Table legs- removable?

[Rob Price]

A friend tore out his ~100yr old kitchen and saved all the rough cut pine joists/beams etc and I've been able to trade some shop time/turned bowls/pens for the lumber. I plan on making a simple farm table, 72x39 or so to fit a breakfast nook we have. Traditional legs and apron style. My question is whether or not to make the legs removable. I've made coffee and end tables with M&T joints between the apron and legs. Strong as a rock. But once I do that the legs/apron are forever one piece. I wonder with something as big as a table if it would be better to be able to break it down for moving if that day were to come. I don't plan on moving any time soon but you never know.

I I could make the end sections M&T and find a way to make the long sections of the apron removable.

I thought about dovetail slots- the apron could slide into the tops of the legs and then secure with an angled piece screwed into the apron from behind.


Or i or I bite the bullet, make it solid, and worry about moving it when the time comes.

[Rick Lizek]

http://www.rockler.com/kerf-mount-corner-brackets-for-table-aprons-kerf-mount
This is the standard way to do it. You make the bracket out of wood.

[Bill White]

Make it solidly as you did before. You'll be sorry if ya end up with a table that wobbles. Worry about moving later.
Bill

[Matt Schroeder]

You could try the "Mortise Bedlocks" from Lee Valley (or something similar) and if it gets too loose for you it seems like it would be an easy fix to make the mortises a little deeper to replace them with a glued in floating tenon that would be as solid as a traditional mortise and tenon joint.

Matt

[Al Launier]

I prefer the heavy duty steel corner brackets, not only for ease of installation, but also for take down, especially for a large & heavy table. They are not as likely to loosen up as bedlock tend to do over time if my bed is any example. Should the brackets ever loosen, they can easily be retightened.

[Rick Lizek]

https://www.tablelegs.com/Parts/CornerBraces.aspx
These are time tested proven. I have a 100 year old kitchen table from my grandmother that's sturdy as the day it was made. I've seen this style bracket on many tables in antique shops. Anyone who scoffs at this design is purely speculating with no real experience.

[Pat Barry]

Or i or I bite the bullet, make it solid, and worry about moving it when the time comes.
IMO - No. You should make the legs removable. There is no reason why a table can't be stable and have removable legs.