| Project by Alphie | posted 678 days ago | 271 views | 1 time favorited | 5 comments | ![]() |
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This is a desk I made for my daughter. I had the legs turned by an Amish man in Northern Indiana. I had an issue with the top that I never did figure out for sure. If you look close, you will see that I attached a border around the top. This was to cover up a mistake I made when I cut the top to the dimensions I wanted. I found out that I was showing one of the biscuits. Thus, I made a trim piece to cover the mistake. It was all solid wood (oak), and it wasn’t 4 months and the top was splitting. I had purchased the wood from a different source than usual, so I suppose it might not have been as dry as the source claimed it was. The other option was that I thought maybe the trim piece wasn’t allowing for movement. I also used a little different method to attach the top to the frame than I have used in the past. Maybe this attachment wasn’t allowing for wood movement. I have since made a new top without the trim, attached my usual way, and the wood was purchased from my usual source (Amish shop in Northern In.). I have had no issues with the fixed version and it has been used now for about 2 years. Any suggestions that might explain my problem would be appreciated. The design came from a picture in a magazine my daughter found of a desk similar to this. She asked me if I could make one like it. After all the issues, it turned out quite nice.
-- Tom, Michigan ~ Working with a renewable resource called wood































5 comments so far
GaryK
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9536 posts in 885 days
posted 678 days ago
It could have been from any number of things. Hard to say.
It turned out nice though!
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Chris
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1469 posts in 888 days
posted 678 days ago
Very nice Desk Tom… Even nicer after all the extra work ;)
-- Chris
Karson
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25805 posts in 1298 days
posted 678 days ago
How was the top attached to the base. Was it attached solid or so it could move. The border might have cause it. Was it glued on or attached with nails.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
Alphie
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39 posts in 683 days
posted 678 days ago
The top was attached to the base with hardware that resembled a figure eight (I don’t know what they’re called) and attached with screws. I don’t think the wood was able to move, which may have been the problem. The border was glued and nailed. I’m thinking I had it assembled so tight, something had to give. :-(
-- Tom, Michigan ~ Working with a renewable resource called wood
rikkor
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11335 posts in 772 days
posted 678 days ago
Figure eight connectors are supposed to allow for wood movement.