# Spline & Groove Planks



## selfish (Dec 10, 2013)

Good morning all,

I want to make these bad boys into a table top. As you can see in the pics, a cheapo 1x2 fits pretty well in the groove. My question is, are there any gotchas or tricks that I should be aware of before I just slap on some wood glue and a bunch of clamps? I want this to be solid. 

I thought about using a Liquid Nails type of adhesive along the spline, but that seems like a bad idea after thinking about it for a while.


























Thanks for looking!

david


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

I assume you are going for that rustic barn board type look? I can't think there is any reason that joint won't work but it also does not look like the grooves or 1x will be precise enough to give you a flat even top.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*If it were mine ....*

I would joint the edges or rip them on a straight line jig.
To prevent gaps, the edges must be square and straight. For a rustic look where gaps don't matter that much, then barring any severe curves, I would just glue them as is. 
The use of Liquid Nails in the splines isn't a bad idea, since it will fill the gaps as well as hold the planks together really well. Some cupping is evident in the photos, so depending on the "look" they may need to be surfaced on the jointer. If the surface looks good as is, then that would be unnecessary.

If possible turn the cups alternately which will help keep the whole unit from warping. Some advise against that, but it won't hurt.


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## selfish (Dec 10, 2013)

Thanks guys, I'm going for semi-rustic-yet-fancy.

I figured after I got the whole thing glued together I could hand plane it and sand it to get a near flat surface. 

These things are super heavy, so running them across my little bench jointer is a no-go. I would have to use my hand planer when they're on edge, but that should work.


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## selfish (Dec 10, 2013)

It's hard to tell from the pics, but those planks are about 3 1/2" thick after the planing that I have done.


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

Pay now or pay later you will have some work to do to flatten it. Can yiu get away with less overall width? If it were me and I had some extra boards I would rip the little groove right off on the ts, joint and glue the edges without splines.

Yes you can also spend the time later hand planing it flat but that will take a lot of work too. Maybe use a router with rails to flatten it instead.


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## EthanHunt (Aug 27, 2012)

*Thoughts on Clamping*

I apologize if you already know this, but be very careful when clamping this up. Make sure to alternate top and bottom clamps and don't overtighten. I learned this the hard way. Keep a straight edge handy and check to make sure you are not pulling the top into a curve.

I built a large dining table out of rough cut cypress boards. Used triple stacked biscuits every 1.5 feet. That worked very nicely, but I was very careful about edge jointing.

I would use a good wood glue over liquid nails. Titebond is my personal favorite. With a large glue-up like this, you will need something with a longer setup time so you can get everything put together. Titebond III is excellent, but possibly overkill. 

I would also be careful that the spline fits snug without large gaps.

Good luck.


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## EthanHunt (Aug 27, 2012)

Oops. Just noticed how old your post was. Guess you already glued this up. Sorry. I don't know why this came up as a recent post for me to read.


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## joef (Jul 18, 2012)

*Spline & groove planks*

to start of with, I would use the driest planks I could find. if the table is going to be used indoors splines will work fine. however I would drill 1/2'' holes through the edges of each plank every 18'' or so.. glue then insert 3/8'' threaded rod through the width of the table. countersink the outside to receive springs/washers and nuts onto the threaded rods. plug the holes to finish. it's how I made my work bench top. works good.


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## joedain (Jan 19, 2015)

I have bought some of this same wood. I did not join these like this due to the fact that the joints would not match up. I simply attached 4 pieces of 3/4 inch oak on the back to make the flush underneath and then hand planed the top down to what I needed.

http://xomf.com/qvhfj http://xomf.com/fdgwd

On both of these tables, I did put the tongues in there, and they turned out just fine.


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## joedain (Jan 19, 2015)

*Glue needed?*

Hi Ethan, you seem to know more than I do :icon_smile:

My setup is similar, except for my table, I am not going to do any joinery work. I have 4 3/4'' Oak planks full width along the underside.

Do you think I still need to glue the edges? I am leaving the edges rounded to leave a more rustic, reclaimed wood look.




EthanHunt said:


> I apologize if you already know this, but be very careful when clamping this up. Make sure to alternate top and bottom clamps and don't overtighten. I learned this the hard way. Keep a straight edge handy and check to make sure you are not pulling the top into a curve.
> 
> I built a large dining table out of rough cut cypress boards. Used triple stacked biscuits every 1.5 feet. That worked very nicely, but I was very careful about edge jointing.
> 
> ...


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