Hey all:
I am building a very large and heavy live edge table out of solid mahogany. The the table top is 48 x 22 x 3.5" and weighs about 90 pounds. I have a questions concerning the best way to connect a leg to the table top. I will call it the front leg and it is the one that looks like a stump (thats what it was actually). The rear leg is a 45 degree cut straight to the floor which I will will join with mortise and tenon 45 degree biscuits. I will be putting a stretcher in between the two legs that will be mortise and tenoned into each leg. This should prevent racking.
But the front leg is the issue.
I initially thought I would use buttons (see Nick Offerman article on fine woodworking) but my buttons snap so now I am considering inserting 3/4 inch dowels (3 or maybe four) to the front and back of the leg (as well as the buttons for extra support). I was thinking of sinking each dowel 1 1/2 inches into the base and same into the leg.
Finally, I was planning on using Gorilla Glue on the dowels. This is not my first choice since I normally would use a pva titebond, but was thinking the Gorilla Glue would add even more strength. My concern is the expansion that comes with Gorilla glue but I think that if I use a minimum amount of gorilla glue on the dowels and titebond on all other surfaces I should be ok.
Does anyone have any better suggestions than what I am considering because for some reason it feels like I am going way over the top here, but the table is so heavy and so large that I feel like I need to be extra extra careful that the legs are dead solid.
Please shoot me your critique and thoughts to help me to get this monster off my bench.
I am building a very large and heavy live edge table out of solid mahogany. The the table top is 48 x 22 x 3.5" and weighs about 90 pounds. I have a questions concerning the best way to connect a leg to the table top. I will call it the front leg and it is the one that looks like a stump (thats what it was actually). The rear leg is a 45 degree cut straight to the floor which I will will join with mortise and tenon 45 degree biscuits. I will be putting a stretcher in between the two legs that will be mortise and tenoned into each leg. This should prevent racking.
But the front leg is the issue.
I initially thought I would use buttons (see Nick Offerman article on fine woodworking) but my buttons snap so now I am considering inserting 3/4 inch dowels (3 or maybe four) to the front and back of the leg (as well as the buttons for extra support). I was thinking of sinking each dowel 1 1/2 inches into the base and same into the leg.
Finally, I was planning on using Gorilla Glue on the dowels. This is not my first choice since I normally would use a pva titebond, but was thinking the Gorilla Glue would add even more strength. My concern is the expansion that comes with Gorilla glue but I think that if I use a minimum amount of gorilla glue on the dowels and titebond on all other surfaces I should be ok.
Does anyone have any better suggestions than what I am considering because for some reason it feels like I am going way over the top here, but the table is so heavy and so large that I feel like I need to be extra extra careful that the legs are dead solid.
Please shoot me your critique and thoughts to help me to get this monster off my bench.
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