rodger. Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Looking to install a solid wooden shelf about 6" from the floor of a side table. I would like to notch out the legs and place the shelf in the notches. Seems like this would not allow for wood movement, and eventually cause undo stress on the table. However, I have seen this done many times. Opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Looking to install a solid wooden shelf about 6" from the floor of a side table. I would like to notch out the legs and place the shelf in the notches. Seems like this would not allow for wood movement, and eventually cause undo stress on the table. However, I have seen this done many times. Opinions? Can you leave a little extra room in the notches for expansion? Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Like Shane said, but you really only have to worry about expansion across the grain. The other direction could be solid. What is the dimension across the grain? There is a calculator somwhere in the interwebs that will tell you how much movement to expect. Could be it isn't enough to cause a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 hey pug, thats the way i did the shelves for the side table i made, see walnut and cherry side table under project showcase, i did as shane suggests and left a little extra room but i didn't glue in the shelves, i ran a cherry dowel thru the front of the leg and into the shelf only putting glue on the last 1/4 inch of the dowel to hold the shelf in place, no problems yet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Wright Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 I would say it depends on the design. You have two forces from wood movement to worry about Force#1 the cross grain glue joint between the shelf and the leg. For a typical table leg this is only 1-3", and you can typically glue across the grain for a small dimension like that Force#2 the expansion of the shelf. This would cause the legs to splay in and out, so it really depends on the overall design. For most side table designs, there is room for the legs to spread the necessary 1/4" without damaging the rest of the table Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 I'll do a quick sketchup to help. Thanks for the advice so far folks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 here is a sketchup diagram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Wright Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 I think you can glue it no problem. If you want a little stronger joint, put a recessed screw in from the bottom of the shelf, or shoot a brad from the bottom. The cross grain glue surface is so small it shouldn't cause problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted January 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 opinions on this method?. would use the domino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Wright Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 I think it looks better if the shelf is recessed into the leg. Here is an antique table in our house that is similar to your design. The the legs are around 1" square where they join the shelf. The shelf is notched into the legs around 3/4". My guess is that the shelf has all four corners clipped at 45 degrees and there is a matching dado in each leg to receive the shelf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted January 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 And you have a pug on your table! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 Yeah, I'd notch the legs. If you don't like that idea, you could use breadboards and tenons into the legs. Cremona used this technique for his walnut coffee table if you don't know what I'm talking about... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 I've done tables similar to this by notching all 4 legs, glueing the shelf just to the front legs and letting the rear of the shelf float in the notches. The shelf covers any gap in the rear legs as that too is notched to fit between the legs. You do have to think about your glueing strategy though as you can only fit the rear legs once you have the shelf in place as the shelf becomes captive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Wright Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 3 hours ago, Pug said: And you have a pug on your table! We have had pugs over the years and my wife loves them. Right now we are "pugless" since we have two mix breed rescues. That little carved pug was a gift from someone along the way and he lives on the table in our entryway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted January 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 7 hours ago, Eric. said: Yeah, I'd notch the legs. If you don't like that idea, you could use breadboards and tenons into the legs. Cremona used this technique for his walnut coffee table if you don't know what I'm talking about... neat idea. The time to make a decision is coming up - need to get a start on this table. Ill check out the video - thanks Eric. Thanks for all the advice - I'm leaning towards the notched legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted January 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 been poking around you tube and google, but cant seem to find a demo of someone cutting or laying out notches in table legs for lower shelving. can anyone point me to a magazine article or website? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Wright Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 Don't have a video, but here's what I would do. The drawing is crude, but basically you make a jig to cut a 45 degree slot in the corner of the leg using either a dado stack or a router. For a small table loke you are building I think you can just glue the bottom in at all four corners 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted February 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 17 minutes ago, Andy Wright said: Don't have a video, but here's what I would do. The drawing is crude, but basically you make a jig to cut a 45 degree slot in the corner of the leg using either a dado stack or a router. For a small table loke you are building I think you can just glue the bottom in at all four corners This is kinda what I was imagining in my head as well. Thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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