Laminating for Legs

[Kris Bjarnason]

I am going to build a bathroom vanity with 2.5 inch square legs, solid cherry. I have a lot of 4/4 on hand but nothing thicker. Is it OK to laminate four pieces together to get my legs?

[Jamie Buxton]

If you just laminate them face-to-face, you'll see the seam between the planks. Some people don't seem to mind that, but it drives me crazy. There's several ways to avoid seeing the seams. One is to make the leg from four boards -- one for each face of the leg. You bevel the edges of all the boards. The seam between boards is exactly on the corners of the leg, and is not visible; your eye expects the wood grain and color to change at the corner. The other approach is to get thicker stock. You can avoid buying a whole 8/4 or 10/4 plank by buying leg blanks from Matthew Burak: http://www.tablelegs.com/Squares-Bla...ngSquares.aspx He'll sell you a 2 1/8 by 2 1/8 by 29 cherry blank for $15.

[johnny means]

I am going to build a bathroom vanity with 2.5 inch square legs, solid cherry. I have a lot of 4/4 on hand but nothing thicker. Is it OK to laminate four pieces together to get my legs?

Yes, it is okay. Pretty much standard practice in a lot of shops. When done well, the seams can be almost invisible. Also, makes for a more stable leg.

[Peter Quinn]

Is it OK to laminate four pieces together to get my legs?

I think so. We do it all the time. Make sure your boards are flat, use cauls, try to grain match, tite bond III seems to creep less if using yellow glue, apply good clamping pressure and use cauls, let them rest a few days before final milling to equalize any moisture from the glue and let the glue fully cross link. It works.

Of course if your boards aren't flat, you don't apply enough clamping pressure, you use the wrong glue, and you pull clamps early, often a complete failure will occur within a few months. I've seen that too. So don't do those things and you'll be fine!

[Adam Cavaliere]

Kris,

I just made a small entertainment center and did just that. I used red oak and definitely cannot see where the glue up was done.