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Thread: desk leg design challenge using thin wood

  1. #1
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    desk leg design challenge using thin wood

    Greetings. I am looking at making a small desk or writing table - something traditional. The challenge is that wood I have chosen to work with is a maximum 1" thick. Normally, I would use 8/4 for the legs, with straight tapers, turned shapes, or saber legs. But I dont want to glue up the 1" thick wood into legs unless I absolutely have to. I plan to M/T the aprons into the legs, but open on that. Anyone have a good idea for a shapely leg design that works with wood that thin? I know I could make the legs as wide as possible to provide strength, but that looks clunky.

  2. #2
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    Well, you can use two pieces of the 1" lumber by gluing them into an L-channel. The important part is to bevel the edges of the two pieces, so the glue line runs down the outside corner of the L-channel. Your eye expects to see grain-pattern shifts at a corner, so you don't notice that there's two pieces of lumber in the leg.

  3. #3
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    Thanks Jamie, that a good solution

  4. #4
    You can make solid panel or frame and panel sides.

    What is your aversion to laminating? This provides design opportunities such as layering an internal band of contrast.
    Last edited by Prashun Patel; 01-16-2019 at 11:06 AM.

  5. #5
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    Thanks Prashun. The desk will not be a kneehole desk, more like a table with a wider apron and a large drawer in front. So it would be standing on four unbraced spindly legs. Besides the potentially visible glue line, my reluctance to glue up bigger legs is based on one experience in which I split a laminated leg at the glue joint when I inserted the tenoned aprons. My faulty construction, I know, but would still like a good alternative.

  6. #6
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    Other than the possible difficulties in matching grain patterns, I would not hesitate to laminate for thicker legs. I have done it many times although not in recent years. Be sure to use fresh glue and plenty of clamps to prevent a repeat of your mishap. Good luck!
    Rustic? Well, no. That was not my intention!

  7. #7
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    If you glue up 3 layers of wood and just leave out for the mortises the tenons will fit perfectly so no risk of splitting.

  8. #8
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    Thanks Tom. What an interesting solution.

  9. #9
    Traditional stickley furniture is all quartersawn white oak. It's not possible to get quarter sawn ray flecking on all four faces of a solid table or chair leg, so Stickley made the factory make four sided quartersawn legs by using lock mitered built-up legs. this is an option, too.

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