Attaching Top and a little design help

[Bryan S]

Got the top glued up and sanded back flat (well relitavly flat) but it needs a little something.

Heres the top

Heres the top setting on the entertainment center

It seams like the top needs a profile routed into the edges but what would work. I routed a 1/4 in roundover beaded profile into the base and the drawer. I have cut and routed some strips with an 1/8 inch beaded roundover profile that will be attached to the sides to give a little more detail and give a frame and panel look.

As far as attaching the top. The plans called for several oversize screw holes drilled and counterbored into the ply that will support the top (oversize holes to allow for expansion of the panel). I have predrilled all the holes but I was wandering if it would be better to use figure 8 clips at the corners and a couple of screws near the center to help hold the top flat.

Theres been alot of goofs during this project and so far I have been able to recover, but goofs at this point will get tougher to recover from or hide. Funny part is this has taken me so long that the case, frames, and drawer front are now darker than the freshly milled cherry top and the trim pieces for the sides are. Now how did that happen :dontknow: I guess I'll have to set them in the sun some this week to try and catch up.

 

[cptully]

One classic method of attaching a top is to rout a groove in the support frame about 1/2 down from the top and make clips that fit snuggly but not too tight in that groove and screw them to the top. One every 2-3 feet on each side is usually enough to hold a top securely in place but will still allow for expansion and contraction. Keep in mind that a piece with top attached in this way should be lifted by the frame, not the top.

Chris

 

[Steve W]

Bryan, I'd just radius the bottom edge and relieve the top edge. A cove could also work on the bottom and would complement the rounded base.

:kermit: Steve

 

[DaveO]

It looks like your sub-top is all ply and doesn't really have any inside edges to work with. I would use enlarged holes in the ply sub-top and washer headed screws into the main top. You can have two centered holes on the narrow ends that are a firm fit to help keep the top aligned. The others would be enlarged/elongated to allow for the top's movement.
I would treat the top edge with a 30º chamfer which would lighten it's profile. That's pretty easy to do on the table saw, with the top on edge...a tall sub-fence helps :icon_thum


Dave