Wall thickness for table legs?

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Building a table base for a maple top that weighs 180 pounds measures 8'x3'.  four Legs will be approx 29" tall welded to a rectangle for the top to sit on.  Thinking of using 3x3 square tube do you think 1/8" wall is strong enough or do I need 3/16"?  Its going into a firehall (rough use) and cost is an issue
Reply:1/8 will be more than enough...even 3/32 would work just fine180 lbs aint nothing ...zap!
Reply:That was my thought but you know if you put a firefighter in a closed room with three solid steel balls he'd break two and loose the third!  1/8th it is thanks for the input.
Reply:The mass of the table is nothing for that size tubing but as we all know that is not the problem.    Abuse of the table is.So I'd make a point of bracing the table legs to handle lateral loads.   Gussets or diagonal bracing would go a long way here.   Nothing extravagant as you don't want the thing weighing a ton afterward.   Of course depending on the tables usage you may need clearance underneath that would dictate what could be done for reinforcement.Actually; you may seriously want to consider 2" square tubing as it might be cheaper even if you go to a slightly thicker wall.   Again this is a question of usage but I've seen many a machine tool base made out of 2" tubing.   All said I think this would be a cheaper solution, but your steel supplier should clear that up real quick.Another thing you need to be concerned about is movement of the wood top.    Do not expect to be able to bolt the top to the frame and not have any stress from expansion and contraction due to humidity.  It is not like welding a piece of steel to the legs.    This comes to mind because you talk of a frame that the table is to be fastened to.   The table top will crack if it is bolted down tight to a frame with no give.   The expansion and contraction takes place at right angles to the direction of the grain, more or less.   Kinda hard to explain without pictures.ThanksDaveLast edited by wizard; 04-15-2006 at 10:48 PM.
Reply:I made my bandsaw stand out of 1/8" x 1" square tubing.  The saw weighs 130 lbs. and I have no problem with it.  So the 1/8 that you asked about should be fine.Neil