I'm a long time fan and have several of your books and articles, that I constantly reference. But now I'm kinda stuck! I'm currently in the planning stages of a set of sofa tables that feature post and panel construction. In the past I've either used plywood or frame and panel construction when joining front and sides to vertical posts. Or when using solid wood simply oriented the grain properly and used the appropriate joinery.
I plan on using vertical grain posts with relatively wide,13", bottom rails. Usually, cross-grain construction is a recipe for disaster but I've seen similar type of construction on older period pieces (Queen Ann Low Boy) for example that hasn't exploded (yet.) I've read where you have wrote that multiple mortise and tenon can help distribute the stress allowing the solid panel to flex rather than crack or split. I was wondering if you could elaborate on why this is so and if I can safely use this method? Thank's. You Rock and your Ball and Claw feet I will never get the hang of!
- Bob
Marengo, OH