Joinery for Square Legs and Slab Table Support? Pic inside

[Patrick Irish]

I have a 50" long and around 22" piece of black walnut live edge. Making a coffee table. I've decided against just buying metal pencil legs or metal square legs online and want to make a pair. I, however, cannot decide on the joinery to use. Below is picture of the legs I want to make out of wood.

I initially thought about dowels on the vertical pieces. I have a Jessem Paralign (new) to use for dowels.

I think thought about using a reversible glue joint bit but read it's for butt jointing SOOOO I then looked into a lock miter bit or a drawer lock bit.

Nice with with the dowels and drawer lock bit is I can have the top horizontal pieces over hand 1/2" for a niece reveal.

Any thoughts on the best way to make legs like these below out of wood and to support a 50lbs slab?

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...0fc915d995.jpg99bc27c1f950886a3b6d9d0fc915d995.jpg

[Dave Richards]

Those look like metal legs in the picture.

I guess if i were going to make something like that out of wood, I would use box joints. Are you going to paint the legs?

[Robert Engel]

No matter what kind of joints you use, those legs will not work IMO because of racking issues.

If you're sold on the design, I think you need some wider wood.

Aprons and trestles are the time tested basics of table design time, but of course not the only way.
If wanting to avoid them, IMO if you want this table to hold up you need a trestle or some system to prevent the legs from being stressed or racked.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

If I wanted a box like that, I would be thinking dovetails, or perhaps a mitered joint with splines. But I do not think that will work for the base of a 50 pound coffee table. Something is going to break if you build that out of any wood I am familiar with.

[glenn bradley]

How thick will the stock be that the squares are made of? A drawer-lock joint is pretty strong in hardwoods glued with some sort of PVA glue. The form itself lacks resistance to racking so using the coffee table for anything besides a coffee table (foot rest, temporary seating, etc.) could result in a "You Tube" worthy moment.

I would be reasonably comfortable with drawer-locked 3/4" by 3" - 4" wide ash, pecan, white oak or other reputably strong wood. I prefer sliding dovetail joints for slab attachment to leg systems and you could still do that. For basic and simple, slotted holes in the direction of the wood movement and large washerhead (or round head with washers) screws would fasten to the top. I would be inclined to use 3 or even 4 for your 22" span.

table mounts.JPG

[Prashun Patel]

I would modify the legs to be much thicker. Then I would mortise them into the top. Thin legs like that might work with steel.

While the absence of an apron or trestle makes it a suboptimal design, it can work. It won't win any load bearing awards, but there are plenty of coffee table and doing tables out there that are working out ok for now with that design.

[Patrick Irish]

Thanks for input guys!

I was definitely thinking 3/4" x 3" wide wood, maybe oak. I also plan on screwing the legs to the bottom of the table. I also plan adding an upper and lower stretcher out of the same wood, connecting the legs to each other. Would that help in side to side and back and forth movement?

[Nicholas Lawrence]

You need to plan for racking in both directions. A box can be collapsed by putting pressure on a corner (think of how a cardboard cereal box folds flat for recycling once you take open the ends). The stretchers connecting the two sets of legs will help with one direction if properly done, but will not do anything to address the other direction.

[Al Launier]

Thanks for input guys!

I was definitely thinking 3/4" x 3" wide wood, maybe oak. I also plan on screwing the legs to the bottom of the table. I also plan adding an upper and lower stretcher out of the same wood, connecting the legs to each other. Would that help in side to side and back and forth movement?

If you plan on gluing & screwing the legs to the bottom of the table, then I think you would need only one stretcher flush at floor level & centered to each leg.

[Patrick Irish]

Found a pic of nearly the exact kind of legs I want to make. My plan was for square legs, not angled. These are angled and dove tailed. I'd imagine there is a good amount of plan left and right on this table. Having a flush mounted stretchers on the bottom side connecting the legs and one on the floor connecting the legs I think would be enough and sturdy.

I like the idea of a lock miter joint but I have the Incra LS router system so a box joint wouldnt be hard.

paired-sinuous-walnut-tbl0.jpg

[Dave Richards]

I don't think you'g very much strength from a lock miter. The dovetails or box joints would be stronger because there'd be more effective glue surface. If you wanted to round the corners a bit you could do something like this.

[Stan Calow]

somebody told me once that sooner or later, somebody will stand or sit on any table you make.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Isn't that the truth.

[Gene Davis]

Don't overthink this. You have the photo, and you can just work with that. Your legs are best done as a U shaped thing, no top crosspiece. Fingerjoints or dovetails at bottom, your choice. Put button feet under so you can deal with a little bit of floor uncertainty.

For maximum moment strength against bending (i.e. racking) consider thru-socketing the legs to the table top. Thru-tenons with wedges would look like a nice feature, one that you are proud to display.

Here's a quick workup I did in Sketchup. Leg members are 1 x 3 in section.

Thru-tenon legs have been done for centuries for milking stools, so don't pay attention to those who say someone will sit on your table and wreck it unless you build it like the Hoover Dam.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I don't think anybody is saying a tenon, like your design, would be a problem. I am not so sure about making a box out of thin material and then screwing it to the bottom of the table, which is what I understood the plan to be. To each their own.