When you buy a solid wood coffee table, maybe with storage, you need to make sure it's not going to fall apart. However, that's what happens all too often if you don't know what you're looking for. The good news is that your wood coffee table can be strong and sturdy, as long as you know how to buy. Good craftsmen use the best construction methods they can, and in the case of a lot of solid wood furniture, the key is the dovetail joint even in contemporary coffee tables.
What's a dovetail joint and why is it so special? This is a strong, well crafted type of joint that's been in use since the first joined furniture was made thousands of years ago. It has high tensile strength, preventing breakage and permanent deformation. While the solid wood found in your wood coffee table is probably pretty strong on its own, the table itself is only as strong as its component joints. A weak joint will result in a table that falls part.
The problem with most coffee tables is the ones that are made with drawers because in today's market they are mass produced and the joints are not held together as well. The drawers are usually the first to go because they will tend to be put together with tacks and glue, and have weight stored in them while being pushed and pulled on a constant basis. Drawers are made for storage not as something decorative so make sure that the drawers are constructed using dovetailed joint for better durability.
Dovetail joints typically help to create some of the longest lasting pieces of furniture that's out there. Dovetail joints are made of a series of interlocking wooden "tails and pins" (triangular in shape) that provide more strength than a joint made with glue or fasteners. The interlocking tails and pins are made flush with each other, and secure to start with as they won't slide apart and then they are bonded with strong wood glue. If you still can't get a picture of what a dovetail is, just take both hands, put them together and interlock you fingers, and that's what a dovetail joint looks like.
Dovetail joints are used for a variety of different reasons, whether it is for drawers of coffee tables, cabinets etc. Dovetail joints usually are cut by machines, but there are still a few places that cut them by hand. Some different types of wood require different types of dovetails to make them hold better. A shallower slope is used when you are dovetailing pieces of hardwood whereas a sharper slope is used for adding strength to pieces of softwood. When you have a joint that happens before the end of the board it is called a sliding dovetail joint. Sliding dovetail joints for example are used sometimes on drawers if the front needs to go past the side of the drawer. "Through" dovetails will show the end grain of both pieces, while a half blind dovetails will be used when the grain isn't to be seen on the front of the table. A full blind dovetail won't actually allow you to see that joint, and will be very hard for the average eye to identify that there is a dovetail there.
Dovetails are the best way to make a strong, durable solid wood coffee table even if it is contemporary in design. If you are unsure whether your piece of furniture is using dovetails just look at the corners of any drawer to see if the tell tail shapes are there. If yes, it should give you a pretty good idea if the piece of furniture has quality. An experienced cabinetmaker will be able to look at his wood, and considering what he is to make will be able to pick the right type of dovetail that will fit that particular product so that it will hold up to years of use. Every time you buy a piece of solid wood furniture you need to make sure that you are buying something durable so check for any signs of dovetails. The best thing to do is to make sure that you invest your money into something that is made to last longer, even if it costs more.
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