Desk build. How to attach drawer box and allow for expansion?

[gearhound]

Planning out a desk build and my wife wants me to build something similar to this.

I'm assuming the drawer box is screwed into the support rails on the right side and back, but wondering how to attach it to the top desk surface panel itself? Also, wondering how to attach the panel to the legs while allowing for movement? Maybe I'm overthinking this, but it would be a fairly simple build if not worried about the panel expanding/contracting so I could just domino everything together. (I could use walnut ply for the panel and eliminate the movement, but definitely would prefer to use solid hardwood...and it appears the maker of this used solid too)

Thanks for any suggestions.

Cheers,
Matt

[attachimg=1]

 

[mrFinpgh]

I think you're correct - it's a build where the joints are running cross grain and that would raise a risk of being a problem in the future.

The top is going to expand front to back to some extent or another.  Not sure from the  whether the entire thing is tenoned into those legs, or if there is some room for the top to float in there.  I wonder if maybe there is a screw in the back with a slot to accommodate some movement?

The side of the drawer compartment is obviously an issue running 90 to the top. Maybe there is some 90 deg. angle hardware that is holding the whole box up but allowing for some movement? On the other hand, looks like the bottom of the box is running cross grain to the sides.

 

[Mortiser]

If you run the grain vertically on the vertical panels for the drawer carcass (which is what I would do), you have no problem with cross-grain movement (all the wood is moving in the same direction). You can attach them to the desktop on the inside of the carcass with a couple of small right angle brackets, which you can easily make.

 

[mrFinpgh]

If you run the grain vertically on the vertical panels for the drawer carcass (which is what I would do), you have no problem with cross-grain movement (all the wood is moving in the same direction). You can attach them to the desktop on the inside of the carcass with a couple of small right angle brackets, which you can easily make.

I suppose a really clever maker (with some long stock) would even glue up the parts so the grain ran consistently from left to right and then down the right side, under the bottom, and back up into the top.  [smile]

 

[gearhound]

If you run the grain vertically on the vertical panels for the drawer carcass (which is what I would do), you have no problem with cross-grain movement (all the wood is moving in the same direction). You can attach them to the desktop on the inside of the carcass with a couple of small right angle brackets, which you can easily make.

I suppose a really clever maker (with some long stock) would even glue up the parts so the grain ran consistently from left to right and then down the right side, under the bottom, and back up into the top.  [smile]

Thanks guys! That's exactly how I'm planning to make the drawer box! Didn't think to just use right angle brackets to attach the drawer box though, was planning on domino'ing and making it a lot more work than it needs to be!

EDIT: still curious on the best way to attach the panel to the legs....could go with a domino breadboard technique, but concerned the desk wouldn't be that rigid having dominos floating in oversized mortises?

 

[gearhound]

Going to start milling stock for this build today and just wanted to see if anyone has any suggestions for attaching the desk-top to the legs whilst allowing for expansion? Planning on making the top 30inches wide out of 5/4 stock.

Thanks!

 

[Bob D.]

A sliding dovetail joint on the underside of the desktop (with no glue) could support the left side of the drawer box and still allow for movement.

 

[ChuckM]

Going to start milling stock for this build today and just wanted to see if anyone has any suggestions for attaching the desk-top to the legs whilst allowing for expansion? Planning on making the top 30inches wide out of 5/4 stock.

Thanks!

One approach is to treat the leg aprons as breadboard ends and the tabletop as the breadboard panel. Blind grooves are cut on the two leg aprons (left and right) while one wide middle tenon or multiple shorter tenons (3 - 4?) (preferred for this size of tabletop) are milled on the breadboard panel. Only the middle tenon is doweled and glued in place in the breadboard end (the blind hole is drilled on the apron from underneath).  The remaining tenons have an oblong hole, doweled but NOT glued to allow the tabletop to move.

If you have the Domino Joiner, use it (as a floating tenon tool) instead of cutting tenons on the breadboard panel, and routing grooves in the aprons. Make your own wide dominoes/tenons, and set the mortising width on the joiner to the widest setting for overlapping passes. Make test cuts on scrap panel and leg apron to verify your fence and depth settings if you aren't familiar with the DF. Look into the possibility of using two rows of dominoes for the front and end mortises...on first glance, they are not necessary to me, but you should use your judgment given the size and weight of the tabletop.

I haven't studied the drawer construction in detail, but it kinda looks suitable for the use of the DF500, too.

To me, this is a perfect DF500 (or XL) furniture project. [drooling] But I'd also use the slip joint for aesthetic reasons.

