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I'm working on modifying an existing table to hold 2 PC's under it horizontally.

The PC motherboards will have to be placed on a 1,200mm X 400mm X 18mm countertop that will be connected to 2 other pieces of wood on the 400mm side.

The countertop weights quite a bit, I'd say around 5KG, add another ~10KG of stuff and we're around 15KG, so the question is, which is the "good enough" approach to connect the countertop to the 2 pieces of wood and make it hold the weight, I'm thinking L-shaped steel connectors(2 per side of 20mm width), but I'd like more opinions.

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EDIT: I'm using oak as material.

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  • Is this effectively a shelf that you are hanging below an exisiting desk (that is not shown)? If so, you need to figure out how to hold it all together and to attach it to the desk.
    – bib
    Commented Oct 12, 2013 at 18:05

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15KG or 33 pounds is not very much weight.

400mm = 16" so I assume by oak you are speaking of oak-veneered plywood. If it is solid oak, then so much the better.

As long as the table top is not 20mm (3/4") particle board, particularly not low density particleboard, it will be quiet sufficient to simply use 2" sheetrock screws to attach the sides to the countertop, then angle 3" sheetrock screws through the sides up into the bottom of the table top. Pre-drill all. Two screws per joint would suffice, but i'd use three, which would put a 2.5 KG tensile load on each tabletop screw. It'd be okay to attach the sides and countertop either way, by either screwing horizontally through the sides into the countertop, or through the countertop up into the sides.

Another way is to assemble what you have sketched, then screw a 6mm or thicker sheet of plywood that is 400mm x 1250mm to the tops of the sides, then attach the assembly to the tabletop by screwing up through the through 25mm wide plywood wings.

Another way is to use 40mm or larger corner braces on the outside of the side/countertop joint, and outside of the side/tabletop joint, using two per joint.

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  • thank you mike, the material is solid oak, damn hard to cut using hand saw, took me about 1.5h to make a 300mm cut into the 18mm thick oak, I'm using 50mm L-shaped steel holders, 2 on each 400mm side, from what I can tell, it's very sturdy, also, in the back of the table I'm using 2 x 10mm steel U-shaped in parallel -- it can hold up to ~55Kg/22cm, so far so good (:
    – user8792
    Commented Oct 13, 2013 at 9:51
  • That cut should take a couple minutes max- either you are using the wrong kind of saw for the job, or your saw is very dull. If it gets the job done, fine - but be aware it is not the way things should be.
    – JayL
    Commented Oct 14, 2013 at 2:15
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Assuming the the desk is laying down upside down in your pic. I added blue lines there you should have 2"x2" boards to frame out the desk. With these in place you can screw in from bottom into the desktop. In the front I would add 1"x3" covering the sides. Make sure it covers and also attaches to butt end of the 2x2. You will need a back to the desk this will stop the desk from being wobbly and collapsing into a pancake. enter image description here

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  • thank you Justin, but this solution was not viable for me, not enough material, see comment on mike's answer
    – user8792
    Commented Oct 13, 2013 at 9:52
  • fastening the desk to the wall with your L brackets will take the wobble out and make the desk 10x stronger. You can make your legs shorter and just have the top touch the wall for ventilation on the sides. If the L brackets are long and strong enough they should stop the sides from moving too much.
    – Justin K
    Commented Oct 13, 2013 at 16:25

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