Walt Caza
04-15-2008, 2:59 PM
Good Day to the Creek,
I found myself standing in the shop with a noodle scratcher, and decided to appeal to the Creek for help.
I am building an end table of QSWoak in the Craftsman style, designing as I go.
Just scribbled a few target dimensions and let sawdust fly.
Now it is time to glue-up panels for top and shelf, I am wrestling with wood movement. (better late then never?)
On the Limbert plant stand I last posted, I used an 1.125" solid shelf with a single seam centered.
It was flush mounted on cleats, with the crossgrain screwholes stretched to allow a bit of movement.(?)
This trapped shelf was prefinished on all 6 sides, and slip fit into the robust
mortise and tenon frame. Maybe not the safest bet, but the shelf is only
10" long, by 8" of crossgrain. I live with that stand, and am eager to see if time will blowup any joints.
I have been reading the popular reference 'Understanding Wood' by Hoadley. I find the shrink/swell formula not much help, as my variables
are a guess at best. He says quarter sawn moves substantially less...
My stock was alleged 6-8%mc when bought, it is sitting in my shop of humidity in the high 40%'s, and my home is central a/c to below 50% humidity all summer.
blah, blah, blah...
The question is:
Dare I glue-up a panel shelf like the Limbert plant stand, but mounted 1/4" below the top of the bottom stretchers? (preferred aesthetic)
Or should I slow down and figure out something to better allow seasonal wood movement?
The crude sketch is my idea to maybe ship-lap a 3 piece bottom, of equal widths that show from above
for appearance sake, with 1/8" gaps and mount them so they can move...
shelf size is 12" across the grain. (icky?)
I originally was going to not use the lower stretchers on the narrow front and back of the table, and just cap the shelf itself, but I liked the look
of that other shelf better, creating this whole pickle.
I used several homemade corner clamping triangles to ensure a good square frame, in case I do make another 'trapped' shelf.
As I have been building more furniture, people are showing interest, but I feel I cannot consider selling any solid wood pieces until I get a grasp of
how to make them last through the seasons....
Any thoughts appreciated,
Walt
:)
I found myself standing in the shop with a noodle scratcher, and decided to appeal to the Creek for help.
I am building an end table of QSWoak in the Craftsman style, designing as I go.
Just scribbled a few target dimensions and let sawdust fly.
Now it is time to glue-up panels for top and shelf, I am wrestling with wood movement. (better late then never?)
On the Limbert plant stand I last posted, I used an 1.125" solid shelf with a single seam centered.
It was flush mounted on cleats, with the crossgrain screwholes stretched to allow a bit of movement.(?)
This trapped shelf was prefinished on all 6 sides, and slip fit into the robust
mortise and tenon frame. Maybe not the safest bet, but the shelf is only
10" long, by 8" of crossgrain. I live with that stand, and am eager to see if time will blowup any joints.
I have been reading the popular reference 'Understanding Wood' by Hoadley. I find the shrink/swell formula not much help, as my variables
are a guess at best. He says quarter sawn moves substantially less...
My stock was alleged 6-8%mc when bought, it is sitting in my shop of humidity in the high 40%'s, and my home is central a/c to below 50% humidity all summer.
blah, blah, blah...
The question is:
Dare I glue-up a panel shelf like the Limbert plant stand, but mounted 1/4" below the top of the bottom stretchers? (preferred aesthetic)
Or should I slow down and figure out something to better allow seasonal wood movement?
The crude sketch is my idea to maybe ship-lap a 3 piece bottom, of equal widths that show from above
for appearance sake, with 1/8" gaps and mount them so they can move...
shelf size is 12" across the grain. (icky?)
I originally was going to not use the lower stretchers on the narrow front and back of the table, and just cap the shelf itself, but I liked the look
of that other shelf better, creating this whole pickle.
I used several homemade corner clamping triangles to ensure a good square frame, in case I do make another 'trapped' shelf.
As I have been building more furniture, people are showing interest, but I feel I cannot consider selling any solid wood pieces until I get a grasp of
how to make them last through the seasons....
Any thoughts appreciated,
Walt
:)