 

[JDB]

I would cut a dado at the top of the drawer box sides on the inside short of cutting through to the front and attack with z clips or a piece of 3/4 by 3/4 strip less than the length of the sides with tenon to fit into the dado of the sides, cut elongated  holes in it and screw to the top. I use z clips to attach table tops to sides and aprons all the time.

 

[tiralie]

Going to start milling stock for this build today and just wanted to see if anyone has any suggestions for attaching the desk-top to the legs whilst allowing for expansion? Planning on making the top 30inches wide out of 5/4 stock. 

I would use a stop dado sliding dovetail for all cross grain joints.
This is a beautiful table. Not easy to make.
Good luck with it.

A sliding dovetail joint on the underside of the desktop (with no glue) could support the left side of the drawer box and still allow for movement.

Agreed. Metal fasteners or domino's would not be required and the panels should stay stable as long as the stock is dry. I think a spot of glue at the front of the stop would be enough to hold it in place.

 

[bkharman]

Planning out a desk build and my wife wants me to build something similar to this. (Additional images of the desk can be found here:https://www.etsy.com/listing/167131331/garfield-desk-solid-wood-two-drawers)

I'm assuming the drawer box is screwed into the support rails on the right side and back, but wondering how to attach it to the top desk surface panel itself? Also, wondering how to attach the panel to the legs while allowing for movement? Maybe I'm overthinking this, but it would be a fairly simple build if not worried about the panel expanding/contracting so I could just domino everything together. (I could use walnut ply for the panel and eliminate the movement, but definitely would prefer to use solid hardwood...and it appears the maker of this used solid too)

Thanks for any suggestions.

Cheers,
Matt

[attachimg=1]

The left side of that drawer box may have dovetail “tabs” on top that slide into the mating dovetail “tracks” on the underside of that top. It is a false box to allow it to move with the top movement.

Either that or it is all chipboard with great veneer!!

It is a very classic look. Hope you pull it off.

Cheers. Bryan.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gearhound]

Well, I'm yet to get around to building this as I'm still not certain on how I want to attach the desktop to the legs. I ended up just asking the seller of this how they do it and was told they just use screws in elongated holes and then plug them and was sent a drawing.

Upon looking at the photo of the side I can't see any wood plugs, so I'm not certain this is how whoever they contract to build it actually makes it?

[attachimg=1][attachimg=2]

I've never used this technique before, but came across a photo showing how this could work. Thinking I could maybe make this cut with a forstner bit and then my domino, but not sure:
[attachimg=3]

Wondering if you guys think this is the best/easiest way to pull off this joint or if I should keep thinking about other options? I'm probably really overthinking this, but want to get started building this soon.

Thanks!

 

[gearhound]

Welp, I put off this project for 5 years! A few years ago I milled/cut all the pieces and a few months ago I glued up the legs/panel. Finally back at it and hoping to finish, but I'm still racking my brain on how to attach the legs to the desktop! The desktop is made up of 4 pieces of walnut and I'm concerned about the seasonal movement of the wood expanding/contracting, wondering if the following is the best strategy for allowing movement while keeping it rigid:
1. Cut mortises for dominos in the front board/legs on the tight setting and glue them in on both sides...this way all movement occurs on the back end of the desktop
2. Cut tight mortises in the middle and back side of the legs and glue in dominos to go into wide mortises on the panel that are left unglued so they can float/expand & contract
3. Cut plug holes and put in screws in the middle/back of the legs with expansion slots to pull everything tight as shown in the photo on my post just above this one

I've never used a slotted expansion screw type joint before so not sure how rigid it will be? Don't really like the idea of using plugs and attempting to get a decent grain match either...plus these plug holes would be massive and detract from the elegant aesthetic. With how this desktop joints directly into the legs I'm not sure of any other options other than maybe draw-boring dowels into the floating dominos from underneath and that would be a pain too and I don't want to see dowels on the top. I've never cut a sliding dovetail, but wondering if a stopped sliding dovetail would be the cleanest way to do this if properly executed? Anyone have better ideas on how to attach this desktop to the legs?

(I have past experience with a large walnut panel and using the floating glued/unglued domino joinery in a king-size bed I built, but in that build I got added stability from being able to domino the cross rail under the headboard: https://festoolownersgroup.com/thre...od-movement-in-a-headboard.58466/#post-729968)

Any suggestions before I move forward would be greatly appreciated. Here's where I'm currently at in this build: