Adding a Slot to Install Table Top Fasteners
George VondriskaDescription
When it comes time to install the top on a table, it is important to come up with an approach that allows the table top to expand and contract freely with seasonal changes in humidity. If we don’t accommodate this movement, bad things are bound to happen. The table top could crack, or the movement could cause structural problems to the base.
The way that many woodworkers choose to install the table top to accommodate the movement is to use some sort of table top fasteners. You could choose to make your own table top fasteners, but there are also commercially viable options available that are inexpensive and easy to use. One of the popular types is a clip that attaches solidly to the table top, and the other end goes into a slot in the table rails. The slot is where the expansion and contraction can safely occur without causing problems to the table.
Installing a table top fastener clip requires an understanding of the mechanics of the device so that you can achieve maximum holding power. You can choose to cut the slots using a table saw, or as George demonstrates here, you can also use a biscuit joiner for this task. The basic steps include:
Determine the slot position. You need to establish the correct distance between the slot and the table top for optimal holding power, and George will show you the secret for doing this right.
Mill the slot. Once you’ve identified the fence height it is as simple as cutting a biscuit slot.
Install the clip. After the top is positioned, attach the clip with a screw and you’re done.
Now that your table is complete, take a look at more furniture making videos to determine what your next heirloom project will be!
When you're gonna use tabletop fasteners in order to join rails to a solid wood tabletop, what that does is it allows expansion and contraction. It allows the top to float independently of the base. Very, very important thing to do in you're furniture making. So what we need is to get groovy here. We need a groove in the rail that will receive the table top fastener and allow it to slide back and forth seasonally, as that type expands and contracts. We could go to the table saw for that. That's not a bad method. Another way to do it is with your biscuit joiner. So here's where I'm at. I've got my biscuit joiner fence location set at about three-eights of an inch. And currently, it's the position that allows you to center the biscuit on a three-quarter inch board. I'm gonna make a cut there and then we're gonna look at that and see where we're at. I don't think it's gonna be right for the fastener, but it's going to give us an idea of what kind of adjustment we need to make. I'm on the number 20 setting. Now, the way to confirm is simply put your tabletop fastener in that slot and what I'm looking for is. There needs to be just a little bit of a gap between that horizontal leg and the surface that it's sitting on. When I pull this out, that lip there, this lip, should be engaged on that slide. There should be some tension there. There isn't. So what that tells me is that my biscuit slot is a little too close to the edge. It's close, but it's not right. So I'm gonna loosen, make an adjustment, go again. All right, this is good. Now, see how when I move the rail away, a little tension from my thumb. The tabletop fastener kind of collapses. It seats down toward the bottom of my tabletop. That's where we wanna be. That's a good spot for the slot. Now, we're ready to do the rails and this is the easy part. I've got my rails marked T for top. That shows me where the top of the rail is. All I'm gonna do is flush up the end of the biscuit joiner with this end, cut a slot, end of the biscuit joiner up with this end, cut a slot size of this table, and it really only needs those two. That'll be great. Same thing to the other rail and we're set. Now, last thing, you only have to do this in the cross grain rails. We don't put slots and tabletop fasteners into the rails that are parallel to the grain. So once this is done, then that one's done, my rails are set and ready to receive tabletop fasteners.
Why only on cross grain. Are you not using any fastners for parallel at all? I get that the woods will move more at same rate so can you use a solid mount instead of a floating?