I’m planning a coffee table with breadboard ends. I’d like to use my newly-acquired Leigh D4 to attach the breadboard ends with a sliding dovetail.
The attached photo from the Leigh website implies that this is possible, but the manual and videos only address a bookcase-type sliding dovetail with the boards at a 90 degree angle, not end-to-end.
Is this possible (I assume setting the female board in the jig vertically instead of horizontally)? Is it advisable, or should I just use a tongue and groove instead? Since any stress will be in a downward direction rather than pulling, maybe a dovetail isn’t the best choice. Any hints gratefully accepted.
Edited 10/20/2008 12:08 pm ET by KentMich
Replies
Hi,
I was a young woodworker once. It's true. Back then I had made a sewing table for my sweetie and across 22" of birch cut in a sliding dovetail. Then I brought the table top over to a big cabinet shop with a sander to flatten the whole thing. The foreman looked at me, crooked an eyebrow, and sighed.
So, listen and see if you can hear me sighing now.
It's a nice thought that breadboard end sliding dovetail. Dang near impossible as a straight sliding dovetail. More possible as a tapered one, but still tough to pull off over any length and get good strength.
And for what? As you point out, the force is mostly down or up as someone lifts the table. The true purpose is to cover the end grain of the boards of the top and to keep them flat while still allowing for movement.
There is, I am sure, a way to incorporate dovetailed tenons on the ends of a wide board with a tongue and groove in the middle. But life is short. Your sweetie is probably waiting for this table. Cut a nice full width tongue and groove, put in a spring joint along the long edge of the bboard end, glue it in the middle, and enjoy it. Save that Leigh jig for something sane.
Gary,
Thanks for your insights. Exactly why I asked the experts.Next I was going to ask you what an edge joint is and how to do it - but I did a quick search and found an article "An Edge-Jointing Primer" from way back in 1997. You wrote it, and it answers all my questions as well as a few I didn't even know to ask!Thanks,Kent
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