# Joinery for two face boards on a dining table base - need advice



## sittingaaron (Feb 6, 2017)

Good afternoon,

This is my first post so please forgive me if I've placed this in the wrong section or not following rules exactly.

Here's the situation:

I'm building a dining table of my own design, but am struggling to figure out the best joint for a portion of the base and am concerned about it holding the weight of the top and will resist cracking over time.

See the image below. The legs and horizontal planks meet face to face. I first considered using large dowels all the way through the two planks and leg on all 4 corners. I also considers 3 or 4 biscuits and using glue to essentially laminate the two.

Which one will be better or is there another method that will work better? Any advice will help! The leg pieces are about 1.25" think and the horizontal planks are about .75" thick


----------



## TungOil (Jan 16, 2017)

With a 4"x5"x2 glue joint in each leg you likely won't need anything else. If the dowel joint appeals to you aesthetically use that. You could also send some screws in at the corners with plugs to get a similar look

If you are using a solid top be sure to account for wood movement when you attach to the base.


----------



## sittingaaron (Feb 6, 2017)

> With a 4"x5"x2 glue joint in each leg you likely won t need anything else. If the dowel joint appeals to you aesthetically use that. You could also send some screws in at the corners with plugs to get a similar look
> 
> If you are using a solid top be sure to account for work d movement when you attach to the base.
> 
> - TungOil


Yes I was thinking this through as well. The wood is cherry which I've heard moves quite a lot.

My only idea so far is to use threaded inserts in the table top and thread bolts through the bottom side of the horizontal planks. They'd be countersunk and not visible from eye level but I wasn't sure if the slight movement in the bolts would offer enough for expansion.


----------



## TungOil (Jan 16, 2017)

Solid cherry will certainly move, as will solid anything. orient slots perpendicular to the grain in the top to allow it someplace to go and you should be fine.


----------



## TObenhuber (Jan 15, 2014)

> With a 4"x5"x2 glue joint in each leg you likely won t need anything else. If the dowel joint appeals to you aesthetically use that. You could also send some screws in at the corners with plugs to get a similar look
> 
> If you are using a solid top be sure to account for wood movement when you attach to the base.
> 
> - TungOil


Agreed. If you aren't sure about the glue strength on the legs. Simple try taking some cheap scrap. Glue them perpendicular to each other. Clamp and let dry over night. Trying pulling them apart in the morning. Good luck not breaking the wood.

Then in your case, you are doubling up the "stretchers" on the legs. Nope, those aren't going anywhere. I do like using a large dowel through similar joints.










These benches have stretchers glued to the legs. Then a 3/4" dowel through to reinforce. A couple more dowels through the top and that's it. They are solid as a rock.


----------

