# Best way to join this table top support piece?



## TravisN (Jan 15, 2019)

Hi all,

I'm finishing the trestles for my table build and I'm wondering about attaching this last piece that will allow me to secure the table top to the trestles. I will drill lag bolt holes (with room for movement) along the trestle cleats, but I also wanted a way to get a bolt in the center of the trestle, which I could not easily do because the leg pieces are too crowded. In hindsight, I could have just made a wooden button, but I didn't think of that at the time. Instead, I cut out this dado in the top of the cleat so I can attach this wood strip out from the trestle, which will allow me easy access to fix a lag bolt.










My question is, how would you attach the wood strip? I'm nervous about using wood glue since the grains are perpendicular to each other. I could take the easy way and just screw it into the trestle, but that seems inelegant and may loosen over time. I thought about driving a dowel through it, only gluing the dowel, which should eliminate concern about gluing perpendicular grains and also remain pretty permanent. I have a tendency to over-complicate things, and I don't want to miss the forest for the trees. If this were your build, and you made the decision to cut the dado instead of just make a button, how would you resolve this?

Note: the support piece as pictured is actually the support piece for both trestles. I made them as one piece and will eventually cut in half to make two pieces. In other words, this support piece will only extend out one end of the trestle.


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## bilyo (May 20, 2015)

I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking at but I think I would go with a pair of long screws. In thinking about what this is for, I don't think that there are any serious structural concerns if it is just tor fastening the top down to the legs. If you wanted to make the joint a bit more sophisticated, re-cut the notch as a dovetail and re-cut the cross piece to match for a snug fit. Then, add a screw or two to keep it from sliding out.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I wouldn't use a lag screw, I would just insert a dowel from the top, glue it in place and flush trim it.


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

Why didn't you drill up through the cross member?


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## TravisN (Jan 15, 2019)

> I m not sure exactly what I m looking at but I think I would go with a pair of long screws. In thinking about what this is for, I don t think that there are any serious structural concerns if it is just tor fastening the top down to the legs. If you wanted to make the joint a bit more sophisticated, re-cut the notch as a dovetail and re-cut the cross piece to match for a snug fit. Then, add a screw or two to keep it from sliding out.
> 
> - bilyo


A dovetail would be sophisticated! I haven't cut any dovetails yet, so I think I will put that in my future project ideas bin.



> I wouldn t use a lag screw, I would just insert a dowel from the top, glue it in place and flush trim it.
> 
> - bondogaposis


I was kind of thinking along those same lines, nice to get some corroboration.



> Why didn t you drill up through the cross member?
> 
> - JackDuren


Not sure which cross member you mean. I couldn't drill up through the cleat because the two legs making up the trestle are too close together. If you mean the other piece, that will attach to the table top, that is the purpose of that piece. It is pictured upside down (the pre-dilled holes will actually face down) because I just set it in the dado for the picture without paying attention to its orientation.


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

I assume that 2×2×12" piece is running let wise of the trestle table. Is that correct?


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

Here is one of the smaller trestle tables I built for a customer. I don't understand the 2×2x12" block in the picture….it would be legth in the your photo. An extra block? Rather thann an apron your adding it as support?


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## TravisN (Jan 15, 2019)

That is a beautiful table Jack!

I'm sorry for the confusion, I should post more pictures to help explain it better, but the parts are inaccessible to me at the moment.

That cross member is not a 2×2x12. It will be cut in half lengthwise to make 2 pieces (one for each trestle). It will stick out one end maybe 2 inches and be flush on the other end. It is simply a way for me to attach the table top in the center. I will have lag screws going in along the length of the cleats but because of the legs in the center of the trestles, I cannot attach a screw there. So this is a way for me to create a space to attach a screw in the center. I'm just making a little stub that sticks out of the cleat and lets me screw into the center of the width of the top and cleats.


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