I am making a cherry dining room table with two leaves. The table (without the leaves) is going to be 53″L and 31″ wide. The leaves are going to be16″ wide. The table top will be made from three pieces of solid cherry running lengthwise. For aesthetic reasons I planned to make the leaves with the grain running in the same direction as the rest of the table top, but I understand that this creates a weaker “short grain” condition than if I made them with the grain running the long way. Has anyone had experience with this?
Jim
Replies
Many table leaves are made with "aprons" attached underneath, to provide that strength, the same as they do on the top itself. Be sure that the attachment of the aprons allows for the cross grain movement.
lleaves
Most tables have the boards running across the width and the leaves drop into the center of the table. I'll post some pix below of a table I made with the boards running lengthwise and the leaves running crosswise. There is one leaf for each end of the table and in some places this type of leaf is called a company board. If the table has a breadboard edge at each end of the table, you already have a nice transition from long to cross grain direction at the breadboard joint. The company board just continues the cross grain theme. This table is made from reclaimed fence rails and was supposed to look weathered and full of knots
What a lovely work of art..
I will leave it at that,,,
a table with the grain running in different directions...
Even though I did it this way I like the look of your way better. My thought was that since the company boards would only be used at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then covered with a tablecloth, it would not make much difference. Also my design had breadboard ends, insisted upon by my kids as a look they wanted, so I figured the grain is already rotated sideways, why not keep going with the leaves. The short grain problem you worry about is not as much a problem, IMHO, as how you attach the leaves to the main table. If they go on the ends where folks tend to lean on the table I think that is the biggest worry. Later I'll look for the pix of the support system I used that slides out from underneath to support and lock in the leaves as I placed them.
Support System Pics?
I am designing a table almost exactly like yours and would love to see the pics (or Sketchup drawing if available) of the support system for the leaves in your table. It's very nice.
I really don't think you have much of a problem with "short grain" 16" wide boards of 3/4" or better hardwood are still pretty sturdy unless you have the kind of parties where people end up dancing on the table. Remember too that you will have pins or cleats attaching the leaves to the table which also adds support.
not great
Jim, your plan is not impossible but it's not the best way either. Your short-grain leaves won't break, but they are much more susceptible to warpage than if you ran the grain in the long direction. The "continuous look" you are after is really best done with veneer. For many people, as soon as table extensions are in use they would be using a tablecloth anyway, so the whole issue often becomes moot. I have had customers who even asked me to make the extensions in a light weight wood to make handling easier, since they wouldn't be seen anyway.
Thanks, David, that's pretty much what I was thinking. If that is the case, is it better to run the grain of the wood across the table top as well as the leaves so it is consistent, or is it OK to have the wood running lengthwise for the top when the table is closed and across the leaves? I am concerned that the aligning pins might not match up with the holes in the top if it expands or contracts and the leaves don't.
Jim
It's OK
In my book it's fine to have the grain lengthwise in the table and crosswise in the leaves. As I said, for many people it will be covered with a tablecloth anyway. As far as the pins are concerned you can solve it in several ways - elongated holes to take up the expansion, or use only a single pin in the center with little tabs underneath the leaves towards the edges (the single pin will locate the leaf and a tab underneath each side will keep it from tipping if someone leans on it).
If you are trying to get a continuous grain matching you have to decide will it be with all the leafs in place or with none. The grain will only match with one configuration
I am sorry, I don't have a picture or a drawing to show you. I delivered the table quite some time ago. I used the wooden table slides from Rockler (#29496) and found them to be very easy to install. They just screw into the underside of the tabletop. I used slotted openings for the screws to allow for wood movement. I also bought the Align-And-Lock (#21585) to lock the two halves of the table in place when the client was not using the leaves. For $3.19 it was a great additon to the table. By the way, I had the grain run across the table, not length-wise. It looked great and the client was very pleased. Good luck with your table.
Jim
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled