Deadeye
Established Member
I'm well on with making a cross-leg kitchen table for my son.
The crossed legs will be pinned together by a stretcher that has a tenon through the central diamond where the legs cross, and be held with a removable wedge on the outside against a shoulder on the inside. The board for the stretcher is a shade over 50mm thick, so plenty to allow a shoulder.
Is there a rule of thumb about how much material I should leave on the legs - it's a trade off between stronger legs and beefier tenon (which will, in turn be easier to bore for a wedge?
The legs are 100mm wide, but angled so the crossover is a diamond, not a square.
My best estimate currently is a 25mm thick tenon that can be 75mm long and still leave 18mm minimum on each side to the edge of the leg. Does that sound about right?
I'll then cut an 8mm mortise for a peg on the outside, leaving 8.5mm each side to hold it.
I'm pretty sure this will work, but would love to have a thumbs up from someone more experienced!
The crossed legs will be pinned together by a stretcher that has a tenon through the central diamond where the legs cross, and be held with a removable wedge on the outside against a shoulder on the inside. The board for the stretcher is a shade over 50mm thick, so plenty to allow a shoulder.
Is there a rule of thumb about how much material I should leave on the legs - it's a trade off between stronger legs and beefier tenon (which will, in turn be easier to bore for a wedge?
The legs are 100mm wide, but angled so the crossover is a diamond, not a square.
My best estimate currently is a 25mm thick tenon that can be 75mm long and still leave 18mm minimum on each side to the edge of the leg. Does that sound about right?
I'll then cut an 8mm mortise for a peg on the outside, leaving 8.5mm each side to hold it.
I'm pretty sure this will work, but would love to have a thumbs up from someone more experienced!
