coffee table
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MattRoberts
Established Member
I agree that you're being too critical - they look like a set, and a very nice set at that!
ScottGoddard
Established Member
Great table....Just wondering did you stick to your change in plan and angle the legs from the aprons or do something different? i cant tell from the photos.....Which is probably from a good build.
the taper starts below the apron, so I just had to angle the shoulders on the aprons to splay the legs.
I am not sure how much more difficult it would be to have the taper go right through to the top of the legs but I think you would have to mark out the taper on the legs exactly to get a good result.
Having said that, you would have to look very closely to notice - no doubt it would be more apparent if the legs were not so narrow.
I am not sure how much more difficult it would be to have the taper go right through to the top of the legs but I think you would have to mark out the taper on the legs exactly to get a good result.
Having said that, you would have to look very closely to notice - no doubt it would be more apparent if the legs were not so narrow.
custard
Established Member
nabs":327tjamt said:
That's an interesting question.
Retaining a square, un-tapered section at the top of the leg is the traditional way. There are two main variants, square section at the top with a taper on the inside of the legs commencing below the apron rail; and secondly a square section at the top with a taper on all sides of the legs below the apron rail, in the Hepplewhite/Sheraton style. In this second version the centre of the leg remains plumb to the ground.
However, as soon as you introduce a full length taper (i.e. no square section at the top) you immediately give a piece of furniture a much more contemporary look. Compare for example these two side tables, the first is notionally "Shaker" but it could equally be a country version of an 18th century piece. The second side table has through tapers with a splay and is unmistakably modern,
You can see at a glance that incorporating a drawer would become trickier with a through taper, as the drawer would have to have angled sides. I've done it a few times and it's by no means impossible, but elements like the drawer slips need a bit of thinking about. One option is to inset the drawer into the front apron rail, which then means you can keep the drawer straight sided. In addition a through taper adds complexity when it comes to fastening the top to the base, plus if there's a full width drawer you've then got figure out how to construct the joinery for the two rails that run above and below the drawer. The traditional way is with a dovetail above and twin tusk tenons below, as shown in this photo,
These two joints are straightforward enough when everything's at 90 degrees, but life gets a bit trickier when you have to incorporate a few degrees of angle into them.
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ScottGoddard
Established Member
Custard - if you were to put a draw on the front rail, use the above joinery and have square draw how would you deal with the space between top and bottom rail (as you wouldn't be able to have full width draw due to the angle)
custard
Established Member
ScottGoddard":2humfl3h said:
You can have a drawer with angled sides, it's a little inconvenient to use and it's a bit of a pig to make, but it's perfectly do-able.
However, the more common approach, as you suggest is to cut a rectangular drawer front out of the apron. I'm struggling to find a photo of examples that I've made but here's something that goes at least part way there,
These legs slope on the inner edge, but as it's only by a degree or so it's difficult to see but you get the general idea.
You can go further and have the drawer entirely surrounded by the apron. The usual way of achieving this is to make two rip cuts to separate the upper and lower rails from the drawer front, then make two cross cuts to separate out the front, then you re-glue the upper and lower rails to the end pieces.
