A floated sidebar, contains a table. No problems there, as the sidebar container has a (pixel-) defined width. A main contents area, with a red border (static <div>, width defined only by margins and padding).
The tables have very little content, and should not drop under the sidebar.
a table, no width is declared; without a wrapper; {table-layout:fixed} declared (IE win makes the table 100% wide ?).
| cell1 | cell2 | cell3 | cell4 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
a table, no width is declared - but a width (25%) is declared on the <col> element; without a wrapper; {table-layout:fixed} declared (IE win makes the table 100% wide ?).
| cell1 | cell2 | cell3 | cell4 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |