this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
15 points (100.0% liked)

Woodworking

6179 readers
122 users here now

A handmade home for woodworkers and admirers of woodworkers. Our community icon is a planter box made by @Captain Aggravated, the winner of our summer '24 woodworking contest. Congratulations!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
15
Making strong "Z legs" for a table (self.woodworking)
submitted 10 months ago by Swaziboy to c/[email protected]
8 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hey WW community. Exactly as the title says - I am making some work tables for my kids. They'll be used for homework, laptops, etc. And they're kids, so one can guarantee a little bit of abuse.

They're designing them, and the "z leg" is all the rage apparently - I am in the process of designing these in sketchup, and wanted to get some input/ideas on how to make these really strong. I obviously cannot make them out of a single piece of wood, so there will be some joins, probably on the apex points. Oh and the designs currently require the apex points of the Z to be rounded ....

I'm considering using half-lap bridle joints, making the Z's angular, then routing the curves into them.

Input, advice, links to designs welcome!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

You just pound /glue a small wedge into the gap, since no one will notice discontinuities in end-grain. However, I can also imagine a bandsaw jig that clamps the bridle piece to an inclined plane till you get the angle you want. (Contrasting dowels will look nice! Dowel-makers are stupid easy to make.)