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Hello fellow posters. I have been lurking on this forum for a few weeks but this is my first post. I'm new to woodworking (and by new, I mean I'm currently working on my very first project), so please bear with me. I have limited knowledge and limited tools.
I am making a solid oak coffee table. I'm pretty much done with the base and soon to finish the tabletop. The table top is 55.5"x27.5" solid oak and 5/4 thick (exactly 1").
I have read that it is not wise to glue the tabletop to the base, because there has to be freedom for natural movement as time goes by. I don't want anything to split!
I don't have the tools or the know-how really required to attach the tabletop with such sophisticated techniques as I've seen online. I decide to use scrap poplar 1x1's, glued to the inside of the apron, as locations in which to screw from the inside to the underside of the oak tabletop, using 1 5/8" fine drywall screws, countersinked. The pilot hole in the poplar will be pre-drilled to be slightly larger than the screw, to give room for movement. So basically only a small amount of the tip of the drywall screw will enter the table top.
When I practiced this with scrap pieces. I had a few problems. 1) I felt like I couldn't get the drywall screw to really "catch" in the oak piece at all. I was drilling a 7/64" pilot hole, which seems to be the right size for such a hard wood. Part of my problem may be I think the tip of the drywall screw is really only going in 1/2" or so. Maybe it needs to go deeper?
All in all, does my plan seem feasible? Any advice is welcomed! I really don't want to complete the project and then go to pick it up and the tabletop lifts right up!
I am making a solid oak coffee table. I'm pretty much done with the base and soon to finish the tabletop. The table top is 55.5"x27.5" solid oak and 5/4 thick (exactly 1").
I have read that it is not wise to glue the tabletop to the base, because there has to be freedom for natural movement as time goes by. I don't want anything to split!
I don't have the tools or the know-how really required to attach the tabletop with such sophisticated techniques as I've seen online. I decide to use scrap poplar 1x1's, glued to the inside of the apron, as locations in which to screw from the inside to the underside of the oak tabletop, using 1 5/8" fine drywall screws, countersinked. The pilot hole in the poplar will be pre-drilled to be slightly larger than the screw, to give room for movement. So basically only a small amount of the tip of the drywall screw will enter the table top.
When I practiced this with scrap pieces. I had a few problems. 1) I felt like I couldn't get the drywall screw to really "catch" in the oak piece at all. I was drilling a 7/64" pilot hole, which seems to be the right size for such a hard wood. Part of my problem may be I think the tip of the drywall screw is really only going in 1/2" or so. Maybe it needs to go deeper?
All in all, does my plan seem feasible? Any advice is welcomed! I really don't want to complete the project and then go to pick it up and the tabletop lifts right up!