# Attaching legs to skirt and skirt to table top



## menuisierJC (Jan 16, 2021)

I am designing a kitchen table that will seat 6. There will be four legs, one in each corner. To attach the legs to the skirt, there seem to be two general techniques. (1) Permanently attach the legs to the skirt (e.g., mortise and tenon) and attach the top the skirt with clips or another means that allows the top to expand and contract. This technique is great if you don't need to remove the legs. (2) Attach the skirt permanently to the top and attach the legs to the skirt with a metal or wood bracket. This technique allows you to remove the legs, but doesn't allow for expansion of the top. QUESTION: I would like a third option. Will there be a problem if I use a bracket to attach the legs to the skirt and clips to attach the skirt to the top? This would allow for expansion AND allow the legs to be removed. It seems like an obvious thing to do, but I have not seen it used.


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)




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## Rich1955 (Jan 26, 2020)

I would definitely use clips to hold the top to the aprons as these allow the top to expand and contract. As for brackets to hold the legs I am not sure how strong they are because I've never used them.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Regardless of how you attach the skirt to the legs, unless the top is plywood or veneered MDF or particle board, you need to attach the top in a way that allows for wood movement.


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## CWWoodworking (Nov 28, 2017)

Make a ladder type frame like pic above. You could mortise in the end skirts and just have it KD from the one side. Use something like this-










Personally would avoid KD legs if at all possible. I worked in furniture retail for 30ish yrs. All KD legs eventually come loose and are not that great to begin with.


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