'Tripod' Table

[stuartpaul]

I posted a while ago about making a tripod coffee table and received some useful advice.

The design has now changed to a four legged table:

I'm still inclined to use sliding dovetails but have wondered if it's possible to make the legs in pairs and join them with a form of cross halving joint and 'insert' them into 'mortices' in the bottom of the column? I can then plant a section under that to provide the support and strength I'm looking for.

Might save a lot of work and still retain the strength needed.

I'm left wondering if it will work? It's not a big table (20" high/wide) and will only receive occasional use (more ornamental than anything else).

Any thoughts?

 

[wizer]

Our last dining table was of that design and it used sliding dovetails. After about 10yrs of light service, one of the sliding dovetail joints failed. My elegant, temporary solution was to drive screws into it :lol: Table now replaced, but it might tell you that this joint isn't quite suitable in this situation? I dunno.

 

[Ironballs]

Two things strike me if you're going to make them in pairs as 2 parts of a halving joint. The first is that it's going to be very wasteful making effectively a single leg that spans the table, or if not wasteful then you're going to have a number of joints in the leg that could fail.

The second thing is that if you have a big halving joint M&T'd into the base then there will be very little wood left in the base and you're just transferring the likeliest area of failure from the leg to the base.

I would still go sliding dovetail but you may be able to work out a loose tenon affair leaving enough material in the base - each leg has 2 loose tenons that go straight through the base and into the opposing leg. However this isn't much more than a glue joint strength and levering force from the top wise

 

[OPJ]

Two things strike me if you're going to make them in pairs as 2 parts of a halving joint. The first is that it's going to be very wasteful making effectively a single leg that spans the table, or if not wasteful then you're going to have a number of joints in the leg that could fail.

Also, you're going to have a lot of short, weak grain. :wink: