Ever have one of “those” tables?
Ever have one of “those” tables, you know the ones, the ones where your pen or pencil simply rolls across the table and on to the floor? Tables are supposed to be flat, and are relied on to provide solid support and yet some tables regularly cause rolling. Why is it happening; we wonder as we start to test the table. We understand that wobbly bases can cause a tilt, but what if the table seems firmly grounded? The answer often lies not in the feet, but the connection between the base and the tabletop itself.
Understanding the Top Plate
The piece that connects the table base to the underside of the top is called a top plate or a “spider.” Many manufacturers use a welded, stamped-steel top plate. This sounds pretty good, right? After all, steel is a strong, reliable metal and we use it for almost everything. While it's true that steel is very strong, part of the benefit it offers is flexibility. This flexibility is valuable in a great many projects, such to help earthquake-proof a building, but who wants a flexible table?
Common Table Stresses
Tables are expected to withstand a large amount of near endless use. In homes and businesses alike, tables will be used for storage, sorting, work, dining, and even play. You may be surprised to discover that the most common stress of a table comes in thousands of tiny human interactions. When people sit down at or stand up from a table, they tend to lean on the table for support. Sitting, especially for older people, involves carefully redistributing your weight first to the table, then the chair and standing requires the reverse approach to get back on your feet. This steady press will slowly bend a flexible steel top plate until the table is distinctly uneven.
Stamped Steel vs Cast Iron
Many top plates are made with stamped steel which is, by its very nature, both pressed thin and able to flex. As a combination of human push-offs, heavy boxes, and computer equipment used on the outer edges of the table, the stamped steel top plate eventually fails to maintain its original flat shape. Cast iron, on the other hand, doesn't suffer from the same problems. A sturdy cast iron top plate offers you the kind of durability you've come to expect from steel with none of the inconvenient flexibility. When combined with a cast iron table base, the uniformity of material creates a much more stable composition.
Improving the Design
JI Bases has been dedicated to improving the quality and stability of table bases for almost sixty years. Having already discovered that cast iron improves the top plate, they thought 'Why stop there?' With thoughtful consideration for the way support is distributed to the tabletop, JI cast iron top plates have broken the mold and ceased to be plates at all. Instead, cast iron support arms reach out to cradle your table from the center, providing a much broader radius of direct support and stabilizing force.
The next time a table fails the pencil test, consider how long you've had it. Chances are that it has an old stamped steel top plate that has simply seen a few too many push-offs and heavy objects. For tables that will last for decades after a single investment, consider updating to cast iron table bases. With that kind of stability, you'll never have to dive for another writing utensil.