One of the little things I enjoyed when making some pieces of
furniture was to not employ any metal fasteners. While I used
better joinery to make the kitchen furniture I recently posted, a
quick and simple method involving dowels might was used in
fastening the top of some oak furniture I made. I'll post some
photos later on.

Essentially the oak end tables, for instance, consisted of 4 final
pieces: the top, two legs and a stretcher running between the
legs just above carpet height. The table tops were 1-1/2" thick,
as were the legs, so there was plenty of "meat," to work with.

To assemble the tables, I prepared the 4 pieces, each of which
consisted of several glue-ups. The table was then assembled and
glued with no joinery to supplement the glue. Once the glue had
cured and the clamps removed, I then drilled (2) 1" holes through
the top on each end, down into the legs and inserted 1" dowels I'd
turned from walnut. The dowels were scored to permit trapped glue
to escape and on the inside of the legs, I'd drilled a hole for
this purpose as well. I repeated this on the spreader, using 3/4"
dowel.

The resulting table was strong as could be and you could
figuratively park a truck on it. The exposed ends of the dowels
were cut relatively flush, then sanded smooth before finishing the
table, resulting in what I considered a decorative little touch
that was also structural in nature.

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.

"Nonny" wrote in message
...
One of the little things I enjoyed when making some pieces of furniture
was to not employ any metal fasteners. While I used better joinery to
make the kitchen furniture I recently posted, a quick and simple method
involving dowels might was used in fastening the top of some oak furniture
I made. I'll post some photos later on.

Essentially the oak end tables, for instance, consisted of 4 final pieces:
the top, two legs and a stretcher running between the legs just above
carpet height. The table tops were 1-1/2" thick, as were the legs, so
there was plenty of "meat," to work with.

To assemble the tables, I prepared the 4 pieces, each of which consisted
of several glue-ups. The table was then assembled and glued with no
joinery to supplement the glue. Once the glue had cured and the clamps
removed, I then drilled (2) 1" holes through the top on each end, down
into the legs and inserted 1" dowels I'd turned from walnut. The dowels
were scored to permit trapped glue to escape and on the inside of the
legs, I'd drilled a hole for this purpose as well. I repeated this on the
spreader, using 3/4" dowel.

The resulting table was strong as could be and you could figuratively park
a truck on it. The exposed ends of the dowels were cut relatively flush,
then sanded smooth before finishing the table, resulting in what I
considered a decorative little touch that was also structural in nature.

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.



Your fabrication technique is 10 times simpler than the one in this
article which I just happened to read:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/pages/w00078.asp

He says his end table will last 100 years. I'm not sure how long wood
glue holds--may be a mute point.

It sounds like you made some nice tables! I will look forward to seeing
the pictures you mentioned.

Bill

Bill wrote:
"N


Your fabrication technique is 10 times simpler than the one in this
article which I just happened to read:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/pages/w00078.asp

He says his end table will last 100 years. I'm not sure how long wood
glue holds--may be a mute point.

It sounds like you made some nice tables! I will look forward to seeing
the pictures you mentioned.

Bill



You can find them he http://www.delorie.com/wood/abpw/week.html

Tanus

"Tanus" wrote in message ...
Bill wrote:
"N


Your fabrication technique is 10 times simpler than the one in this
article which I just happened to read:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/pages/w00078.asp

He says his end table will last 100 years. I'm not sure how long wood
glue holds--may be a mute point.

It sounds like you made some nice tables! I will look forward to seeing
the pictures you mentioned.

Bill



You can find them he http://www.delorie.com/wood/abpw/week.html

Tanus


Thank you. I don't recall if I ever saw an end table made from only 4
pieces.
For me, it would have been "hard to stop". The end table seems to
complement
the other elements of the room (couch, doorway trim, rug) perfectly! I
think the top
is so pretty that I could not have added 4 walnut inlays to it, but it came
out
beautifully.

Bill