gmanmp Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hello Everyone, I am new here so be kind. I am making a dining table (modeled after the Pottery Barn Benchwright table) and it wil be approx 100" long x 33" wide. The top will be 8/4 (2") walnut. I am interested in opinions on making the edge joints stronger. I have researched plate jointers for biscuits as well as dowels but i am leaning toward a 1/2" slot bit and adding 1/2" plywood inserts. The inserts will not be seen as I will have a edge strip of walnut going the width of the table. The edges of the glue up should be square as I will be using a Jet jointer for the edging; however, i dont think glue (Titebond III) will be enough. Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Glue alone is plenty. On very large glue ups I use a glue joint shaper cutter from Laguna but its not necessary. Probably just some dominos to align things easier and glue would be all I would use if not using a glue joint. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 The standard wisdom is that a well made glue joint is stronger than the wood itself. That is, if you try to forcibly break apart the joint, the wood will fail before the glue joint does. Try it on some scraps and you'll see. So on your table top, you don't need anything beyond a simple butt joint for strength. However that's not to say that there's no reason to use biscuits or dowels or your plywood splines. Any of those can make it a lot easier to align the boards precisely during the glue-up, and the better alignment will certainly leave you with less work to do when it comes time to flatten the completed assembly. -- Russ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMadson Custom Wood Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Glue is plenty, especially on 8/4 stock. I would stear away from the plywood spline though, just use walnut. The ply could swell a little when the glue is applied. It probably won't do anything to 2" of walnut, but why risk it. I have a 72" x 40" oak farm table, about 6/4 after finishing. You can see the spline in the end grain and I think it looks pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceWW Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Yes ditto to the above, glue is all you need. If you want help with aligning such a long joint so that you get better results keeping it flush then biscuits, splines, dominos, etc will help. They are merely for alignment and won't do much to enhance the strength. I am curious however, how are you attaching the strip of Walnut on the end that you say would cover a spline? Be careful you don't freeze the table top with that end as the wood needs to have room to expand and contract with the seasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmanmp Posted January 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thank you for the replies. RenaissanceWW: (how are you attaching the strip of Walnut on the end that you say would cover a spline?) I was planning to do a tongue and groove on the edge strip with a dado blade. If you have a suggestion i would be interested in alternatives (perhaps butt joint and glue based on the above responses) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thank you for the replies. RenaissanceWW: (how are you attaching the strip of Walnut on the end that you say would cover a spline?) I was planning to do a tongue and groove on the edge strip with a dado blade. If you have a suggestion i would be interested in alternatives (perhaps butt joint and glue based on the above responses) He's just making sure you realize you cant just glue the end on solid all the way across, you have to breadboard the end to alow for expansion. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmanmp Posted January 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks Don, that was very helpful. Again i am learning and was planning on the mortise and tenons; however, I would have glued up the whole breadboard. Did some research last night on making these and learned the proper way to attach them to allow for expansion. Thanks again for the insight folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.