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Full Version: What grain direction for wooden buttons to attach a table top?
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Hi All,

I'm making a live edge dining room table out of walnut (top) and cherry (legs). The legs are basically solid glue ups of 2" thick cherry (30" long x 27" wide) mounted about 18" from each edge of the table. I'm planning to attach the legs to the table top with wood shop made buttons, screwed into the top and sitting in slots routed into the legs using a Festool Domino. The width of the Domino mortice will allow for the movement of the top (the movement of the top would be to make the table wider and narrower, not longer in my understanding).

My question is what grain direction should I make the buttons? I will make a rabbet in the button to fit the domino slot. Shoult the long grain face into the mortice, or be parallel when inserted into the mortice. My thinking is it should face "into" the mortice...Thoughts?
(01-25-2021, 08:58 AM)measurecutcurse Wrote: [ -> ]Hi All,

I'm making a live edge dining room table out of walnut (top) and cherry (legs). The legs are basically solid glue ups of 2" thick cherry (30" long x 27" wide) mounted about 18" from each edge of the table. I'm planning to attach the legs to the table top with wood shop made buttons, screwed into the top and sitting in slots routed into the legs using a Festool Domino. The width of the Domino mortice will allow for the movement of the top (the movement of the top would be to make the table wider and narrower, not longer in my understanding).

My question is what grain direction should I make the buttons? I will make a rabbet in the button to fit the domino slot. Shoult the long grain face into the mortice, or be parallel when inserted into the mortice. My thinking is it should face "into" the mortice...Thoughts?

Grain runs length of button so the rabbet is across the grain.
(01-25-2021, 09:32 AM)Rob Young Wrote: [ -> ]Grain runs length of button so the rabbet is across the grain.

Hi Rob,

Thanks, this is what I thought, but wanted confirmation.
(01-25-2021, 09:32 AM)Rob Young Wrote: [ -> ]Grain runs length of button so the rabbet is across the grain.

+1.