Replies

1. 
   Lataxe | Sep 07, 2010 04:59pm | #1

   An eight-legged friend

   fpd,

   I went through the books I have illustrating Stickley furniture.  The "Gustav Stickley Photo Archives" has plenty of eight-legged desks akin to that one in your (tiny) illustration but the four-legged desks of that pattern are all much lighter - less drawers, less wide, etc..  So, first question: does it have to have four legs only, given that there are many similar ones with a sturdier eight-legged build?

   However, assuming you like that design......

   If the top of the carcass had a full frame of  rails, stiles and cross-pieces, sandwiched between the desk top and the upper edges of the drawers, you could button the top all around the periphery of, and across, this frame; this would add a lot of rigidity to the structure.  However, the design seems to have drawers running flush to the underside of the top, so there is no continuous frame that you could button the top to all around and into the cross rails.  (I wonder how such tops are attached - anyone know - pocket-hole screws perhaps)?

   Personally, I always put a full frame between tops and drawers in any larger pieces such as tables or desks that have drawers in them, because a full frame does offer a more rigid structure for attaching a top and is easy to button-on wherever you like and with as many buttons as you like.  The "drawers flush to the top" designs seem more suited to lightweight items.

   Mind, there is a compromise for the top thickness/rigidity. Thicker means heavier as well as stiffer, so also more saggable in the middle if the top is not itself supported evently (i.e. not just at the ends).  Therefore I would still favour those eight legs, personally, in such a desk.  After all, they will not get in the way of the sitter.

   ****

   If there is a solid backpanel of ply then this would also provide rigidity to the whole structure.  But perhaps you want to have a frame&panel back, which will also add some rigidity (from the frame) but will not be as supportive as a solid piece of ply.... unless.....  You could use ply panels in the back frame and glue them in, rather than have solid wood panels, which would need to float.  The ply-panel option will give the F&P "look" but be more rigid and therefore more supportive of the whole structure.

   Lataxe

2. 
   WillGeorge | Sep 08, 2010 06:23pm | #2

   Not traditional.. But...

   Used in my project only and not traditional so I am open for criticism......

   I cannot tell if your desk has top rails nor do we know it's overall size.

   I made a desk similar to the design you posted. Mine had no center drawer (by request) and the top drawer faces were flush to the bottom of the desk top. The desk was 72 inches wide with drawer set on each side. The top was 3/4" veneered plywood with solid wood edging.

   I embedded ( 2 or 3 ? I forget how many) 1/2" X 1/2 " angle iron into the under side of the top. I used a router to cut a slot and groove to 'fit' the angle iron flush with the wood surface. You could also fit deeper so that you could hide the iron with a wood strip. I epoxied the iron into my routed recess.

   Note: The top/iron was held flat while the epoxy cured. I have also made long book shelves using the same method. The book shelves hold very heavy books and all remain flat after several years.

   I have to admit that I have no idea what the wood will do to the iron over time. I would assume that the epoxy will protect it. The desk is several years old and no sag whatever. The desk top is always piled with books and whatever....

3. 
   DonStephan | Sep 08, 2010 09:10pm | #3

   I'm in the process of building a similar design of desk, I think the top is about 6' x 3'.  Spent several weeks pondering your exact question, finally decided the table had to have 8 legs for me to be confident it would last a couple generations.  Just my two cents.