Half-Moon -- Design for a Demilune Table Part 6; the Joinery

Skip all the way to the end for a video of the final assembly.

I typically avoid using hardware to hold things together so I have to rely on the strength of the glue and the wood. Chosing each particular type of joinery is a creative process in itself.

I used sliding dovetails to attach the legs to the center spindle.

This was before I had a lathe so I planed some 4/4 walnut to a hexagon, since I had three legs to attach.
I carved the end of it in a funny shape you might recognise.

I marked and cut off the end of the spindle to use as a pendant, or upside down cap to prevent the legs from cracking and spreading the spindle under load.

Meanwhile, I cut the ends of each leg into a dovetail

Little oops, I cut too deep, but it will not be visible once it is assembled.

I then used the dovetail to mark the cutout on the pendant.

I sawed in as far as I could, the removed the rest of the waste with a chisel.

Then I lined up the pendant and the spindle to get the length of the groove to be cut in the spindle.

Here is the dry fit test. (It is upside down in the picture.)

And the final glue up!

Thanks for watching.