has in his "Lagun table mount" videos. FYI: If you order from the SVB website, the template for filling in your info, address, etc. is a bit cumbersome... a european thing.

[Blue~Go]

Glad you brought the thread back up. I should have reported (except I haven't done mine yet) that a friend and I first both ordered the Lagun bases (and I got an extra mounting plate). I'd been waffling and etc., but then when the pound "plummeted" it was just too good a deal. Whereas otherwise they were around $200, they were $138. And they are really nice.

So, we got them and my buddy mounted his (because his rig is not in the middle of a big, disruptive remodel). He put it on the face of the couch base (like behind where your shins would be if you were sitting properly on the couch). It's about 40" from one end of the couch (the end that for us would be by the sink), and 32" from the other end (which for us would be by the driver's seat). I have tried it out and 40" is about the minimum I'd want at the head end of the bed for getting in and out.

So first we had no purchased top, and so made a practice top of about 20" x 27" just out of a scrap of 1/2" ply. Mounted the platform under the top such that is was centered from pedestal to outboard end, and then off center side to side. The first allows the leg to be just covered by the table when stowing it "slim wise" but it also clears the couch backrest. The second allows getting it closer to the head of the bed if you are sitting up there using it as a table with your feet up on the couch lengthwise.

Then we hemmed and hawed about the tops. First, rather expensive, second shipping, and third, the crazy ordering process you outlined. You want my birth date?! And then still no shipping estimate.... (although in the end they were responsive and we got it figured out, but I'm getting ahead of myself).

So for awhile we were all "we're making our own tops, darnit." But then I remembered how nice the teak would smell (very boaty) and of course I don't need to be making a table. So we bit the bullet and each ordered one. They come in 70, 80, and 90cm long (they are all 60 cm wide). I did a bunch of looking at the Danish fellow's video and measuring on my screen and I *think* he probably got the 70cm one, but maybe the 80.

My buddy wanted the 70cm for sure (about 27"), so he ordered that one. I made a cardboard mockup and decided I'd like the 80cm one (about 31"). Reason is because I re-worked my couch so that I can sleep on it without pulling it out into "bed" position and thus the seat cushion is around 27" deep. With the leg mounted to the outside of the cushion the 80cm table will just sit correctly when stored slim-wise. Or at least that's the concept

The tables came last week. Buddy opened his and it is very nice. Oh, not perfect, but he instantly said "I'm so glad I ordered this instead of making one." I haven't opened mine yet (forcing myself to finish another, much less fun, project first. They only took a few days to arrive once they shipped, and that's to the west coast even. Since the Euro wasn't as low as the pound, they were not "such a deal," but I think the cost will be forgotten before I would have gotten around to making a table.

BTW, Hoosier, we did something along the lines of what you are thinking for my buddies Lagun base mount. Not exactly your same setup, but his couch seat cantilevers over the vertical couch base by about five inches. So we couldn't just mount the Lagun base to the face like in the video. He's going to re-work his couch this winter, so that allowed us to make ye olde functional mockup (the best kind ). What we did was basically make a rectangular vertical "tube" of 1/2" ply (with a double layer on the face where the base mounts). We mounted the tube to the couch base, then the Lagun base to the front of the tube (which we made to be flush with the front of the couch). So not quite as freestanding as you may be planning, but sort of.

If someone is thinking if this - and has a layout that can make use of the Lagun function - it's brilliant! Just being able to swivel it around, stow it, etc. It rocks. I'm typing on it right now It does jiggle slightly, but from what I can tell that's because we mounted the base (since it's a mockup) on top of his carpeting, and thus our homemade base is what is jiggling slightly, not the Lagun mechanism.

If someone is thinking of this and just can't quite get over the hump of the cost - or in other words if I were doing it and only going to do one part of it - I'd say go for the Lagun base for sure and then just make your own table (the mockup table we made didn't fold and it was still 80% as good as the folding one. As a side bonus, ordering the Lagun base is smooth and easy, whereas ordering the table is a bit quirkier (and more expensive).

[HoosierB]

WOW !!! The table arrived from Germany! Double boxed... in perfect condition. Really nice teak finish. I got the 80x30x60 cm model. This is one nice set up. Can't wait to do the install after I get the "big disruptive galley remodel"(-BlueGo) done.

BG... I have read on other forums what you suggest as far as the offset placement of the mount to the table top. If you can provide some pics of your setup, it might save me some "unwanted screw holes" in my new teak top.

[Blue~Go]

I will see if I can come up with some pics (the installed table is in a friend's rig as mine is still in the box). But, I can tell you that the Lagun "platform" that the table sits on is fairly large. So I mean if you put a piece of something like Scoot Guard on it, then set the table on top, you can play around with it (I think - I didn't do it with the teak table, but a lighter plywood one).

What I did in my rig to test things out was make a cardboard version of the folding teak table and tape that to the Lagun platter, then play with it.

I'll still see if I can add some photos though. It is nice to see something.

BTW, we got the same size table (80cm).

I was blown away by how quickly both the table and the base came. Crazy!

[HoosierB]

I was impressed with the fast shipping as well!

BG- good idea on the cardboard version for testing.

