I'm repairing a table that already has splits. This was so helpful. This info will help me to repair it in a way that will avoid future splits. thank you
Thanks for the lesson. I’m taking an old drop leaf dining table (8 legs) apart and turning it into a trestle table (4 legs). I’ve been hashing out the details and fastening the top was a big question. I’m making a 3” skirt out of black walnut and for additional strength I’ll make 2 additional stringers down the middle.
I am restoring a nice art deco table I bought two weeks ago on a flea market. It is solid oak and about a hundred years old. Unfortunately, the table top has split badly; the middle board (of five) has torn itself loose on both sides, giving me 2-1-2 separate boards. Besides, the boards have warped considerably (1/2 ') in different directions and it had large stains from water damage. The table top was attached to the aprons with Z-hooks, almost like the ones you are showing, though they are a bit different. The hooks have slots in which the screw is supposed to move. But as these hooks were severely rusted the were stuck to the wood, not allowing for any sliding. Remarkably, on the short side of the table top the slots of the Z-hooks are pointing perpendicular to the grain of the wood, allowing for contraction and expansion in the right direction. Straightening these boards and gluing them back up will be a nuisance, since I do not own professional machines like a planer. I do have a circular saw and a router. I guess I'll have to improvise. I also need long clamps, which I do not have. Your tips may come in handy. I surely will watch your video with great attention a couple of times to pick up as much tips as possible.
Sounds like quite a project! I'd recommend using a straight edge or guide with the circular saw to get the edges pretty straight, and then use a straight edge and the router to bring it home. Good luck with the project!
This was a very interresting video my friend. I watched every second of it and learned something new. I would recommend this video to everybody who does some woodwork! Great video man!
Just what I needed to know. About to order some z clamps and wanted to make sure they’d work fine, which it sounds like they would, or “wood” 😜 awesome video!
I'm a construction carpenter / builder that has ventured into making my own furniture. Not because it's cost effective, cause it really isn't considering the amount of hours I spend, but because I wanted unique furniture. I love videos like this where I can pick up tips and tricks along the way to add to my reportoire. Great stuff, thanks!
Thanks for the info. I was curious to differentiate between figure 8s and the other fasteners. Now I feel confident in my decision. Very helpful. Thanks again!!!
I have a 7x3 walnut table top and want to add it to a farm style pedestal base with runners. It has no apron, so do I have to worry about movement as much and can I just screw it into the runners on the base? Thank you for your help
Any advice if my table top is not anywhere near flush with the base currently I am unable to use any of the fasteners because it is not flush any other hacks of attaching it?
They are small right angle plates with a round screw hole on each plate and an elongated screw slot to allow for movement on each plate. Makes fitting a table top simple and they are very cheap.
I'm putting a table top on some ikea cabinets that have their own top(alex drawers) they want you just to screw through the cabinets.....I don't think that's the best idea.... any suggestions...I'm also in the memphis -tupelo area so climate is the same
Awesome video. I've been looking for information on how to build a table and came across your channel. You have provided a ton of information so hopefully I can start to build a much needed dinning room table. Thank you for taking the time to provide this videos.
Thank you sir! That’s always great to hear. They have a place. I use them a lot. Almost all my shop furniture was built with pocket holes. Several pieces of furniture in my house too.
I’ve been woodworking for about 2 1/2 years now and loving it. If it wasn’t for you and other RU-vid Woodworking Content makers I would lost. I live in the mountains and the closest schooling is about 7 hrs away that I could find. So once again thank and I Greatly Appreciate it.
@@ArmyVet76 Thanks for sharing, it's always great to hear that! That's why I keep putting this info out there. Great to know it's helping folks like yourself.
I do that a lot. I order pre-made tabs that I weld to the base to screw through. The holes are oversized and I use a washer, that lets the screw slip around in thr hole.
Nice review and yes accuracy and precision is necessary with screw inserts, especially if you're using more than one in a row. Murphy taught me that. forgot about the wooden buttons, thanks. The corner brace is my next step on an unconventional build I'm doing. Thanks!
Hello from England! We have things called stretcher plates, which have slotted holes running in two directions. These work great for allowing expansion (provided you use the right slot!) www.screwfix.com/p/stretcher-plates-zinc-plated-38-x-28-x-25mm-10-pack/12920#product_additional_details_container (Link provided as I couldn't attach a picture)
It's great to have this sort of clear explanatory content on YT, along with some comparative notes on the various options. I like in particular that you covered figure-8 fasteners which I've long been frustrated by since I first became aware of them online a few years ago, because clearly they don't work on the stretchers (worse than useless actually) yet some sources insist on showing them used on all four sides of the apron -_- Since you asked, you left out my favourite style of commercial tabletop connector. They have gone by various names through the years but I think they're now mostly known as stretcher plates. They have slots in both the orientations needed so they work equally well on any side of an apron. And they don't require any milling work to fit, they just screw into the apron side so they're also the fastest to install. They're perhaps not ideal for very thin apron pieces, but those present a challenge for almost any option.
Thanks for the compliments! Glad this was helpful for you. I think I’ve seen what you are talking about, but not till after I posted this! Some Europeans told me about them, apparently they’re a lot more common over there I think?
@@YouCanMakeThisToo Well I'm in Europe so maybe that's why I know them LOL But they're not particularly common over here either from what I can tell. I've practically never seen them used by anyone else on the forums (actually any forums) so presumably few other woodworkers agree that they're the best option. But they're sold on Amazon.co.uk which is some mark of popularity and presumably _someone_ is buying them.
