Folding Desk question

[msweig]

Has anyone made a folding desk like the one in Christopher Schwarz's Campaign Furniture book?  I'm intrigued by this, and I'm tempted to build one for my daughter.  She is at that stage where sometimes she wants to sit at a desk and do art, homework, etc., but at other times wants to play and a desk would be in the way.  A desk she could break down (with help) might be quite helpful.  But, what I'm concerned about is how sturdy the desk is.  And I don't really have a way to test it without building it.

For anyone who isn't familiar with the design, here is a few pictures and a description:

   

   

Basically, the front and back aprons are mortised into the legs, but the side aprons are held in place with a semi-complicated collection of butt hinges.  Then those side aprons are held straight/kept from folding by battens on the tabletop.

If I made this I would skip the folding top and just make it one solid piece.  Yes, it isn't as compact, but I think in many ways it would be easier to deal with, and you don't have the seams in the top.

My guess is that from a stability point of view it is probably pretty good.  As long as the screws hold.  Lateral loads the M&T's would deal with just fine.  It is the front/aft loads that I'm worried about. 

Anyone built one of these and can tell me if I'm correct?  And if I do go down this route are there certain woods that are better at holding screws well?  I'm not sure what wood I'm going to use for the legs/aprons.  I think my daughter wants the desktop made out of purpleheart (yes, I have explained that even with a UV resistant finish that it will eventually change to brown.  But I don't know how much the 7 year old really cares about that.  Because PURPLE!)  I'm definitely leaning towards a contrasting wood for the base (or possibly even painted base, but the wood choice for everything is still fluid).

One potential advantage of this design is that the side aprons attach to the front aprons, not the legs.  So down the road, if it starts to get wobbly, I could always redo the side aprons and make them permanent into the legs (and no longer have the desk fold).  But obviously that would be best if it was several years before we had to go that route, as opposed to a few months.

[Willyou]

Just reading between the lines, my sense is that you are more concerned with durability and rigidity than you are the ability of the table to collapse. If so, why not just build it with traditional non-collapsing methods?.
If you need it to occasionally "knock-down" for some reason, maybe you could use bed bolts at the corners rather than hinges. That seems like it would be more rigid and durable. The design you picture was intended for a table that would be packed up and moved on a regular basis. Rigidity and durability was a secondary consideration.

Followup: OK I didn't read your first paragraph above the pictures very carefully; concentrated on those below. My only advice would be to use a durable hardwood like oak and beefy hinges that work smoothly with no slop. You could also add some removable bracing, but that would require additional pieces to keep track of which you might not want.