Kevin's right. And Ed's right. The cushion's thickness and stiffness make up for almost any reasonable gaps. Of course, if all you have is
a really small cocktail table sized left, then probably not. But most successful table modifications I've seen have left a substantial portion of the surface intact.
I noted this when I did my table mod by slicing 6 1/2 inches off the aft end. And I did that finally after 18 years of using that cushion all of twice!