Great video I learned alot Im going to build a hard wood kitchen table with 2×3" Steel Tubing In an inverted V type legs With 1/4" plate on top of my legs to bolt the table top down ,with twisted steel and scroll work ,Before watching this vid I was going to put 1/4" nut inserts into the bottom of the table top and slot my steel mount plates for any contracting or expansion of the wood Im going to do a video of my finished product ,The steel work is cake for me , But im a little apprehensive about the woodwork
Hey man great vid. I'm planning on making a walnut tabletop myself but want to put a mitred frame around the outside of my laminated wood pieces so I can incorporate inlay with the direction of the grain and am worried about expantion breaking the mitre frame joints which inturn would break the inlay. I do not want to put a groove in between either because it would ruin the look of the design. Is this doable? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
It's not with solid wood.. that's a common beginner mistake. The only way to get that look would be a veneer panel in the center instead of solid wood.
Awesome. What about using threaded inserts along with buttons? I need them for some level of break down ability for the piece I’m currently working on.
Great information! I am building a tv table which has 6 solid boards glued together for the top, but im also using this for my sides too... the grain is running upwards on the side, and down the table top length, so do I need to worry about the top and sides expanding at a different rate since the grain is running in the same direction on sides and top? Do you think I could just biscuit the sides to the top and not use a table top fastener? This is pretty much the table im building, but mine has 2" solid facing on the front www.wayfair.ca/furniture/pdp/george-oliver-glenn-tv-stand-for-tvs-up-to-60-inches-wlk1905.html
Since your grain is all going the same way, it'll expand and contract at close enough to the same rate that it won't be a problem. Where you'll run into problems is when you have pieces that meet expand in different directions. Sometimes it's helpful to think of the expansion in terms of the three dimensions of your piece. Will the piece expand the height, depth, or width? The way you describe the sides, top, and bottom.. all three will expand the depth - since they're moving together, no issues. And any shelves can be oriented to have the grain running to expand the depth as well. However, the back panel and drawer fronts/doors can't expand that way.. they'll either do height or width. So they need to be something stable like plywood, or have the movement accounted for in some way if they're big enough that it'll be an issue. You can search online for charts that'll estimate how much wood will move based on it's total width and species.
Nice video... I'm hoping to make some breadboard ends of a desk sometime in the next year. Similar to this video, wood movement is an important factor for breadboard ends. Thanks.
I go all over the place. There’s a place near the Kentucky border called butler Adams. In town we have The Woodwork Shop in Bartlett. It had a good selection of exotics.
Great video. I'm about to make an outdoor dining table for my daughter and was about to make some catastrophic errors! Thank you for setting me straight. :-)
I'm working on a 9' x 3.5' dinning room table out of 5/4 pine boards. It's the biggest table I've ever made. coming along pretty good so far. I used alot of your glue up tricks! Thank you Caleb!
I am making a herringbone pattern dining room table in 7/8 in figured maple for my daughter. Metal legs, no apron. She would like a cherry edge 1.5 in around the top. Is there a way to deal with expansion?
Use a plywood substrate and slice your maple thin to be a veneer on the top instead of solid. Otherwise it’s going to be a nightmare. Can’t wrap trim around solid wood.
Good question! Sometimes it's for an attachment point, other times it's to strengthen the corner of the base. The connection between the aprons and legs can be weak and a diagonal brace can make a big difference. Sometimes it's both.
Wow, great content, thank you. Do you happen to have any recommendations on books to understand wood movement more? Thanks again, definitely will recommend this video to my classmates
Muchísimas gracias por todas las explicaciones, soy carpintero desde hace un par de años, pero en éste aspecto no tengo experiencia. Necesito hacerte una consulta. Me encargaron una mesa ratonera (coffee table) que quede con un aspecto rústico y campestre (pero no demasiado), y el cliente quiere las tablas (2"x6") que formarán la parte superior, que No estén encoladas, tan solo arrimadas lo mejor posible. Yo tenía pensado construir, para amarrar cada tabla, algo igual a lo que mostras en el minuto 6:54 (button), no sabia que ya estaba inventado. La pregunta es, ¿Me podría encontrar con algún problema? Nota: la zona es húmeda, y la madera a utilizar será pino. Saludos desde Argentina.
I’m sorry that happened to your table, but glad this answered your questions. Right before this video I published one on getting dead flat glue ups for table tops. Might be worth a watch for you too. Several steps in there that are key for things staying flat over time.
@@YouCanMakeThisToo I watched that as well, did most of those things, just anchored my glue up to metal flat bar legs with holes in the metal that were same size as screw. Rookie move. Thanks for the reply
YouCanMakeThisToo quick question is there somewhere in Memphis that I can get other kinds of lumber? I get the bulk of my stuff from thrifty building supply in collierville but it’s mostly poplar and spruce. I want more species and even live edge slabs if possible
VERY informative. I assume that the shape of the table doesn't really matter (square v rectangular) i would just need to put the fasteners on the end grain side so it can slide with the wood, correct?
Yes and no. Shape doesn't matter, what matters is orientation of the fasters to the grain. If it's on the end grain.. they need side to side movement. If it's along the grain, they need to move in and out. Can put them either way, I normally do both. Just wanna make sure it can wiggle the right way.
@@YouCanMakeThisToo good content, btw. i am attaching a tabletob made from an elm slab to legs made from another slab with no skirt and wondering the best route to proceed. Live edge slab edge to edge at 90 degrees