Apron tenon?

larry merlau

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Delton, Michigan
ok on this dresser i thought i would use a mortise and tenon to connect the apron, but before i go cutting i had a second thought, the stile is 1.75" wide the apron shows a concave arc that stops at the intersection of the stile.. but should i have some flat area on the apron to make more support for the wood that will be right next to he stile the red areas depic the tenon.. or should i run the tenon all the way down to the floor to help support the apron wood from splitting off?
dresser apron tenon.jpg
 
I agree that stopping your arc shy of the leg would provide greater resistance to failure. That being said, my current project design failed to incorporate this but, my arches are very subtle (1/2" in height over about 4 feet in width). Your arc appears to be about 30% of the height which is a fair amount. I would be interested to hear other's comments on this.

P.s. I would stop the arc shy of the floor-line as well for more definition but, that is subjective and may not be your goal.
 
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Never done those yet, but it seems like going all the way down would give it better support when moving-sliding on carpet, just my rookie opinion:)
 
I agree that stopping your arc shy of the leg would provide greater resistance to failure. That being said, my current project design failed to incorporate this but, my arches are very subtle (1/2" in height over about 4 feet in width). Your arc appears to be about 30% of the height which is a fair amount. I would be interested to hear other's comments on this.

P.s. I would stop the arc shy of the floor-line as well for more definition but, that is subjective and may not be your goal.
Glenn glad you piped in.. gonna send you the drawing and i was looking at the leg factor and i almost beyound the point of no return so hopefully you can do some touch up to what you feel is right.. so i can relocate...
 
went back and looked at what i have to work with and i can change the arc to flatten before the stile but the sides are locked in as this way but the side stiles are wider so makes the look different.. and i can beef up the back of this with a block and coaster foot so that would help with fracture like tom mentioned on the carpet.
 
Larry,
Why not just run the tenon clear to the floor? Once it's properly fitted and glued, it'd be plenty strong, and would keep the apron piece from splitting, without sacrificing any strength in the leg.

BTW, one drawback with running the apron clear to the floor is that an OCD cleaning lady will probably bang it repeatedly with a vacuum cleaner tool. :D
 
Oddly enough, this thread had me reconsider my current project and just in time . . . great minds . . . uh . . . do something the same . . . or something like that . . . I altered mine and ended up here:

attachment.php
 
Larry, I'm late to the party as usual. I suppose all the food is gone. :rolleyes:

Here's my 2 cents in case it isn't too late.



My thought is that the curve on the apron should end away from the ends of the apron as in my sketch and Glenn's photo. If you did carry the curve out to the ends as in your drawing the sharp edges you'd wind up with would be difficult to maintain and if they were different, it would be very apparent. Keeping the ends back gives you some cushion for sanding and so on.

I would also be concerned about them getting snagged on the carpet when the case gets moved. Invariably someone will drag it instead of picking it up. I think the feather edge you'd have in your drawing would be susceptible to damage even if it is glued well. For the same reason I would also not run the mortises out the bottom of the stiles. They would certainly be easier to cut that way but more likely to get damaged when the piece is being moved. I'd keep the the mortises closed and I'd offset the tenon up a bit as I've drawn.

Again, just my :D
 
well doctor dave even though you came late, your intuition and presence in us threw your teachings came threw and me and glenn made those changes. and so your advice here will be able to show others the way and reasons for it.. thanks dave for everything..
 
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