Cool End Joints for Border on Outfeed Table

[Nate Secrist]

Hi

I am going to build a nice outfeed table with some T-Tracks on top, drawers underneath, wheels, etc

I would like to have a nice border around it - something similar to the picture below....one of the viewer projects from thewoodwhisperer.com
I will use some purpleheart, padauk, walnut or another dark accent wood to give a nice contrast to the birch/maple cabinets...

My question is - how to join the borders in the corners with an "interesting" joint. The outfeed table will be about 48 x 66, so the challenging part is the border pieces will be 3/4 x 4 x 67 on the long edge and 3/4 x 4 x 48 on the shorter ends.

I can think of these options...
Butt Joints- I can use just plain old "butt" joints, but wanted to find something nicer....

Kreg Pocket Holes - I could use pocket holes on the front side and use a light accent wood to plug the pocket holes.
45-degree Miter Joints - not a big fan of miter joints on the corners

Dovetails or Box Joints - I have an Incra jig to cut dovetails or box joints and can cut these in smaller pieces.....Because the boards need to be run through the jig in the vertical position....it will be difficult....I would prefer a cool box joint, or an Incra-double-double-dovetail would also look cool! Any ideas on this?

Any other options that you could recommend?
Although this is just an outfeed table - it will be around for a long time, so I would like to make it look nice.

Thanks for the help

Nate



Matts-Assembly-Table-5.jpg

[Van Huskey]

My first thought was double dovetails but dovetail splines would also be interesting.



Edit spline not splice.... me moron!

[Chris Padilla]

Hand cut a single dovetail. It is always good practice to find excuses to use different joinery methods. Have fun and learn!

[Nate Secrist]

Hey Van - Thanks for the reply. I don't know what a "dovetail splice" is. Can you explain it or send me a link with a picture of it?
How does it compare to a normal dovetail joint with pins & tails?

[Van Huskey]

DTSpline.jpgimg_2830.jpgimg_2829.jpgimg_2827.jpgbb6fb5f75f6225543fb37442f95e0c16.jpg9e421615db2fa9cea89755f9eb9bed7f.jpg

Pics 2/3/4 are made with the new Infinity tapered dovetail spline jig (which I actually bought but haven't played with yet).

[John Lankers]

I could visualize either box joints or mitered corners reinforced with a dovetail key.

[Nate Secrist]

Those look really cool!

[Brian W Evans]

I like the previous suggestion of a single dovetail - a nice big one. I once saw some pictures of Sam Maloof's house and he had a window trimmed with butt joints, connected with a single big dovetail. It looked great and I've been keeping it in the back of my mind ever since. I couldn't find a picture of it, but here is something somewhat similar: