Fixing an All-too-eager-to-drop Drop Leaf Table

My daughter was gifted a dropleaf table, just the typical item where the top was from my grandmas farmhouse, the base was from a garage sale and my dad refinished when I was a lad. As far as being a period piece, safe to say this piece covers all the periods. As far as being a drop leaf table goes - the leaf is very eager to drop, which is where the problem comes in. The second picture shows a single support that tends to fall off the base, connected by a butt hinge. The result is any bump or large plate of spaghetti tends to send the leaf into the drop position.

My daughter enlisted me to assist stabilizing the all-too-eager-to-drop leaf table.

Supplies

Not a ton of stuff. Some scrap oak, some threaded inserts and some butt hinges. Used table saw, bandsaw, drill and sanders

Step 1: Cut the New Drop Leaf Supports

Needed 4 supports... two on each side. Wanted a taper for both aesthetics as well as providing a bit of clearance for knees. After cutting my supports to length I cut a jig from a scrap. No clue what the angle is, just eyeballed something that looked about right. Cutting the supports was a snap - they all turned out identically.

Step 2: Adding the Threaded Inserts

Wanted to be able to have a bit of adjustment - drilled a hole for a threaded insert, and a machine screw to provide some adjustability.

Step 3: Finish the Supports

supports after being sanded and a coat of stain - this was the closes I had to the finish on the table, not a great match, but these won't be visible, so close enough.

Step 4: Attach the Hinges

attached the hinges to the supports first... Turned the table upside down on my workbench - and attached to the table. After attaching one side we figured out that the hinges needed to be angled a few degrees so the support will swing down when it contacts the base. When we had the hinges square there was no clearance for the support to slide under the table.

The third picture shows another mistake. My oak was just over 3/4 inch - when the support was against the base of the table the leaf wouldn't fold completely - it was binding on the folded support. Took the supports to a beltsander to take a millimeter or two off - then things swung freely.

Step 5: Final Adjustments

With the supports swinging and the drop leaf dropping - needed to add a block to the underside of the leaf. Wanted it to have a slot that provided positive contact - when the machine bolt in the insert was in the slot - it would take a lot more than a bump or a plate of pasta to cause the support to swing and the leaf to drop.

Step 6: All Done.

with each side of the dropleaf having two supports the table is much more secure. Plenty strong to hold a plate of pasta, bowl of soup - and even a glass of wine. Definitely wouldn't put too much weight, these hinges are not really built to hold at that angle, but seems to be strong enough.