# How to join round leg to stretcher without squaring part of it



## HarveyDunn

I'm taking a woodworking course, yesterday we learned how to joint round legs to stretchers by first squaring up a bit of the round leg then making a mortise in the squared-up part.

Just out of curiosity, I'm wondering if there are techniques for jointing flat boards to round legs without first squaring up the round part. Can a biscuit joiner do that? Are there other techniques?


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## johnstoneb

I don't know how a biscuit jointer would do that as you need a flat surface for the jointer. The joint would not be very strong


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## lepelerin

ask your teacher.


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## MisterBill

I am not sure if this is what you are trying to do but can you use a forstner bit drill a mortise into your flat board and then shape a round tenon on the end of your round leg?


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## HarveyDunn

The round leg is vertical. The rectilinear stretcher is horizontal. I want to joint them at a right angle. The traditional way of doing this - the only way our instructor will teach us - is to leave the turning blank square at the spot where the joint will be.

Like this random photo I found on Google images:









I'd like to know if there is an alternative that does not require the blocky parts.


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## Randy_ATX

This image from sawmillcreek would be how I would try it.


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## dhazelton

Why not just make a mortise the full size of the stretchers cross section? You'd have to fasten the round leg to something square so you could turn it a perfect 90 degrees.


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## richardwootton

I like Randy's sliding dovetail idea.


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## richardwootton

However it does look like it would be hard to cut that by hand…


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## Hammerthumb

Back cut the tenon shoulder at an angle that will allow the faces of the stretcher to meet the round leg with no gaps.


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## zmann

Similar to the dovetail idea, you could make a groove acording to the dimensions of the stretcher that would create a flat surface on the bottom of the groove and there you either use a mortise joint or dovels.To insert the stretcher into a groove is actually a stronger joint than what you learned.


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## jgreiner

Dowels

With the appropriate jig (ie just a simple 45 degree block/center finder jig) on the drill press you can drill the holes into the leg, then using dowel centers you can imprint the dowel positions on the stretcher.

Then drill the holes in the stretcher, I'd drill extra deep than needed because we'll be sanding away part of the stretcher.

Then using a spindle sander, I would sand the edge of stretcher so that it would conform to the leg.

-jeremy


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## LakeLover

Here it how it is done

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/The%20ChairStretchers.html


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## JayT

The first thing that popped into my head was to make the mortises the full size of the stretcher, like dhazleton suggested. You'd have to be very precise in your mortises to give them enough strength, though.

Then had a second, similar idea. Start by making a shallow full size mortise then treat that mortise as the flat of a square leg and create the mortise and tenon joint inside of it. That would give the strength of the shoulders to your joint. It would be tough to do accurately, but should give the desired results.

Here's a quick Sketchup that shows what I'm thinking.










Don't know why it wouldn't work, but that also might be why I'm not a professional furniture builder


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## Hammerthumb

Like your idea JayT but think that making the shoulders of the tenon match the radius of the leg would be easier. If it was me making it, I would just make a small flat on the round leg. After assembly no one would know the difference.


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## JayT

You mean like this? It's what I was thinking, but was afraid it wouldn't show up well in Sketchup, so exaggerated it in the first pic. Probably exaggerated it too much.










Just trim off a bit of the radius with a chisel and flatten it out, then mark and chisel out the mortise. Once one joint is done, you should be able to use the stretcher as a reference to make the other side square.


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## Hammerthumb

Thats the way I would do it. Lakelovers link to one of Derek's blogs is interesting, but the link ends with the question of coping in a chair rail into the round legs. Need to find the next in the series to see how he does it. But that is my recommendation in my first post. Backcutting the shoulder of the tenon and following the radius at the top and bottom sides of the stretcher to match the radius of the round leg. Hint: It helps if you have a chisel that matches the radius of the leg.


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## Hammerthumb

JayT - if ya get my drift, can you whip up one of those Schetchup drawings for illustration for me?


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## JayT

Ahh, sure, but this might be easier.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/index.html

Go down to Building Hans Wegner's "The Chair" at the bottom of the page to see how Derek does it.


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## Hammerthumb

Thanks JayT. The blog section where he copes in the rails into the round legs is what I was talking about. Pictures worth 1000 words. Derek does some really nice work. The man has talent!


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