Replies

1. 
   ring | Dec 14, 2008 09:08am | #1

   Gurk,

   Tables with a flip-top are fairly common, but you've got the problem of how to hold it in the "air" as a barrier. Just an idea off the top of my head - see the sketch.

   David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e

   
2. 
   xmike | Dec 14, 2008 02:59pm | #2

   "Back in the Day" I saw a lot of what you describe in various small bars around the world. I was interested in other things than woodwork at that time, however .... I do remember one.

   No effort was made to make the flip up piece look exactly like the bar. But it was a nice looking 5/4 piece of wood with finish and smaller scale molding to complement that on the rest of the bar. The thing that caught my attention was that, when it was flipped up to get out of the way of the barkeep, it "latched" in place under a shelf that had to have been sized and placed for just that purpose.

   The latch was a simple L-shaped piece of spring-loaded brass with a hook on one end to catch the edge of the flip-up as it went by. Released by simply pushing the other leg of the L up to release the flip-up. This is the sort of metal latch that you saw everywhere in the 50's that apparently aren't made anymore. I needed a transom latch the other day for a project - couldn't find one anywhere, so I guess there isn't any demand for such things today.

   Hope this little trip down memory lane was useful. :)

   Mike D

3. 
   YesMaam27577 | Dec 15, 2008 07:07pm | #3

   So, when the leaf is in the down position, people will sit there, possibly with beverages and snacks (maybe even some elbows...); and when it is in the up-position, it "hides the bottles from the preacher".

   When in the 'up' position, is this to look like a window with trim, or will it look more like furniture?

   If it is to look like an architectural element (window-like) then the design is probably easier than the execution. The panel is hinged on the bottom. Trimwood that matches the casing in the room wraps the sides and top of the "opening". The 'trimwood' that wraps the bottom of the opening will need to have swing-out sections that act as supports for the panel when it is in the "bar" position. (Doing this with hand-cut wooden hinges might be the best way to hide this element.) In the 'up' position, a couple of rare-earth magnets are all you need to latch it.

   As for the beauty of the thing......maybe you could find an artist that would paint a scene on the underside? Maybe making it look truly like a window?

   (If you want it to look like furniture, I'm not having any ideas that help -- maybe I'm too stuck in the "trim and finish carpenter" mode.)

   Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.