Ns

"Nonny"

20/12/2009 12:07 PM

Dowels

One of the little things I enjoyed when making some pieces of
furniture was to not employ any metal fasteners. While I used
better joinery to make the kitchen furniture I recently posted, a
quick and simple method involving dowels might was used in
fastening the top of some oak furniture I made. I'll post some
photos later on.

Essentially the oak end tables, for instance, consisted of 4 final
pieces: the top, two legs and a stretcher running between the
legs just above carpet height. The table tops were 1-1/2" thick,
as were the legs, so there was plenty of "meat," to work with.

To assemble the tables, I prepared the 4 pieces, each of which
consisted of several glue-ups. The table was then assembled and
glued with no joinery to supplement the glue. Once the glue had
cured and the clamps removed, I then drilled (2) 1" holes through
the top on each end, down into the legs and inserted 1" dowels I'd
turned from walnut. The dowels were scored to permit trapped glue
to escape and on the inside of the legs, I'd drilled a hole for
this purpose as well. I repeated this on the spreader, using 3/4"
dowel.

The resulting table was strong as could be and you could
figuratively park a truck on it. The exposed ends of the dowels
were cut relatively flush, then sanded smooth before finishing the
table, resulting in what I considered a decorative little touch
that was also structural in nature.

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.


This topic has 3 replies

BB

"Bill"

in reply to "Nonny" on 20/12/2009 12:07 PM

20/12/2009 3:53 PM


"Nonny" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> One of the little things I enjoyed when making some pieces of furniture
> was to not employ any metal fasteners. While I used better joinery to
> make the kitchen furniture I recently posted, a quick and simple method
> involving dowels might was used in fastening the top of some oak furniture
> I made. I'll post some photos later on.
>
> Essentially the oak end tables, for instance, consisted of 4 final pieces:
> the top, two legs and a stretcher running between the legs just above
> carpet height. The table tops were 1-1/2" thick, as were the legs, so
> there was plenty of "meat," to work with.
>
> To assemble the tables, I prepared the 4 pieces, each of which consisted
> of several glue-ups. The table was then assembled and glued with no
> joinery to supplement the glue. Once the glue had cured and the clamps
> removed, I then drilled (2) 1" holes through the top on each end, down
> into the legs and inserted 1" dowels I'd turned from walnut. The dowels
> were scored to permit trapped glue to escape and on the inside of the
> legs, I'd drilled a hole for this purpose as well. I repeated this on the
> spreader, using 3/4" dowel.
>
> The resulting table was strong as could be and you could figuratively park
> a truck on it. The exposed ends of the dowels were cut relatively flush,
> then sanded smooth before finishing the table, resulting in what I
> considered a decorative little touch that was also structural in nature.
>
> --
> Nonny
>
> ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
> and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
> concerning what they are talking about.
> The person is typically a media commentator or politician.
>


Your fabrication technique is 10 times simpler than the one in this
article which I just happened to read:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/pages/w00078.asp

He says his end table will last 100 years. I'm not sure how long wood
glue holds--may be a mute point.

It sounds like you made some nice tables! I will look forward to seeing
the pictures you mentioned.

Bill

TT

Tanus

in reply to "Nonny" on 20/12/2009 12:07 PM

20/12/2009 5:15 PM

Bill wrote:
> "N
>
>
> Your fabrication technique is 10 times simpler than the one in this
> article which I just happened to read:
>
> http://www.finewoodworking.com/pages/w00078.asp
>
> He says his end table will last 100 years. I'm not sure how long wood
> glue holds--may be a mute point.
>
> It sounds like you made some nice tables! I will look forward to seeing
> the pictures you mentioned.
>
> Bill
>
>

You can find them here: http://www.delorie.com/wood/abpw/week.html

Tanus

BB

"Bill"

in reply to "Nonny" on 20/12/2009 12:07 PM

20/12/2009 6:20 PM


"Tanus" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Bill wrote:
>> "N
>>
>>
>> Your fabrication technique is 10 times simpler than the one in this
>> article which I just happened to read:
>>
>> http://www.finewoodworking.com/pages/w00078.asp
>>
>> He says his end table will last 100 years. I'm not sure how long wood
>> glue holds--may be a mute point.
>>
>> It sounds like you made some nice tables! I will look forward to seeing
>> the pictures you mentioned.
>>
>> Bill
>>
>>
>
> You can find them here: http://www.delorie.com/wood/abpw/week.html
>
> Tanus


Thank you. I don't recall if I ever saw an end table made from only 4
pieces.
For me, it would have been "hard to stop". The end table seems to
complement
the other elements of the room (couch, doorway trim, rug) perfectly! I
think the top
is so pretty that I could not have added 4 walnut inlays to it, but it came
out
beautifully.

Bill


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