# Ideas for joining wood to be disassembled?



## vinny186 (Jan 31, 2016)

I want to build a basic rectangular coffee table that can be disassembled and reassembled without using glue or nails/screws. The only thing I can think of is using cam locks like they use when you buy "assemble yourself" cabinets but I'm not sure they would be strong enough. Any thoughts?


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## Snoonyb (Jan 31, 2016)

vinny186 said:


> I want to build a basic rectangular coffee table that can be disassembled and reassembled without using glue or nails/screws. The only thing I can think of is using cam locks like they use when you buy "assemble yourself" cabinets but I'm not sure they would be strong enough. Any thoughts?



Each of the variety of mech. joinery requires a specific set of tools, oooooooooooooooor, there is IKEA.


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## slownsteady (Jan 31, 2016)

...as in a floating top on a set of legs? Or more like a folding bridge table? What kind and how heavy are the materials you're using?


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## JoeD (Jan 31, 2016)

mortise and tenon pegs.


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## vinny186 (Feb 1, 2016)

I'm willing to buy the tools for the various types of joinery, just need to know what's out there.

slownsteady: not like a folding table. I want to be able to remove and assemble the legs without the adjoining points degrading. It will be fairly heavy with 4x4 legs.

JoeD: thanks for the pic but if I was even able to build a table with that joinery, my shins would be a bloody mess by the first week


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## JoeD (Feb 1, 2016)

It's pretty simple joints. Square holes and square pins.


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## slownsteady (Feb 1, 2016)

About how often do you think you will disassemble them? A lot of tables have legs that can be detached but usually only when they are being moved.


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## KULTULZ (Feb 2, 2016)

*CLICK HERE*- https://www.kregtool.com/default.aspx


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## elbo (Feb 2, 2016)

actually the mortise and tenon are pretty easy to make with just a saw, and the cross bar could be as short as you want and you could round off the mortise bar so you don't tear up your shins. To make the square hole (mortise ) make a dado in two identical boards in the same location then glue the boards together, voila, a mortise


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## JoeD (Feb 2, 2016)

With no screws or nails the only options I see are the mortise and pins or dovetail type joints.


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## nealtw (Feb 2, 2016)

vinny186 said:


> I want to build a basic rectangular coffee table that can be disassembled and reassembled without using glue or nails/screws. The only thing I can think of is using cam locks like they use when you buy "assemble yourself" cabinets but I'm not sure they would be strong enough. Any thoughts?



Perhaps if you fined a picture of what you would like it to look like and give us some info of the tools you have and a little about your ability to use them.


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## slownsteady (Feb 2, 2016)

Here's one method:
The wood screw end gets driven into the leg, the machine screw end fits through a hole in the corner support. Use a washer and wing nut to tighten it down, or remove the wing nut to disassemble.


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## bud16415 (Feb 3, 2016)

slownsteady said:


> Here's one method:
> The wood screw end gets driven into the leg, the machine screw end fits through a hole in the corner support. Use a washer and wing nut to tighten it down, or remove the wing nut to disassemble.



Good idea and I like it but the rules say without using glue or nails/screws and I have to call that a screw. Cam locks are ok. 


:beer:


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## nealtw (Feb 3, 2016)

A board on 2 milk crates.


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## slownsteady (Feb 3, 2016)

bud16415 said:


> Good idea and I like it but the rules say without using glue or nails/screws and I have to call that a screw. Cam locks are ok.
> 
> 
> :beer:



Nothing has to be pried or unscrewed to disassemble. Once installed, no tools necessary. How would you install a cam lock without some kind of permanent fastener? :

"Rules? We don't need no stinking rules!"


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## bud16415 (Feb 3, 2016)

slownsteady said:


> Nothing has to be pried or unscrewed to disassemble. Once installed, no tools necessary. How would you install a cam lock without some kind of permanent fastener? :
> 
> "Rules? We don't need no stinking rules!"



You dont install them they come already in the part in the box.  :help:


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## slownsteady (Feb 3, 2016)

Looks like Vinny got bored.......

I was trying to get a better idea of what he wanted this table to do and what materials he was using. I got the impression he had the legs already. Thought he wasn't buying a ready-to-assemble thing.


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## vinny186 (Feb 3, 2016)

I'm still here. I wasn't getting email updates. 

With the cam lock you're screwing machined metal into machined metal, I trying to avoid screwing into wood then having to remove it. I wasn't specific enough, my fault.

I imagine it will be disassembled 3-4x times.

Thanks for the ideas. Slowandsteady , your idea seems the easiest, I just need to think it through. I'm also going to check out the Kreg site - they have some of the most helpful tools for those projects when you just need one highly specific tool one time!


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