Apron or no apron?

[Christopher Juncosa]

I have a table top Im torn on whether to add an apron to. Its 30" x 60". Its about 1.2" thick toasted soft maple. Theoretically the 'toasting' (marketed Cambia maple at my lumber yard) should make the maple harder, stronger, lighter (weight), and dimensionally more stable. Leg-wise Im going with hairpin legs.

I could achieve a really clean look without an apron, but my conscience is suggesting I apron the table just in case. The next issue becomes how to attach hair-pin legs to an apron, which may itself need a crossmember to screw the flanges of the legs onto.

Any thoughts on this?

[John TenEyck]

I don't think you need an apron for structural reasons, but you might need a couple of cross wise cleats to keep the top flat over the seasons. If you do add cleats, make sure to attach them so the top can expand/contract.

John

[Christopher Juncosa]

I don't think you need an apron for structural reasons, but you might need a couple of cross wise cleats to keep the top flat over the seasons. If you do add cleats, make sure to attach them so the top can expand/contract.

John

That sounds good. The table top is strong as is so I don't think Ill have issues with its working load. I do like the idea of cleats though to keep everything nice and flat. I may add an apron for aesthetics though. Im not sure if Id like the look of the cleats. The apron could serve both an aesthetic and structural purpose in this case.

Thanks John!

[Steve Jenkins]

One of the best things you can do for keeping it flat is to finsh the underside like the top

[Gary Radice]

That sounds good. The table top is strong as is so I don't think Ill have issues with its working load. I do like the idea of cleats though to keep everything nice and flat. I may add an apron for aesthetics though. Im not sure if Id like the look of the cleats. The apron could serve both an aesthetic and structural purpose in this case.

Thanks John!

If you aren't sure which look you will like better, you could make a couple of 1/4 or 1/2 scale models out of scrap milled proportionately. No fancy joinery: just hot melt glue the parts together. Probably take you an hour at most. If you want to go an extra step, set up a neutral blank background and take some pics at different angles. Compare the pix. In the pics you tend to ignore the change in size (since there is no reference) and concentrate on how the parts looks together. I find this exercise really helpful for new projects.