Leg Options

[Cliff Polubinsky]

I'm about to start a bedroom suite for my daughter. She wants walnut and the design is calling for 3" posts. Since I can't find anything that thick around here I'll be gluing up the posts. I see 2 options.

Option 1 - Glue 2 8/4 walnut pieces together and then glue a 1/8" - 1/4" piece on the sides with the seams.
or
Option 2 - Glue up a cheaper wood like poplar for a core and then glue walnut to the outsides.

The second option is cheaper since I won't need as much thick stock but is there any advantage to option 1?

Cliff

[Andrew Hughes]

Option 1 has a advantage of tapering the legs.If they will be straight I guess it doesn't matter.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

Good point. The design calls for straight legs.
S&S_bed.jpg

Cliff

[Cary Falk]

Option 3: Make hollow columns by using 4 pieces for the sides with 45 degree miters. These are 5" but same concept.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

Cary,

I've done that before using lock miters and on some projects it's a nice method. I'm a bit reluctant to do that here since 1. the posts will be taking the load of the bed and 2. I'm using short tenons and bed bolts through the posts to bring everything together. I'll hide the bolts with a fake through tenon held on with a rare earth magnet.

Cliff

[pat warner]

If you can get some 7"+wide 8/4, why not rip it, fold it in, and glue it. Not as sweet as 1/4 sawn or pasted on thick veneer. But stable and will pass if relatively straight grained.
Especially dark wood like walnut, you'll have to study the thing to tell it's been glued up.

[keith wootton]

cliff,

how about hollow mitered columns with added core pieces at tennon and top and bottom. glue joints will hide best at the exact corners.

keith

[Lee Schierer]

Here's a bed I made for my daughter more than 20 years ago with hollow posts made up from four pieces of 1 x 4. The bed frame attached to the posts and the posts support the weight of the bed and contents.
HDBOARD.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Miters or lock miters would be my choice and while a poplar core would likely be fine, "lower grade" walnut would be better as it would have exactly the same movement characteristics as the faces. Using the mitered look will allow you to have all four faces of the posts looking the best, too.

[John T Barker]

Cary,

I've done that before using lock miters and on some projects it's a nice method. I'm a bit reluctant to do that here since 1. the posts will be taking the load of the bed and 2. I'm using short tenons and bed bolts through the posts to bring everything together. I'll hide the bolts with a fake through tenon held on with a rare earth magnet.

Cliff

I don't know what "short tenons" are but I worked for an 18th cent. repro shop that used tenons about 1" long with bed bolts. Mine has lasted 25 years and I'm guessing the 1000's they made have held up to.

[Ole Anderson]

I would use a lock miter bit to make the legs and then use full through tenons with 5 degree wedged pins holding it in place. Just as I just did with my pool table support. When you drive those wedges in place, it sucks the joint together better than most bolts. Incredibly solid. To disassemble, just drive out the wedges. Didn't bother to "core" it solid at the mortises. Even if the glue failed (which it won't), the lock miter stays in place. Much stronger (but more difficult) than a simple 45 degree corner joint.

pool table leg.JPGleg 1.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Another thought is that if you use the lock miters, you can essentially leave most of the leg hollow to keep the weight down and just glue in a core where you need it at the bottom, etc., to support rails and other things that need to connect.

[Jason Mikits]

I can't add much other than (2) 8/4 pieces will make a 4" post and not a 3" post. Unless you want a 4" post?, (2) 6/4 pieces will be cheaper, and should get you to 3" with much less milling. I've got plenty of 12/4 walnut if you were closer.

Oh, and very nice legs, Ole.

[Ole Anderson]

Oh, and very nice legs, Ole.

Thanks, no one ever told me that before...