wedges on staked saw bench

[overland]

Quick question: When do I drive in the wedges? Do I do it when I glue and insert the legs, or do I wait?

[paarker]

I would put them in when I glued the legs. This would then help keep the legs in place while the glue dries.

[DaveParkis]

I would also place them when I glued the legs. It might not be possible after the glue dries.

[Phil S.]

I didn't put any glue on the legs when I did these, only on the wedges, and they haven't wiggled since -



But if I was going to glue the legs I'd do it at the same time as the wedges for a couple of reasons, 1) So the dry glue won't interfere with the expansion of the tenon by the wedge (the purpose of the wedge in the first place) and 2) so the glue that will end up in the slot for the wedge won't interfere with inserting the wedge.

[JustinTyson]

I'll join the chorus. Wedge immediately upon assembly. Don't wait until the glue is dry.

[overland]

I inserted the wedges at assembly--I realized it would be impossible later on, since the hide glue I put on the tenon would have prevented it. But maybe the glue was a mistake--as Phil suggests, it may not have been necessary. In any case I cut the kerfs too thin and had trouble inserting a couple of the wedges. The broke off before I could drive them in well.
Here's one more question: When I cut the legs to length, do I cut them parallel to the floor, or perpendicular to the axis of the leg?

[Phil S.]

I cut them parallel to the floor. Otherwise the leg will just be sitting on a "corner" which will be harder on your floors and not wear as well as it will with full contact with the surface. I'm anticipating the next question - set the chair on a level surface and level it with wedges as necessary. Put a pencil on a piece of wood thick enough so it will mark each leg around the full diameter. You can adjust the height of the seat at this time by using a block of the right thickness. Draw a line around each leg and saw to the line. If it still wobbles a bit, put a piece of coarse sandpaper under the tall leg and shove it back and forth until your wobble is gone. Chamfer the edges of the leg just a bit to avoid splintering of the edges when the chair gets shoved across the floor. I used a modelling rasp.

[JustinTyson]

overland said:

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In any case I cut the kerfs too thin and had trouble inserting a couple of the wedges. The broke off before I could drive them in well.

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Common problem. I solved this one by cutting a very small chamfer on either side of the wedge slot prior to assembly. That way, you still have room to sneak in the wedge even if the slot closes up when you drive home the legs. I also use a very tough wood to make my wedges. Osage-orange, hickory, live oak, bloodwood, etc. Whatever I have lying around that will take a pounding.

[brianwelch]

May sound silly, but, make sure kerfs/wedges are perpendicular to grain of the table/seat...don't ask me how I know...