Building a dining side table

I began the day by cutting the slots in the feet for the (12) legs.
I set up the dado cutters for 1/2" and the legs are 0.501" -- or
about 1/1000" over size so that the make a tight fit when
I glue them up.

I decided that the legs would need a cross bar across the bottom
to strengthen the design.  Here I am eyeballing the length
and dimensions of a piece walnut to see how far apart the
legs should go, and some of the table parts set up up-side down:

The cross piece will screw to the feet from the bottom.  So I drilled
holes in the feet for the bolts, and counter sunk the holes:

I drilled the hole through part way into the cross piece, using the
first hole as a guide.  I then stamped letters into the mating parts to be
sure that they go together the right way in future:

The letters are on the under side so they won't be seen.

I set a brass thread insert into the cross bar using the drill press and
a bolt to ensure that it goes in perfectly straight:

I set up my router table with a beveling cutter and beveled the
edges of all 12 legs:

And the same treatment for the feet.  I also cut a relief in the bottom of the
feet so they won't rock on an uneven floor:

Here's the leg/foot assembly top and bottom side:

Previous Day
Next Day
 

furniture home page
main homepage