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Thread: Coffee Table leg to apron joinery

  1. #1

    Coffee Table leg to apron joinery

    I've been going back and forth with this in my head for a little while now and figured I'd throw it out there and get some opinions on it:

    I am about to start building a coffee table for a relative, 32" square by around 19" tall, made from walnut and curly maple. The table will have drawers that can be opened from both sides, with a glass top inset into a frame, so that you can see down into the drawers. With that design, the table has only 2 aprons on the sides, rather than the 3 that it would have if the drawers opened only from one side, Basically, I am looking to make sure that I employ plenty of strength through the 2 wide side aprons that I have. The top rails above the drawers on the 'front' and 'back' sides of the table will be a lapped dovetail, and the stretcher below the drawer will be MT.

    If I make the side aprons from 3/4" or 1" thick stock, will the 1/4" thick to 3/8" thick tenon (depending on stock thickness) be plenty strong enough? The legs are going to be 2.5 square where they'll be mortised, so I was intending on the tenon being an inch to 1.25" long going into the leg mortise.

    My other thought was to use 1" thick stock and go ahead and make the tenon and corresponding mortises 1/2", but I thought that this might be overkill.

    Any thoughts are, as always, appreciated.

    Jason

  2. #2
    Jason, I sent you a sketch in a PM. I think the aprons at 3/4 in. thick and their tenons at 1/4 in. thick will be fine. You'll have kickers and runners as well as a spacer on the inside between the legs to keep the drawers running straight and those will add some stiffness to the table. The legs sound a bit like a well-fed farm girl's. Do you want that heavy look?

  3. #3
    Dave, I sent you a PM back...

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