I have a maple drafting table I designed/made years ago. I made it to fit a particular situation. Well things change and now I need it to fit through some doors. It has solid maple 4×4 legs and I need to cut the legs above the stretcher and below the body. Everything is glued and doweled.
I would like some ideas of how to accomplish the cuts and the rejoining of the legs to allow the disassembly and reassembly to avoid this situation again.
I would prefer all wood solutions to keep the table as clean as possible.
Here is my thought. Cut the legs with a circular saw (realizing that it will take at least 2 cuts per leg) and adding slightly loose fitting dowels to allow assembly/disassembly. I’m not too sure about this approach.
Ideas?
Thanks
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Replies
A miter saw would be ideal, and only require one cut per leg. Dowels work. There are a variety of special fasteners out there for joining parts of stair rails together, invisibly.
Consider an accent piece on each joint, rather than trying to hide it. A contrasting color wood, or a slightly bigger piece with a bulldoze or something. Make it look like a design feature, rather than an oops.
Mark all your parts before you cut, so you know where they go afterward.
Of course 1 cut would be great. I'll have to think how I could use the miter saw with minimal table manipulation.
I do like the contrasting material idea. Thanks.
Do you think cutting the stretchers would allow you to get it through the doors? It might be easier to work out a stretcher retrofit than 4 knee replacements.
I've thought about this but can't envision how I would reattach the stretchers to allow support to the legs but still allow assembly/disassembly.
How are the legs currently attached to the top?
Glued and doweled.
Check out getting started with Japanese joinery, Issue #278. If the length seems too short try halving the measurements on the story stick. I tried it, but couldn't figure out where to put in the wedge/peg. I glued it up instead. It's very solid and almost invisible.
I'll check it out. Thanks
To reattach the stretchers go with knockdown hardware for bed frames. It mounts flush and holds great. I'll see if I can find a link for you...
“[Deleted]”
https://www.rocklerpro.com/taper-connectors-choose-size
Item # GRP343_1
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