Prototype Using All Hand Tools - Nesting Tables 4

Here are the two prototype tables I built from scraps. They look pretty good, but there are some flaws in each one. The larger table doesn't have a front rail. I did this first because "Nahm's" plans are this way and second because it minimizes the stack up as you build each table over the next.

The bad part is that the table is too weak. I'm not going to build my final version this way. I will have rails all around, supporting the top and stiffening the legs. The front of the two larger tables, by the nature of the system, can't have any stretchers or the tables won't nest. Leaving out the rail is just too much for the integrity of the structure.

The next thing to investigate is how to join the top to the frame. In the smaller table, I used through tenons, right through the top, with wedges. This is without a doubt a very strong joint, and the table top will not come off, ever. Unfortunately, it looks ugly.

The next table has countersunk screws with wooden plugs. This looks better, but just doesn't seem strong enough, especially combined with the no-rail system. The plugs, while better looking than the through tennons, don't look all that great. I think in the final version I will use pocket screws or figure eights.

There were a few other learnings from the prototypes:
1. Chopping all those tiny mortises by hand was not too hard or time consuming, but

2. Sawing all those tiny tenons was a royal pain. The layout was very time consuming and subject to error. Scribing all those lines on so many tiny tennons was just laborius. The sawing was also tedious. Hand sawing in such fine detail is no easy task. I think I may cut these tennons with a dado attachment on my table saw.

3. All those little stiles really did a lot to stiffen up the piece. They are very functional as well as decorative.