side table

[SteveF]

I have what I imagine my toughest challenge so far
I have an order for a thin table to go by the side of a sofa
800 L 180 W 570 T

they want it in 2 contrasting coloured timbers
the strips will be 36mm x 5 strips to make the 180mm width
all sounds simple and will be narrow enough to go through thicknesser once glued
a few questions please
I would like to mitre the ends so the stripes run accross the top and down the legs
is this achievable with an accurate scms? (i prefer power tools)
would you use dominoes to hold it together?
does it need a cross brace lower down? and if so how would you attach?

I will then need to scale this up for a 2nd build of a wider taller version, same questions as above
am I over thinking this? as I can see the mitred ends being a major challenge to get right

Steve

 

[Adam9453]

Yes I’d glue up your ‘blank’ then mitred it and domino the join. If you’re concerned about strength of the mitred join then recess some metal brackets into the join. With careful planning you could even leave pockets between the strips for the brackets to fit into once glued up (I.e you cut the pocket in one strip then glue it to the next, once mitred it would exposed the pocket which you then slide the end of the bracket into. Would help to see the overall design to comment if there would be any issues with this

 

[Distinterior]

SCMS will mitre the end of the small table, but I would use a track and tracksaw for the mitre on the larger table.

I've just done a 1220mm wide worktop with panels down to the ground at each end of a kitchen island using the tracksaw. The worktop is Corian @ 24mm thickness.

Here's the result.....

 

[SteveF]

I never considered the tracksaw
I have a ts55
what blade did you use?
did you round over the edge? hard to see from the pic
it also looks like you have the grain running across the top and down sides (in corian wow)

Steve

 

[Distinterior]

As the worktop was Corian I used a Festool negative rake Corian blade. I set the rail up and cut the worktop at the exact size required at 90 degrees first, Then, without removing the rail, I set the saw at 45 degrees and cut it again......The cut was as sharp as a razor!

Once the mitres were glued and dry, I then ran a 2mm radius bearing guided router cutter around the complete top edge before sanding and finishing.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the veining to flow from one end, then over the worktop and down the other end. The full lengths of Corian are not long enough, so I had to lay all the sections out and try and get the best veining match that I could. That worktop and the 2 end panels are made up of 6 pieces of Corian + the edges doubled up all round.

Here are a couple more pictures....

 

[Hornbeam]

One of the factors to consider is how thick the top / legs will be to give you a good joint area and size of reinforcement (domino/biscuit etc)

 

[sunnybob]

That table is very narrow for its length and height, have you considered how stable it would be? especially with stuff loaded on top.

 

[SteveF]

it will be "sandwiched" between sofa and a unit
but yes I imagine would be a bit wobbly freestanding

 

[SteveF]

One of the factors to consider is how thick the top / legs will be to give you a good joint area and size of reinforcement (domino/biscuit etc)

was thinking 36mm but could go thicker

 

[MikeG.]

Would you mitre it? There's a natural box joint there, if you run alternate bands through to the end, square, and leave the others back by the thickness of the boards. That would be much stronger, and suit your chosen joining method............and would look good too.

If it is trapped between two pieces of furniture, there won't be access (physical or visual)to the underside, so you could stick whatever you liked in under the joints to strengthen them.

 

[SteveF]

I like your idea Mike
could maybe put a contrasting dowel through the joint to tie it together, or would that look tacky?

Steve

 

[MikeG.]

That could look OK, especially if you were to radius the joint. It only need be a plug at either end purely for aesthetics. If the woods are very different, though, it all might start looking a bit "bitty" and OTT with a dowel.