Thread: Cypress T & G Table Top

Originally Posted by Dareen

Would like to make a dining table with a Cypress Tongue and Groove top. My question,

Is it best to glue, with PVA, the tongue and groove together or brace underneath with timber straps?

Table to be 2000mm L X 900mm W X 760 H.

Some expert thoughts would be much appreciated.

Cheers, Fred

I'm yet to finish mine (WIP) but the floorboards are laid in a frame with no glue. They are allowed to float to handle any expansion that takes place.
image.jpg

Thank you Lappa.

Lappa's frame effect looks excellent, but actually there is no reason not to glue them all together along the t&g joints if you don't want the external frame. Just make sure you don't fix the whole slab of a tabletop down rigidly to the subframe. There are a variety of methods which allow expansion and contraction (usually table buttons or slotted screw holes).

Hi all,
Agree with Arron having made many tables this way over many years and never any problems as you would expect as all the boards are going to expand and contract at the same rate so as long as you don't glue to the base no problems. I have just made one in the last couple of months for our lunch table at our club from some very nice cypress boards.
Regards Rod.

No problem with using glue, just make sure the glue used has some gap filling capability. The T&G are not a close enough fit so I think using something like epoxy rather than PVA would be a better idea. Agree that allowance should be made for the movement of the table top relative to the legs/frame.

Thank you one and all. Had a small crack appear in a table I made about 6 months ago and now suspect that my fixing rigidly to the sub-frame is the problem.
Love this forum for all the help and advice that the members share.
Cheers, Fred