corner posts - solid stock or right-angle corner?

[Tyler Davis]

I am going to be building something like this hutch/bookcase combo

My question is regarding the four posts at the corners, both in the hutch, and the bookcase. They will be 1 3/4 square. I was planning on using solid 8/4 material and planing to size. Then someone suggested I build the corner out of two pieces of 4/4 stock, making a simple right-angle 2-sided box. I would use a spline for alignment and strength.

Which option do you think is better for strength? What about aesthetically?

[Jim Becker]

Personally, I don't favor the "two piece" method. I generally try to make legs like this out of rift-sawn 8/4 stock so that all faces present the same grain. This is something I'm somewhat anal about. You can't get anything close to that look by butting two pieces of wood together as someone suggested to you unless you at least did a mitered corner. You are also left with a fairly large reveal if you are tucking your side panels behind the joint.

I use a modified "frame and panel" construction method that makes the milling a little easier in that I use a veneered plywood panel between the legs that is attached with glue and pocket screws.

[Jamie Buxton]

Like Jim, I try to make the visible faces of the posts look fairly similar. In posts which are 3" or 4" square, I build them up with mitered corners. That is more work than solid wood, but less expensive on materials. At 1 3/4" square, solid rift-sawn may be your choice. On the typical flat-sawn plank, you can usually get rift posts at the two edges. The middle of the plank often can provide rear posts, where only one face is visible.

[Tyler Davis]

if I used the 2-piece, method, I would cut a rabbet in the longer piece and tuck the shorter piece into it. The grain wouldn't be continuous around the corner, but I'm using a fairly dark finish (mission white oak)

What about the long-term stability of solid posts. The posts in the bookcase are over 4 feet long - would you be concerned about warping/movement over time?

[Drew Lavis]

I think that if you've got the 8/4 stock, it doesn't make sense to use 4/4 to make something that looks like 8/4 (or whatever the size of the post is).

I'm sadly ignorant of the considerations for stability and warpage, so I'll leave that question to others.

Another consideration is if you're using quartersawn oak and you want that type of grain pattern on all sides of you post. If you use a solid piece, you only get a quartersawn look on two sides.

I've done this on some mission tables using a lock-miter router bit. You get a nice mitered corner and a strong joint, and you don't have to mess around with splines. The technique came from a book on mission furniture - the specifics escape me at the moment but I can find it and post pictures if you want.

[Jim Becker]

What about the long-term stability of solid posts. The posts in the bookcase are over 4 feet long - would you be concerned about warping/movement over time?

No worries from me on that...if the lumber is stable now, it will be just fine over time. Additionally, the structure of the carcass contributes to keeping things right over time, too. I'd only worry if the material you are using isn't dried correctly.