Coffeetable joinery question

[Alex99]

Hi all,
I'm pretty new to woodworking and am about to finish my first project - a rocker chair.
My next project ia a coffeetable with a solid black walnut tabletop and figured maple legs.
The tabletop wood is ~6cm thick that I plan to cut down to 4cm. The areas where the legs would meet the top should stay 6cm to form a nice transition to the legs. I was planning a mortise-tenon type joint for the leg into the top. After reading a bit more about wood movement, I'm not so sure about this anymore.
Since the table top is solid, I fear that the expected movement of it will quickly mess up the legs position to each other and the tabletop.
Do you have a good suggestion how to join the legs to the tabletop and still keeping the "organic" transition? I would like to NOT use a skirt or some similar framework

Thanks
Alex

[Wongo]

Like this one? It is the joint to the leg-to-seat joint of your chair.

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=91475&stc=1&d=1229309756

Nice chair BTW. Another one of Bill Lindau's chairs?

[Alex99]

The effect of transition that is used in the chair is what I'm after, but since the legs won't be on the outside like on your sidetable the joint will definitely need to be modified. My thoughts were to do a modifier mortise and tenon joint where the tenon (leg) would be inserted into the thick tabletop underside.
FYI, the chair is based on the plans of Hal Taylor and blended with some Maloof details.

[Wongo]

That will work.

[cellist]

Hi all,
I'm pretty new to woodworking and am about to finish my first project - a rocker chair.
My next project ia a coffeetable with a solid black walnut tabletop and figured maple legs.
The tabletop wood is ~6cm thick that I plan to cut down to 4cm. The areas where the legs would meet the top should stay 6cm to form a nice transition to the legs. I was planning a mortise-tenon type joint for the leg into the top. After reading a bit more about wood movement, I'm not so sure about this anymore.
Since the table top is solid, I fear that the expected movement of it will quickly mess up the legs position to each other and the tabletop.
Do you have a good suggestion how to join the legs to the tabletop and still keeping the "organic" transition? I would like to NOT use a skirt or some similar framework

Thanks
Alex

Greetings, Alex.
If you look at my website, you'll see a mounting technique that's pretty widely used. Essentially, you groove the inside of the rails (either in spots or the whole length, and then make cleats to screw into the tabletop from below. The tongue of the cleat rides in the groove (and if you don't seat it all the way in, or tighten the screw too much, there is room for movement.) I make the screw hole in the cleat into a small slot of its own, so that there's movement possible there too. Sounds like a great project, and you have successfully made me homesick. Mind you, where I live there's this stuff called Jarrah that will make anyone in the U.S. drool. :D

Let us know how you decide to proceed, and good luck!

Mike

[Alex99]

Thanks for the input on the joinery. Mike, on your website I saw your coffeetable joints, which are nice but not the type I was looking for. Please see my unprofessional sketch for visualization.
Since only two of all top planks will hold the legs, hopefully the movement of the tabletop will be uniform enough to no disturb the form/integrity of the table too much.

I'm not quite sure what made you homesick, but enjoy it :wink:

Thanks
Alex

[Wongo]

This is what I would do

[Alex99]

Wongo, I like the idea you sketched.
I have to see if the leg blanks are long enough to incorporate the top section. Though it would make the machining of the legs much more difficult than my solution since they will be tapered and morph from a rectangle at the to to a triangle at the bottom.
Both solutions have their pros and cons I guess.
Thanks
Alex

[Wongo]

Alex, whatever you do please keep us updated. I would love to your progress and good luck mate.:2tsup: