My first project is a new farm table. I have the basic tools but what is the best SIMPLE way to glue the top boards together keeping it flat and smooth and tight?
You've probably done this already, but the best SIMPLE way is likely in the link on Ana's site that dakahl provided. There's tools such as biscuit joiners or loose tenon jigs that do really nice, completely hidden joinery. But if no one's really going to see the bottom, pocket hole joinery works great. There's a lot of different jigs out there you can buy to do this. Well, maybe not a lot, but a few brands. Kreg is proably the most popular. There's maybe three or four things I'd say are really important.
Straight, flat boards. You probably don't have a jointer or planer. So you need to make sure to select your wood very carefully. Maybe a bit more expensive, but the S4S boards should have the quality you need. Check for any bows or twists or other imperfections.
You need a flat surface to work on. Maybe a good piece of plywood on some level sawhorses. Unless you're going to rest the pieces on clamps. (Though you still need flatness.) And you do need clamps. You want to make sure you have good clamping pressure for the glue; which you should use in addition to the pocket hole screws. Some say you don't need this, but I think it's good idea. And you don't want anything to be moving when you drive in the pocket hole screws.
You may want to cut the boards a little long, and then trim to make sure the ends are all the same. Just be careful to position the last end pocket holes / screws accordingly; you don't want to accidentally try to go through them with your saw.
Test your jig and drill bit and screw sizes on scrap first. You don't want to go through the top of your nice wood. So also, don't over drive the pocket hole screws. If the joint doesn't tighen up nicely with a solid screwing in down to the pocket hole shoulder, then there's something else wrong wit the edge of your board. The edges have to be nicely straight and aligned first and you can easily check for that before joining tings up. Use light pencil to indicate which things get joined to which so there's no changes when you lay things out after drilling. You can use an eraser or a sander to get rid of the marks. Or just not care if no one will see them anyway.
dakahl
Fri, 06/12/2015 - 19:15
Hi Sandy. I see no one
Hi Sandy. I see no one responded, so I'll try to give my help.
Check out this post from Ana. It should help you make a great tabletop for your project. http://ana-white.com/2014/05/plans/10-tips-building-tabletops
Good luck!
ScottBuilds
Fri, 07/17/2015 - 14:15
You've probably done this
You've probably done this already, but the best SIMPLE way is likely in the link on Ana's site that dakahl provided. There's tools such as biscuit joiners or loose tenon jigs that do really nice, completely hidden joinery. But if no one's really going to see the bottom, pocket hole joinery works great. There's a lot of different jigs out there you can buy to do this. Well, maybe not a lot, but a few brands. Kreg is proably the most popular. There's maybe three or four things I'd say are really important.