All:
I’m making a pie crust tea table similar to Ray Pines in the Nov/Dec 1987 issue. I’ve hit a bit of a dead end with the hardware used to reinforce the sliding dovetails on the legs. He call it a “metal spider” but I can’t find anything like it. Does anyone have a good resource for this type of hardware?
Thanks.
Replies
Horton Brasses makes high quality hinges, etc. I’d give them a call. Is this something you could make yourself by cutting out of brass or mild steel with a hack saw?
There is a website called “send cut send”. If you can make a file for it, they can cut it.
https://www.horton-brasses.com/shop/horton-brasses/table-hardware/5-3-legged-table-spider/?srsltid=AfmBOopJXM4ilTS0EXGFgKkN8ta2T0VyApH-E6aLwjMQsXme3NVjyzzajfA&gQT=1
This will work great… but $50…. Whew!
Yea, I get it, seems like everything I want to do with woodworking is expensive. I’d probably just buy it myself. The other day, my next door neighbor and I were talking about various metal fasteners (we take local woodworking classes together) unrelated to this post. He did something clever to build a ramp and I asked him where he got the hardware. He mentioned Lowe’s back near (but not next two) where the 2x4’s, 2x6’s etc reside a variety of metal fasteners. The kind you might try to pound in for a roof truss. Last weekend I then went to Lowe’s myself to take a look around. Took a photo just to have an idea of some of the handy things there. It’s possible you might be able to modify something from Lowe’s or Home Depot or Ace. I didn’t take photos of everything.
I’ve made a couple of these spiders for Shaker Candle Stands using sheet metal, tin snips, a few metal working files and a can of flat black spray paint. I made a template out of cardboard first to ensure I had the correct configuration. It all worked out very nicely.
Brass sheet stock is easy to find and you can cut it with carbide saw blades. Lay it out and drill the screwholes, then run a plywood scrap partways through your tablesaw to establish the cutline. Add a stop if you want. Screw down the brass and cut.... rinse, repeat. Some file work wil clean it up.
This is one part of why Sawstop included the bypass key. We all need metal from time to time.