Inexpensive Solid Quality Massage Table
Construction Plans
Created: September 1999
Updated: April 4, 2020
Note: This is the recommended table as it is light and includes heavy duty center braces.
Note: Standard folding tables are more work as you need to add center reinforcing.
Summary:
Click here for complete plans to build a really nice portable massage table worth about $600 that someone with good woodworking skills and a full set of tools can build for about $250. The numbers of responses
and emails to that effort have been incredible. Sadly, not very many people have the skills, tools, time, patience, or the money to build such a nice table. Many have asked my help in coming up with a far less expensive solution. To help them, I have added this page you can use to quickly make a nice massage table from an inexpensive folding table for about $80 (US).
For some time I have been emailing those who asked for a less expensive solution a copy of the simple design (the second picture above) to turn a standard 6 or 7 foot long metal legged, pastic or particleboard table into a massage table. This builds a nice table but it is still quite long and not easily portable.
To do so you need to just cut a face hole then add extra center supports. The cost to do this is about $49 US for the table plus the expense of four support poles and a center support board. If you are very careful in your table cutting, you can save the face hole and with a few supports under the table, end up with something that can also be used as a table without an obvious face hole. Cutting a face hole the same shape but 1/2" smaller in a futon makes a comfortable pad. Although this design works, with a little looking you can do much better for just a few dollars more and with much less work.
While doing my Christmas shopping I found an ideal pastic table at Sam's Club for $49.99. This model 2901 table is made by:
Click Here for Lifetime Products, Inc.home page!
P.O.Box 160010
Bldg. D11, Free Port
Clearfield, UT 84016-0010
1 (800) 242-3865
It has a hollow heavy duty plastic top with strong steel legs and strong tublar braces that support the center of the table. Not only is the result light, about 30 pounds, it already has all the center support needed without modification. As such, it would only take about fifteen minutes to turn it into a nice massage table. Adding a heavy duty futon available from Sam's for $29.99, cutting a face hole in that futon, and lining that futon face hole with terry cloth would finish that table for immediate use! *Smile*
Adding adjustable legs to either table is simply a matter of trimming off an equal amount of each leg, then slipping on pipes with a pip pin to hold them if there really is a need for easily adjustable legs.
I hope this site is of value to you. Thanks for visiting.
Bill