Need a primmer on making a table top....

[Jim O'Dell]

I'm planning a computer desk to start on next month. I will most likely be using QS Red Oak. I want to match the style of the bedroom furniture, which is Red Oak, but want the QS to make is a little different. The headboard and the tops of the mirrors on the dresser have a fan shape with the middle two panels being mirror images, the next two are mirror images of each other but different than the first two, and so on to the outside edges. The mirror tops are small, so only 3 sets of mirror panels. The headboard has 4 sets of panels. Pictures of each: 196274196275 I want to mimic this in the desk's top. This will be a corner desk. The three exposed sides will be made of 5" wide QS Red Oak to match the width of the pieces on the existing furniture, starting with 8/4 wood, planed down to 1 9/16". The top will attach to this in a dado. I'm thinking I will need to have a sub base that is either MDF or ply for stability with the top being made out of 3/8" thick panels cut to create the fan that I can half lap, or possibly finger joint. How do I attach these to the MDF or ply to keep them from buckling and cracking? Is there a better method? I don't have a vacuum set up and don't foresee having the funds to buy or build one. If what I have in mind isn't going to work, what is the best way for me to do this top? TIA for any help you can offer. Jim.

[John TenEyck]

I think 3/8" thick for your fan parts is going to lead to warpage problems when glued on to MDF/plywood. I would saw/sand the parts to 1/8" (max.) and veneer them to the MDF or baltic birch plywood with plastic resin glue. With veneer you don't need any edge joints, just butt them together and tape across the joints. The glue will do the rest. A vacuum set up would be the easiest method; see if you can borrow one from a fellow woodworker. If that's not a possibility you could build a temporary mechanical press using your work bench as the base with a 4 x 4 superstructure above it supporting press screws to push down on a 2 x 4 grid with 2 layers of 3/4" plywood under that, on top of the veneer.

[Jamie Buxton]

As you know, the problem with a solid lumber fan is that it is going to move. Veneer over plywood or MDF would be a good way to build it. But if you don't have a vacuum press, it will get a little involved. Here's what you do... Cut the lumber about an eighth of a inch thick. That's thin enough that it won't stress the glue joint to the core when it tries to move. Don't connect the veneer sheets together. Instead, apply each leaf of veneer to MDF or plywood, veneering both top and bottom. Each plank should be narrow enough that you can clamp them with conventional mechanical clamps. Use a sandwich of plywood caul, veneer, core, veneer, caul. Use a layer of poly film dropcloth between the veneers and the cauls, to make sure you don't glue the cauls to the workpiece. After you have a bunch of "planks", cut them to exact size, and edge-glue them together to form the fan. You can use biscuits to help with alignment. Put a brace across the underside, or a whole sheet of plywood, to help reinforce the joints. Because the veneer is so thick, you have plenty of wiggle room to level the joints between the planks -- use a belt sander if need be.