How would I butt multiple edges together for table? - Woodworking Talk

Shpigford · 08-07-2009, 01:00 PM

I'm looking into building a desk similar to this one where you've got multiple long pieces of wood that are butted together side by side.

I'm wondering what the best way to do this is while still maintaining some structural integrity.

Would some sort of peg-and-hole system be strong enough? Or would I need to run some support bars underneath to really make it sturdy?

woodnthings · 08-07-2009, 01:25 PM

Butted usually means end to end. You can join multiple lengths edge to edge in sections then glue the sections together to form one large surface. No structural supports underneath are necessary unless the whole slab is free floated on legs on either ends. Glue, properly applied and clamped is stronger than the wood itself in most cases.
Your problem will be leveling the whole slab out once it's in it's final width. Normal home shop planers will handle 12" to 15" and you will probably end up with 30" or so. Handplaning or belt sanding or a source with a wide belt sander are your choices. Cabinet shops will be a source for the wide belt sander or a school shop.

bill

Shpigford · 08-07-2009, 01:27 PM

Thanks for the reply Bill. So do you think I could forgo the peg/hole bit completely and just use glue and clamps?

woodnthings · 08-07-2009, 01:29 PM

Pegs, dowels and bisquits, don't really add strength. and are a pain to line up correctly with out jigs and such, so why bother?

bill

skymaster · 08-07-2009, 01:51 PM

Just buy a pc of butcherblock, way easier and cheaper in the end. That is what the table in the pic is, just mounted on legs :}

cabinetman · 08-07-2009, 01:54 PM

Long edge gluing and clamping is all that's necessary. It may be easier to control doing only two or three at a time.

If the series of boards are dimensioned and machined properly, they can be just edge glued and clamped. You could get good rips from the table saw, or from a jointer for the mating edges. I use a block sander and give the mating edges a quick swipe before glue up just to get a smooth clean edge.

I don't use biscuits as IMO, they don't insure alignment. There is enough spacing to allow the biscuit to slide in, and there is room for glue. That minimal gap can allow for movement while gluing and clamping. If anything I may use a spline. Pegs/dowels for this procedure are really a waste of time.

What will insure alignment is the use of cauls. They are strips of wood or other material, with a straight edge that get clamped on edge across the series of boards, top and bottom, that are being glued up. What the process will look like is cauls across the boards, and clamps on the cauls. This keeps everything flat and tight. I don't suggest using tapered cauls, which are supposed to account for the caul bending. I use cauls that are massive enough in their thickness and width that don't bend. Some are wood, some are metal. For the glue up, waxed paper can be used between the cauls and the boards as a glue barrier.

As for the offset that may result of boards slipping under being clamped, or due to overclamping, a wide belt sander would be the most ideal method. Just treating the offset, may leave a high and low wave along the board. You just can't scrape or sand the high edge, as that board may be high on that joint and low on the other edge. IOW, the whole top across the glue up has to be uniformly leveled to the lowest point.

What helps in getting even cross clamping is to alternate which side the clamps are on. IOW, you don't want all the cross clamps on top of the boards.

JEC559 · 08-07-2009, 06:00 PM

I just built a table and edge glued them but I also used bisquits to line everything up. I do not have a planer so not all the boards were the exact same thickness. The bisquits helped keep it pretty close.

The Everyman Show · 08-07-2009, 06:37 PM

Lots of great ideas and opinions but I personally prefer to use a spline cutter with my router for applying the slots for biscuits. Very accurate and very easy to do. Not every assembly method suits all people but I for one would almost always use biscuits or a loose spline of some kind when gluing up a top like the one you describe. It sure does cut down on the amount of dressing and clean up afterwards. Using a clamp on the underneath and also on top will eliminate a lot of the potential bow when you do your glue up.
If you use Titebond II (or a similar premix bottle glue) when you do glue your top together just make sure you have a wet rag and damp/dry rag and clean up the glue squeeze out immediately to prevent any long term glue residue stains. This will also help in preventing any future wood stains from being applied unevenly if you do have any left over glue residue on your board.
Good luck with your project.

scribbles · 08-07-2009, 10:07 PM

call ikea,

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60057852

cheap and easy. It will cost less than the lumber to make.

rrobor · 08-07-2009, 11:04 PM

I would put some alignment locators between the boards. Its not so much as glue wont hold, its that boards tend to twist, to bow and other nasty things. With all things in nature time and pressure can slowly do strange things. With biscuits, dowels or a grove and tongue in place, your piece may last for centuaries.