[HoosierB]

BG-
based on your boating experience, what would you recommend for "teak care"... oil, sealer, varnish...?

also...
still thinking about the metal "angle bracket" fab for the leg support... not sure it would be stable enough attached by lag screws to the ply floor. Your thoughts?

another idea...
was to attach a 2x8 with truss hangers to the dinette seat boxes, up against the exterior wall. This would allow for different attachment locations along the 2x8 for the Lagun leg bracket.

[Blue~Go]

BG-
based on your boating experience, what would you recommend for "teak care"... oil, sealer, varnish...?

Hi Hoosier,

Well on boats one of the great things about teak is that - being very naturally oily wood - it doesn't need anything. That being said it will eventually go grey if left untreated (might take a long time indoors though). Many people do treat it for this reason (they like the "brown" wood look over a grey look). I have either left teak bare, or it came to me already varnished so that's how it stayed. I haven't used sealer (and not sure where the line between that and oil is, exactly). I have seen a lot of boats with sealer/oil (mostly outside though).

My buddy (and I as we are camped nearby each other right now and I've been using the table when I'm at his rig) have been using the table bare for a couple of weeks now. Slight rings as from a glass disappear the next day. However if a crumb of some types of food is dropped on it, you get a light oil spot. I think that could be removed, but instead my buddy decided to Watco oil the table. He started yesterday by just doing the underside of the center section to test it out (since that part basically never shows). It looks pretty good - just slightly darker. On boats I know people use Semco teak oil, but not sure how it stacks up in the "food safe/interior" department. Something you could look at though. Of course one could varnish, but that always seems like sort of a waste on teak since it's so good/oily on its own. (Personal choice though.)

One note: Teak lumber has a stark difference in hardness between the various grain "veins." If one scrubs it lengthwise it can get very grooved (hard wood stays; soft scrubs away). So the way it's typically done on boats is to scrub across the grain, and then not with a brush, but maybe something like a mesh scrubbie (of course you may not ever need to scrub a table). And too, the main body of the table is teak ply not solid teak, so standard veneer precautions apply (which I'm sure you already know).

On the base... yes hmmm. First of all, if you haven't already, I'd mock it up with the base against the wall. I'm not sure that'd take best advantage of the table's various motions (but that may not matter if that's where you want the leg and you don't need all the movability but only some of it). Although now that I think of it, that may not be a problem since your table is so long (31"). I was mentally mocking one up for a boat dinette that is only 26" (from wall to aisle) and it didn't seem like up against the wall was going to work, because the arm length (16") was more than half the length I had (wall to aisle).

If you do a search for Lagun and truck camper, you can see quite a few non-boat installations. I noticed on quite a few of them with smaller dinettes they had the 16" horizontal arm shortened in order to be able to have it by the wall. But as I just realized, with a 32" (or so) table and a 16" arm you may be fine.

On the mount. How about this for a combination of our two ideas: Mentally take your vertical 2 x 8 (or maybe make it 3/4" multiply?) and run it across as you said about, oh, maybe 6-8" out from the wall. Only now add a top to it (3/4" ply). Now it would/could be a box, and you could even put "septums" in it for more strength, plus maybe get some storage out of the deal. Presuming you wouldn't miss that 6" of foot space (I don't put my feet that close to the wall).

Okay, so now it's strong (and can be made stronger), but now you have the vertical arm question. If that is 6" from the wall, and the horizontal arm is 16", and you want the table to extend to the wall (and cover the junction of horizontal and vertical arms), that takes up 3" (vertical arm plus mounting plate), plus the 6" mounting box. That adds up to 25". But then there is only 6" of table to extend from there out to the aisle. Of course that is where some offset to the mounting plate can come in handy.

Frankly, that part of it is somewhat mind-boggling to me and is why I made a mockup cardboard table, complete with taped "hinges" the way the leaves fold over. I then cut a piece of 1/2" ply (scrap) that was a bit bigger than the table platter, mounted the ply to the platter, and then taped the cardboard to the ply (could probably skip the ply part). I wedged the base into a box so it would mostly stand up on its own, and then gingerly moved things around. Because (for me at least) it wasn't only how the table sits as a table, but what I could do with it in the various swings, and how I could "stow" it when the leaves were flipped over (I wanted the wood main table part to still extend over the top of the joint between vertical and horizontal arms).

Perhaps one work around (if one is even needed) would be to mount the vertical leg "inside" the aforementioned box. If you are not going to adjust/remove it constantly, the fact that it would be slightly harder to get to might not be a problem (say you mostly use the "swing" feature which you can do right from the table).

Hopefully this is not all just clear as mud

Oh, the metal "angle bracket." I think it would be pretty strong presuming a triangular gusset (or the like) to keep it from jiggling like those old fashioned metal chairs that kind of purposely "bounced" when you sat in them. But I can see the wood/box method too, as perhaps blending in better, plus being modifiable if so desired (and maybe adding a scoch of storage too).

BG

PS: Even after two weeks of camping with buddy and using his mounted Lagun table just about every day, I still find it ridiculously fun (and practical) to just "swing!" it out of the way, and around and around in complex ways (offset platter) like The Zipper ride or etc.

PPS: Maybe this is just too "leg is there when I don't want it to be," but one thought is that if the leg were mounted near the aisle, you could also swing the table to be used by the couch person(s). No idea if that is anything you would even want to do though (and maybe that aisle space is already small and cramped enough on a dinette plan 21-footer... yeah... probably never mind!