Replies

1. 
   MBerger | Mar 10, 2006 11:56pm | #1

   There are a few articles on our Web site that address this issue with several options and methods. Click here to see a list of related articles.  

   (note: accessing these articles requires a subscription to http://www.finewoodworkingnetwork.com)

   Matt Berger
   Fine Woodworking

1. 
   alexsee | Mar 11, 2006 12:11am | #2

   Thank you. I like the beveled cleats method.I take it no screwless option exists.

1. 
   Lataxe | Mar 11, 2006 01:28am | #3

   If you use buttons (small blocks of wood attached to the underside of the tabletop with tabs that stick into a groove milled on the inside of the aprons) you can glue the buttons to the tabletop rather than screwing them on.

   The tabs on the buttons slide in the apron grooves, should the tabletop expand or contract across its width. 

   Make the buttons and stick them on the tabletop underside so that the grain aligns with that of the tabletop.  This means that, to ensure the tabs don't snap off the buttons, you need to make the tabs quite thick (say 1/4 inch).  Also, keep the tabs short, but long enough not to shrink out of the grooves.

   If all this is double dutch, just look up "buttons" in the info from FWW or your WW book.  Once you understand the button concept  the above will hopefully make sense.

   I always use buttons to attach tabletops, albeit I screw them on to the table underside.

   Lataxe

2. 
   johnhardy | Mar 11, 2006 03:43am | #4

   I use wooden buttons, but attach them to the table top with screws, so that the top can be removed. Lataxe covers this in some detail so I won't say more.

   I do one other thing, which registers the table top while allowing it to move. What I do is put dowels in the top of the skirts which run the narrow direction of the table. I center one dowel in one end, leaving the dowel about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch higher than the skirt. On the other skirt, I put two dowels, side by side, leaving both the same height as the one on the other end.  But before I insert and glue the dowels into the skirts I use dowel markers to mark mating holes on the top. Carefully measure and cut pieces which you can use as positioning sticks so that the top can be centered exactly and quickly. Put the dowel markers into the dowel holes and position the top in its final position, and push down, marking the mating dowel positions in the top. Drill the top the proper depth for the dowels.

   Insert and glue the dowels in the skirts. Do not glue them in the top. They simply hold the table top in position. The buttons keep it attached to the frame of the table, and the dowels keep it centered, exactly, even with seasonal movement.

   John

3. 
   Glaucon | Mar 11, 2006 06:11am | #5

   <"...advice would be much appreciated.">

   Buttons.

   Glaucon

   If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...

4. 
   Floss | Mar 11, 2006 07:39am | #6

   alexsee

   Here are a couple of pictures of some buttons used on a 19th century English sofa table.

   edit: They are not original but are just glued in place.

   J.P.

   http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com

   Edited 3/10/2006 11:42 pm ET by JP

   
   

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   Edited 3/10/2006 11:42 pm ET by JP

   
1. 
   alexsee | Mar 11, 2006 07:58am | #7

   Thank you. The responses are much appreciated.At the following link they refer to sliding dovetails,http://www.artifexfurniture.ca/gallery/wood_furniture.htmlAt the risk of sound a bit dense, how would that work at the bottom of a table without exposing the groove at the edge of the tabletop? Or, is the groove a variation of beveled cleat?Edit: The above is more about curiousity at this point.

   Edited 3/11/2006 12:02 am ET by alexsee

1. 
   Lataxe | Mar 11, 2006 09:26pm | #8

   Alexsee,

   You're right about dovetail keys/keyways showing on the edge of a tabletop attached in this way.  There's one in the Taunton book about tables.  In arts and crafts furniture, its generally OK to show joints like this.

   The table at the site you listed doesn't really show enough detail but I would guess that the underframe has dovetail keys milled into it and the tabletop has small keyways screwed or glued underneath, away from the table edges.

   By the way, my previous post should have mentioned that buttons are normally made with their grain running at right angles to the tab, to prevent the tab snapping off easily.  If your buttons are small you can make them like this and glue them on at right angles to the table's grain, down the long sides of the top.  If your buttons are large and you glue their whole surface to the table underside, they might pop off the table, should there be a large change in humidity.

   If your table is large, I would screw on the buttons, as then you can knock the table down if you have to move it. Gluing the buttons on means you can never remove the top again (which may be OK with a small table).