I’m building a tall and wide mahogany table which will also be used as a counter in an office by visitors filling out forms. The legs to the table will be single flat panels for each of the two legs. The leg panels will be either 6/4 or 8/4 thick panels with a front edge curved in an arc and a straight edge for the back. I’d like to attach the top to the legs with wood buttons as I usually do when attaching a top to front and back table aprons. With aprons, the groove for the buttons would be cut along the grain. Since this top will attach to the leg panels which will have the grain running vertically up the legs, the dado or mortise for the buttons would have to be cut crossgrain near the upper end of the panel. Do I have to worry about weak endgrain breaking out from racking tension caused by people leaning on the table? There will be a 5 inch wide apron under the top in both front and back.TRhe apron will be mortised into the leg panels. Will I also need a stretcher between the legs (say at about 12 – 15 inches height off the floor) to protect against racking?
Thanks for your help.
Edited 4/13/2006 5:22 pm ET by LarryMartin
Replies
As I see it, the joint of the leg panels to the top panel will not need to make allowance for wood movement, since the grain runs the same way--up, then over, and then back down. This would allow you to consider a broader range of joinery.
If the leg/top joints were sufficiently strong and stable you might not actually need the stretchers, but given the tendency of vistors to do the unexpected, I would add a stretcher. If this is free standing and if visitors might pull up a chair, or if employees might sit behind it--say for a registration desk, you might want the stretcher to be in the form of some kind of "modestly" panel.
Agreed, but I thought that a detachable top might be an advantage since the heavy top could be removed from the heavy legs so an old man like me would have an easier time in moving it to the site. Mortise and tenon joinery of the top to the side would certainly add to rigidity but I was planning on the wide aprons taking care of that. If I use the buttons to attach the top, do you see any problem with blow out of the mortise in the end of the side?
I attach all my tops to the leg/apron assembly with figure eight's. They're cheap, easy to use, allow for expansion, and make it easy to disassemble for moving.
As I move ever deeper into my dotage, I'm realizing that it just makes more sense to outsmart furniture rather than trying to overpower it - lol.
I like your advice on outsmarting rather than overpowering so that life gets easier in our dotage!
Why do we always learn this stuff the hard way??
My Dad used to laugh at me when I would just lower my head and power my way through something. He kept telling me that someday (maybe) I would learn to work smart instead of just overpowering things. Turns out he was right about that, too. Ahhh, too soon old, too late smart - lol.
Completely off the thread subject...............
A recent survey found that if you took all the government employees in the U.S. and laid them end to end, they would stretch...............yawn, scratch themselves, and go back to their nap.
Given the information that there will be a deep apron that will hide the attachment of the top you could make the dadoes for the buttons in the legs lower and make those buttons "taller". This would reduce the chance of them chipping out. Since it's a tall table, all the little kids and anyone tieing their shoes will see the assembly, so give them an interesting profile.
The attachment solution that I think would work and look better would be to use buttons or pocket screws along the apron. On the ends use either short blocks about 1x1x3 with 3 screws in each (1 up, 2 sideways or the opposite if preferred). Or a long 1x1 an inch or so shorter than the width of the inside distance between the aprons. With multiple screws and washers in elongated holes / slots, except for 1 up and 1 sideways screw in normal holes to keep the top centered on the base.
Good idea -- I like the idea of dropping the buttons lower so that the mortise will be out of danger of blowout.And then I can't even imagine why I simply didn't think of the alternative of putting the buttons in the apron like I always do -- age is creeping up I think!
Your welcome.Happy Easter.
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