Thread: Joining table top - advice needed

Even the shine off the jointer will stop glue bonding on dense timber. Roughing the surface of the edge to give a key will help.

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. I’d never have guessed different timber would behave differently when gluing. I chose spotted gum because I made a dining table previously from Blackwood which marked quite easily (kids homework!) and my research suggested spotted gum was harder.

I’ve now bought some acetone and used a double row of biscuits for the next joint (Derek: I wasn’t sure what you meant by a high biscuit might “telegraph” but I’ve got 8mm of timber above the top biscuit so hopefully OK). This latest joint has actually brought the rogue board back into line and once I cut some of the excess length off, my first joint now looks OK (photos attached) so I’m tempted to leave it alone rather than risk making a mess of the edges by cutting alone the joint and re-doing it with biscuits.

I finally finished the desk I've been working on for too long!!!

Thanks for all the advice about the desk top, which worked out fine in the end. I reckon the double rows of biscuits I used when joining the boards was the key to keeping it flat. Even without any glue (ie while I was practising) they happily held the spotted gum in place. Even using acetone to prep the surfaces, I see what you mean about it being a waxy timber...the glue just seems to bead on top without sinking in. Anyway, all good now and with all the extra buttons I attached to hold it to the frame I think it has a good chance of remaining stable.

The drawers took ages to get right: I used push-to-open runners for the small drawer in the skirt and they were a nightmare to get right. I had to repeatedly adjust the way I had attached them to the internal frame until the face of the drawer was flush with the skirt. It didn't help that I used some pieces of pine for this internal framing and every time I had to re-screw it I had to use a new hole as the old one would be too loose. I know to not skimp on this next time and use hardwood, as all the pieces where I'd screwed into the hardwood could be taken off and replaced seemingly indefinitely without the hole opening up further.


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Looks great mate...