Free Floating Top

[Ian Funk]

I'm making some furniture where the top will not be fastened down. The top will drop into alignment with dowels and holes. I'm worried about cupping and warping of the wood. The client wants it to be solid wood so plywood is out of the question. Any tips on doing this? any questions just ask, Thanks

[Andrew Hughes]

Pick out some boards with lots of quartered tight grain.Mill at least twice before you finish both sides.Be extra good to everyone you meet,say lot of prayers eat your vitamins.
Cross your fingers.
Good luck to ya.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

A bread board top should help with the cupping.

[Jamie Buxton]

Fasten cleats to the underside of the top. The cleats' grain direction goes across the grain direction of the top. They'll reduce cupping. Fasten the cleats firmly in the middle of the top. Fasten the outer parts of the cleats to the top with a connection that allows a bit of sliding. One way is use screws going through the cleat, with the clearance holes oval. Tighten the screws, and then back them off just a tad. Another way is to use figure-8 clips. They're sometimes called table top fasteners.

[John T Barker]

It's pretty common to use solid tops so you should be okay. I usually drill holes up through the side aprons and expand the holes to allow for movement, but even without doing that you shouldn't have a problem. Finish on both sides and you should be fine.

[Sam Murdoch]

Is your client asking for a "removable top" for some reason? Because that is what is sounds like you are being asked to build. Yes we woodworkers commonly build solid wood tops but not to just leave them sitting on a frame.

Even following Andrew's excellent advice in Post # 2 the top is likely to take some shape other than flat over time - especially if subjected to sunlight coming through a window or regular seasonal temperature/humidity changes. Do you live in a part of the world where you heat your houses?

Perhaps the client intends that the top be secured in a conventional woodworking manner which allows side to side wood movement though the
top is "loosely" fastened to the base. Even your dowels system will not allow side to side expansion and contraction. As Andrew suggested - prayers and good living will be in order.

Otherwise I would follow Jamie's post #4. These build techniques have become traditional for a reason. Good luck.

[Myk Rian]

Very often the client has no idea what is ok to do, and must be informed of the correct way to do things.

[Sam Murdoch]

Very often the client has no idea what is ok to do, and must be informed of the correct way to do things.

Yes to this ^

[jonathan eagle]

Or, he could be building a type of table where this is required. Like a dutch pullout table. My dutch pullout table top is floating.
It is bread boarded to keep it flat.
Jonathan

[Prashun Patel]

Can you post a pic of what you're trying to do? I am confused by 'drop into alignment with dowels and holes'.

Does this mean dowels in the base and holes in the underside of the top?
Will there be aprons or will the top sit on legs only?
Describe the contact points between the top and the base.
Can you also advise what the client means by 'not be fastened down'? Specifically, do they mean they don't want glue or they don't want screws (or neither).

Quartersawn material has less chance of movement than flatsawn in general. You can restrict some cupping on an unattached top with breadboard ends as mentioned or battens on the underside.