# dimensions for shaker tapered leg



## martin007 (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi

I would like to know the typical dimension for the legs of a writing desk, shaker style, tapered on the 2 inside faces.

I want the desk to have a delicate look. The desk is 24 by 48 and the apron are 4 1/2 wide, top is 5/8 thick with chanfered edges

My initial thought was from 1 3/4 down to 3/4.

any suggestions

thanks


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## kolwdwrkr (Jul 27, 2008)

2 3/8 down to 1


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

kolwdwrkr…..you must be joking makes no sence


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## kolwdwrkr (Jul 27, 2008)

How does that not make sense? Buy some 12/4. Once you joint and paralel it it will be close to 2 3/8". Then Start your taper 5" from the top and taper it down to 1". My original thought was 1 1/8 or 1 1/4. When doing custom furniture you NEVER want to stay with stock sizes. It's to industrialized. In other words you don't want a 3/4" top you would want a 1" top. Most material is 4/4, or 3/4" when purchased milled. That is an industry standard. So when you make a project you don't want to make it with standardized numbers, because then it looks store bought. Hope that makes sense. Besides, if you want a shaker style anything, leave it square. Sorry for answering.


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

Besides, if you want a shaker style anything, leave it square. That part you are 100% on


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## kolwdwrkr (Jul 27, 2008)

Why don't you give the correct size and taper of the leg please. I don't think it's appropriate to give negative feedback and no correct answer. Everyone is different when it comes to design. If it were me I wouldn't ever ask a question like this. I would draw it up on a sheet of 1/4" mdf and look at it. If I liked the way it looks then that's what it becomes. If others were interested in answering this question there would be 6,000 different answers. The correct answer is what looks good to the maker, because ultimately he is the one that is putting it through the saw.


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

100% with you on that, that is the way I work I do it for myself and if it looks good to me that is the way it is going to be.


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

You have a Merry Christmas and a very good New Year to you and yours


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

This Shaker table has 1 1/2 to 1.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

JMO…It already sounds out of proportion with the 5/8 tapered top and 4.5inch high aprons so I don't think that your leg tapers are going to matter much at all. How tall is your desk ? It's 24"deep and 48" wide correct ? I've built 20" square Shaker tables with the 1.25 tapered to .75 in the past and those looked pretty delicate so I think your desk would look odd at best . A desk should be sturdier if you plan on using it as a desk .


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## propcarver (Dec 1, 2007)

Hi Martin,

I have used 1 1/2 tapered to 3/4 and 2 tapered to 1 with some success. I can't really afford to just buy the lumber and I use shorts and scrap for whatever I can. The stock on hand dictates the path I follow. Here is a link to a cherry desk I finished a short time ago.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/11454

Fine Woodworking has, in my opinion, the best and safest tapering jig out there. Jet is offering a free 30 day look at the Fine Woodworking site. Jump on over and take a look. While you are there down load the plan.
https://reg.taunton.com/account/register2.html?ig=WNTJetTrial&cobrand=jet&redirect_url=fww-jet-offer.html%3Fig%3DWNTJetTrial&check=20081223190709

Regards,

Bill


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## martin007 (Jan 24, 2008)

thanks for your answers.

Kolwdwr…: The reason I ask is that I am not familiar with the shaker style andI would like to build something that respect the style. My own taste might not be shaker at all.

PropCarver and Karson : both your desks are really nice! thanks

Dusty, the desk (table) will be 30 inch hight, what do you think is out of proportion? the legs? too narrow?


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/5792 if you look at this table which appears to be a similar size to what you want to build , you will see that the top appears to be 3/4" and goes pretty well with the aprons . you stated that your top will be 5/8" with chamfered edges and 4.5" aprons . IMO , this is where the proportions would look odd in addition to your 1.75 x .75 tapered legs. You would have a very thin top supported by massive aprons . Do you plan on putting drawers in the aprons ? As kolwdwrkr suggested , your best bet would be to draw it all out first . It's much easier to erase a possible mistake than it is to rebuild one : ) Happy Holidays !


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