So I’ve made a small stool similar to the one in the picture I’ve attached to this posting. (Note: this is not my stool!)
I was told by someone to put the wedges in so that the wedge will be parallel to the grain at the end of the leg. The rationale being that the leg will “split” easier. However, on two of the legs of my stool, the end grain is running almost 90 degrees to the grain of the seat of the stool and I’ve heard you want the wedge to be perpendicular to the grain of the seat.
What to do?
Thanks for any advice.
shawn
Replies
Ess,
If you saw a kerf in the end of the leg before assembly, you can orient the end grain (growth rings) any way you want. But, you do need to pay attention to the orientation of the sawkerfs when you assemble the legs to the top.
If the legs are already glued in the top, and you want to add wedges at this point, you can simply start a split with a chisel, and drive a wedge into the split. The orientation of the growth rings is more a matter of appearance than structural integrity. It is also somewhat more risky to use the wedge itself to extend the split, as the wedge can break off instead of driving in deeper. Using a strong wood, like hickory, for the wedges, improves your odds, as does splitting and shaving or whittling the wedges, rather than sawing them.
What is most important is that the wedges be oriented at right angles to the direction of the grain of the top, or you risk splitting the top with the spreading force exerted by the wedge. The wedge of the far leg in the photo you posted, is exactly wrongly placed, the other two, only somewhat so (not enough to matter). While it is symmetrically pleasing (ie all three wedges point towards the center of the top), it is structurally suspect.
Ray
Thanks a lot Ray! That answers my question.
shawn
You're welcome shawn.
Ray
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