# 2x10 table top joinery



## Chicago guy

Hi,
I recently purchased some cherry wood in 2x10. I want to join these pieces together to make a table top for a dining table. What is my best option to join these pieces together? I have a Kreg jig but I'm new to building and I'm not sure this would work well with this table top. Any good ideas you guys can give me? Thank you.


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## Trav

Edge joint the material and use a pva glue such as titebond II. Clamp the edges together and let it dry. No need for mechanical fasteners.


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## Chicago guy

Thank you Ttharp!


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## fareastern

With a 2 inch thick top you will have an exceptionally heavy piece of furniture.If you ever move house you will need some strong assistants.


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## epicfail48

Simple edge joint would do you fine, but if you have a router and a slot cutter, I'd cut a spline in the edges as well. Doesn't add much strength, just makes alignment easier


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## Steve Neul

Joint the wood and be sure to dry fit the boards to where there is no gaps first. Even a 1/32" gap between the boards is too much. The amount of pressure needed to force a gap together is how much pressure there will be trying to pull the joint apart afterwards. When you mount the top to the table be sure to mount it in such of a way to allow for the top to shrink as it ages. Table top clips is a good way to achieve this.


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## FrankC

It may be easier to do the glue up in steps, after making sure all boards fit, butt glue two together then add the next board when glue on first two has set and continue in that manner. That way you only have one seam to contend with at a time.


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## jacko9

*Table top construction*



Chicago guy said:


> Hi,
> I recently purchased some cherry wood in 2x10. I want to join these pieces together to make a table top for a dining table. What is my best option to join these pieces together? I have a Kreg jig but I'm new to building and I'm not sure this would work well with this table top. Any good ideas you guys can give me? Thank you.


While you say your new to building, have you had any experience in woodworking? Others have suggested edge joining which I would also suggest but, are you familiar with getting a straight and square edge on your boards?

Once you have straight edge boards that are square to the face you might want to pay attention to the end grain for growth rings. A 10" wide board will move a lot with moisture changes so, alternating growth rings while arranging your boards for appearance is a good idea.

Titebond II Extend is a good glue to use with a little more open working time before you need to get the clamps on.

Clamps are important to get a tight joint you need to clamp every 8" or so along the length of your joint.

Let us know if any of this helps or if you need additional information.

Jack


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## Chicago guy

fareastern said:


> With a 2 inch thick top you will have an exceptionally heavy piece of furniture.If you ever move house you will need some strong assistants.


My brother just bought the house so we're not planning on moving the table to another place. That is definitely something I realized when I was putting each piece of wood in the trailer. I'm kind of learning things as I go so I appreciate the heads up. I have a huge work table that a friend just gave me where I'm going to lay the wood out and have my brother take a look to see if this is the size he truly wants. I haven't cut them yet so right now they are 12 ft long.


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## Chicago guy

Thank you all for the replies, I really appreciate your help.

FrankC that is what I was planning on doing. Thank you.


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## Chicago guy

jacko9 said:


> While you say your new to building, have you had any experience in woodworking? Others have suggested edge joining which I would also suggest but, are you familiar with getting a straight and square edge on your boards?


Hi Jack,

When I say I'm new, I only have two tables done that didn't take a lot of skill to build so I should say I don't have any experience. I'm not really sure how I'm going to get a straight and square edge. Not going to lie, other than watching a few videos and doing some research, I have no experience doing this. The pieces of wood also have a live edge which I wanted to keep on the sides of the table so I'm kind of confused how to go about this.I have access to a good table saw and was hoping to practice with some scrap wood I have laying around.

Any ideas you guys can give a newbie to make things a little easier?

Thank you.


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## jacko9

*Construction details*



Chicago guy said:


> Hi Jack,
> 
> When I say I'm new, I only have two tables done that didn't take a lot of skill to build so I should say I don't have any experience. I'm not really sure how I'm going to get a straight and square edge. Not going to lie, other than watching a few videos and doing some research, I have no experience doing this. The pieces of wood also have a live edge which I wanted to keep on the sides of the table so I'm kind of confused how to go about this.I have access to a good table saw and was hoping to practice with some scrap wood I have laying around.
> 
> Any ideas you guys can give a newbie to make things a little easier?
> 
> Thank you.


You say the boards have a live edge? Are both edges that way? If your friend has a table saw, does he also have a long bed jointer?

If you can get one edge straight and square on the Jointer you can cut the parallel edge on the table saw. For the outside live edge you'll need to get some sort of soft cauls for the clamps to grip when you do the last two outside boards.

Jack


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## Chicago guy

Yeah both sides have live edges. Unfortunately, my friend does not have a jointer. I have been thinking about it and I'm going to invest in a table saw, a jointer, and a planer. I still have some time before I start this table. Thanks for all the great tips jacko9!


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## Chicago guy

I'm curious, what is the correct steps to build a table top after you get square and straight edges? Do you run each board through the planer then join them together and then sand?


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## Masterjer

Yes that's right. Squaring up your boards before glueing us the right way to go. A jointer will flatten one face, then use the jointer to flatten one edge while registering the flattened face off the fence. This ensures one face and one edge are flat and perpindicular. Then use a planer to get the opposite face flat and parallel and finally, use the tablesaw to square up the other edge. 

Once the boards are square, glue them together and then flatten the joints. Do your best to get the joints smooth when you glue the boards together. Cauls will really help.


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## jacko9

*Table construction*



Chicago guy said:


> Yeah both sides have live edges. Unfortunately, my friend does not have a jointer. I have been thinking about it and I'm going to invest in a table saw, a jointer, and a planer. I still have some time before I start this table. Thanks for all the great tips jacko9!


Purchasing and learning to use a Jointer, Planer and Table Saw is a great start to making quality furniture however, you already purchased some fine lumber so you need to protect your investment until you start working on your project.

2" x 10" x 12' pieces of Cherry are pretty valuable and you don't want to have them warp and check on you so, think about storage until you get started.

I would get them off the ground and place them on supports every 18" or so and use something like 3/4" thick by 1" wide strips of plywood to act as spacers between each board. Coat the ends with sealer or paint and let air fl;ow around then stack as much as possible (out of the sun and rain of course).

When you do get around to this project you mention that you want to have a "live edge". Do you mean by this that you want to leave the tree bark on the outside edge of the table?

Jack


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## Chicago guy

Thanks for all the great info jacko9. Right now I have all the boards laying on top of a big work table my friend gave me. With the garage closed, it is away from the sun and rain. I will definitely take your advice, coating the ends is a great idea.

By "live edges" I meant the side of the wood where the bark once sat. On these pieces the bark is gone. However, after looking at the boards, I changed my mind and plan on having all straight and square edges.

Thanks again.


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## jacko9

Chicago guy said:


> Thanks for all the great info jacko9. Right now I have all the boards laying on top of a big work table my friend gave me. With the garage closed, it is away from the sun and rain. I will definitely take your advice, coating the ends is a great idea.
> 
> By "live edges" I meant the side of the wood where the bark once sat. On these pieces the bark is gone. However, after looking at the boards, I changed my mind and plan on having all straight and square edges.
> 
> Thanks again.


Those are some pretty nice looking boards. At 12' long you might be able to get either one very long table top or two table tops out of that material.

If those are end checks (cracks) to minimize further checking along the length West Systems sells Penetrating Epoxy that you can use to fill the cracks. Coating the ends is still a very good idea.

Good luck and check back with us when you get to your project.

If you don't get a machine Jointer and Planer, you can always go the slow old fashioned route and hand plane them (that takes a lot of practice) or you can pay a mill to finish them for you.

Jack


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