I have a lovely slab of a brazilian wood called sopadilla. I’d like to turn it into a coffee table top. The slab, however, is just slightly more than 3/4 inches thick.
I’d like to attach round, tapered legs that angle out from the table. I’ve seen this look on mid-century modern furniture as well as Nakishima inspired pieces. I don’t want an apron, just the slab and legs. Here are my questions:
1. I don’t have a lathe. Can I make the legs without one? Can such legs be purchased from a vendor?
2. How should I attach the legs? Is it just a matter of drilling a whole at the correct angle?
3. I suspect I’ll have to increase the thickness of the slab with a batten where I insert the legs. Do you agree?
Many, many thanks. Paul
Paul
Replies
hi paul,
not sure how one would make identical, round,tapered legs short of on the lathe. i guess one could hand shape more or less accurately. yes, a hole could be drilled, at an angle, into the slab. the hole, or round mortise, may be bored all the way through or part-way. if the mating tenon is split, a wedge can be driven into this split and should then bottom out in the mortise spreading and tightening the tenon.
make sense?
eef
another alternative
Although eef's suggestion is more elegant, woodworking-wise, you can buy commercially made tapered legs that attach via a 1/4-20 stud imbedded in the end. The stud screws into a metal plate that establishes the angle, and is screwed to the bottom surface of the top.
You might also be able to find commercially made legs with the round tenon that Eef mentioned. The tenon will be smaller than the upper portion of the tapered leg, so as to provide a shoulder for the top. If you angle the legs, however, that shoulder would need to be modified for the angle. There have been a couple of segments on "The Woodwright Shop" that demonstrated drilling round mortises with an auger and brace. A sliding bevel guage can be used as a guide for the angle drilling.
enjoying spring in the land of enchantment?
Yes, thanks. Hope your missus had a nice time here, notwithstanding the air movement. 'Round here, we call it a "breeze" until it gets above 60mph. That's why most of our fences are made of concrete blocks. ;-)
Homemade Mounting Plate
Paul,
Legs like you are describing can be purchased commercially. You can also make them from square stock tapered octagonally with a jig on a table saw and then finish rounding them with a small plane.
As an alternative to the steel plate mating with a leg with a threaded center bolt, you can attach the top of the leg, cut at the appropriate angle, to a 1/2" thick good quality plywood plate that is a few inches larger in diameter than the top of the leg, using something like deck screws and a good epoxy adhesive. The plate can then be secured to the underside of the table with short screws. Two of the screws along one grain line in the slab can be tight, the remaining screws should be slotted to allow for a bit of wood movement.
Thank you very much, John.
From a repair
I tried to post this last wednesday but the server couldn't handle the second picture. This is a photo of a "Danish Modern" coffee table handed down from my Norwegian father in law. but probably made in the USA. The legs are attached with 7/8" dowel or tenons that are glued into the blocks held to the top with three screws. The splay of the legs placed a lot of strain on the joint, which split
The photo also shows how a rim was attached to handle the mounding blocks.
Peter
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