Cantilevered leg desk that ended up not really being cantilevered...

[MisterDrow]

Finished up that second desk for my friend a few weeks back. The original plan was to do cantilevered legs. In the photos below, you will see it as it was delivered. 

I miscalculated the amount of poplar needed so that back-brace ended up being made from a scrap of walnut leftover from the top. Not going to lie... it was painful to paint over that stuff but I was on a time crunch so that's what happened.

After delivery, neither myself nor my friend were comfortable with the amount of deflection that happened when weight was put on the front portion of the desk so this past weekend I went over and we added some vertical braces about 16" from the back leg. I didn't get pictures of that part but my friend said he'd take pics when it was all set up.

What I learned was that cantilever is cool but only if the top surface isn't going to stick out ver far. If I could go back and do it again, I'd probably corner-brace the top and bottom of the cantilevered part to maintain the open-front on the legs but it is what it is. Bottom line, he's still happy and this project is out of my shop so I can focus on stuff I'm way behind on at home.

[Eric.]

I think I'd be more comfortable if they were pinned bridle joints.  I feel like M&T could fail there eventually.  As long as no one sits on it you're probably okay.

[wdwerker]

Wider, bigger joints or knee braces is what I would have done from the beginning. Live and learn.

Final table looks good !

[MisterDrow]

Just now, Eric. said:

I think I'd be more comfortable if they were pinned bridle joints.  I feel like M&T could fail there eventually.  As long as no one sits on it you're probably okay.

The original plan was to do drawbored tenons but due to my lack of experience in that area and the short timeframe I had to complete this project I went with straight bridle joints.

[MisterDrow]

Just now, wdwerker said:

Wider, bigger joints or knee braces is what I would have done from the beginning. Live and learn.

Final table looks good !

Yeah, it was a learning process and, like I said, there are definitely things I would do differently if I could go back. That all being said, my friend is happy and I have another project (and some learning) under my belt.

[Eric.]

The pins would be a huge asset in a situation like that.  It's too late for drawbored pins but you could always go back and add a couple walnut dowels at each joint if you're nervous about it.

[MisterDrow]

Just now, Eric. said:

The pins would be a huge asset in a situation like that.  It's too late for drawbored pins but you could always go back and add a couple walnut dowels at each joint if you're nervous about it.

the vertical braces we put in took care of the issue. The joints were holding strong on their own but it just didn't sit flat and wanted to deflect downward in the front when heavy weight was placed on it. The vertical braces were a quick solution to this problem that he was willing to live with. I definitely want to look into cantilevered legs a bit more, though, and see what I can do differently in the future. I wanted to make some small desks with that style of legs that my kids could use while sitting on their bed or a couch. They will be much smaller but I'll definitely design them differently when the time comes.

[Eric.]

Take a look at some of Nakashima's work for lessons in cantilever.  He used it quite a bit.

http://www.nakashimawoodworker.com/furniture/

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MisterDrow]

5 minutes ago, Eric. said:

Take a look at some of Nakashima's work for lessons in cantilever.  He used it quite a bit.

http://www.nakashimawoodworker.com/furniture/

Will do! That's some beautiful woodwork, there.

[MisterDrow]

On 9/5/2017 at 2:13 PM, Eric. said:

As long as no one sits on it you're probably okay.

After we reinforced it he goes, "I'm going to sit on it. Are you nervous?" I said, "Nope. Go for it." He did, it held beautifully, and then he stood up. I then said, "You know how I said I wasn't nervous? I lied. I was terrified."

[wdwerker]

There's a lesson in there. I sit my fat butt on it long before the client ever gets a chance too ! Then you have time to fix it if nessacary. And that's why most old timers over build stuff, we're just covering our ass !