Our figure-8 fasteners are an ideal way of attaching wooden tops to your desks and tables, while also allowing for seasonal expansion and contraction of the wood. These fasteners are made of heavy gauge steel, nearly an 1/8'' thick. Thanks to their flat bearing surfaces and circular ends, the figure-eight clips can easily pivot in their recesses when the top moves, which helps to prevent splitting. To allow for more wood movement on larger tops, they are best used in end aprons only. Each desktop fastener is countersunk for screw heads in opposing directions.
MARK THE POSITION
After building the base, decide where you want to position your table top fasteners. They should be evenly spaced around the perimeter of the base.
Place half of the figure 8 fastener on the top of the base with the center of the 8 on the edge. Typically you want this on the inside of the frame so the fastener won’t be seen. Trace around the end with a pencil to mark the position.
DRILL A SHALLOW HOLE WITH A FORSTNER BIT
A Forstner bit creates a clean, flat-bottomed hole, and is perfect for drilling a shallow hole that will allow the figure 8 fastener to sit flush with the top of the base.
Check to make sure the bit is the same diameter as the side you traced earlier. I’m using a 5/8″ bit for the smaller side of the 8. The larger side is 3/4″ if you choose to use that one instead.
Believe it or not, wood can soak up the humidity in the air like a sponge and swell in high humidity! If you’ve ever notice a door in your home sticking during the summer, but works fine in the winter, you’ve seen wood movement in action.The problem with wood movement isn’t that the boards gets longer. They get wider as those cells soak up the moisture in the air. There are two common assembly problems that can cause your project to fail.
It is made with the high quality of die casting steel (almost 1/8" thick) coated with zinc for rusting and corrosion resistance. Each fastener measures 1-3/16" x 5/8" x 12 gauge (~1/8") thick.