At a glance
Finished dimensions
Overall sizes
- Overall
- 72 × 36 × 30 in high
- Legs, outside
- 64 × 30 in
- Overhang
- 4 in at the ends, 3 in at the sides
- Under the aprons
- 24-1/2 in to the floor
Materials
| Item | Quantity | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Hardwood, surfaced | About 28-1/2 board feet of finished parts | Buy more for waste and defects; final sizes below |
| Wood glue | 1 bottle | Base joints only, never the top |
| Screws for the buttons | 12 | Short enough not to come through the top |
Cut list
| Part | Qty | Dimensions | Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg | 4 | 2-1/2 × 2-1/2 × 29 in | Hardwood, or two layers glued |
| Long apron | 2 | 7/8 × 4-1/2 × 61-1/2 in | Hardwood; includes two 1-1/4 in tenons |
| Short apron | 2 | 7/8 × 4-1/2 × 27-1/2 in | Hardwood; includes two 1-1/4 in tenons |
| Centre rail | 1 | 7/8 × 3 × 29-1/4 in | Hardwood; 28-1/4 in between the long aprons plus two 1/2 in stub tenons |
| Top | 1 | 1 × 36 × 72 in | Hardwood, glued up from boards |
| Button | 12 | 3/4 × 1-1/4 × 1-1/2 in | Hardwood offcuts |
Tools
- Jointer and planer, or stock bought surfaced
- Table saw or track saw
- Mortising chisel or router
- Long clamps for a 64 in base
- Drill/driver
The design
The base is a leg-and-apron frame like the coffee table's, scaled up: 2-1/2 in legs, 7/8 × 4-1/2 in aprons, and a centre rail between the long aprons halfway along. The legs stand 4 in in from the ends and 3 in in from the sides, so the base is 64 × 30 in outside. At 30 in high with a 1 in top and 4-1/2 in aprons, the floor to the underside of the aprons is 24-1/2 in. The height and that clearance are design choices; check them against the chairs you will use before cutting the legs.
Joinery and movement
- Base joints. Each apron has a tenon 3/8 in thick, 3-1/2 in wide and 1-1/4 in long, with 1/2 in shoulders top and bottom; the mortises are 1-5/16 in deep and 1/4 in in from the leg's outside face. Mitre the tenon ends where two meet inside a leg. See mortise and tenon joints.
- Centre rail. It runs between the long aprons at their midpoint — 28-1/4 in between their inside faces — flush with their tops, on 1/2 in stub tenons in 9/16 in deep mortises. It keeps the long aprons from bowing and gives the top support in the middle.
- A top that moves. A 36 in solid top moves across its width with the seasons, much more than a narrow one; estimate it with the wood movement calculator. Hold it with twelve buttons in a 1/4 × 3/8 in groove — three on each long apron, two on each short apron, two on the centre rail — and never glue it.
Building it
From parts to table
Prepare the stock
Mill legs, aprons and rail to final size; if 2-1/2 in leg stock is not to be had, glue two layers and mill the square from that. Choose and check boards with choosing lumber.
Cut the joints
Mortise the legs and the long aprons' centres; cut and fit the tenons; mitre the meeting tenon ends; cut the button groove on the inside of every apron and the rail.
Glue the ends
Glue each pair of legs to a short apron and check them flat and square. Glue times and open times are the glue maker's; see how to use wood glue.
Join the ends
Glue the long aprons and the centre rail between the two ends in one session. Measure the diagonals of the base and adjust the clamps until they match.
Make the top
Glue boards into a panel in stages if your clamps or bench are short, flatten it, and cut it to 72 × 36 in. Sand and finish both faces — how to sand wood and applying a wood finish.
Attach the top
Centre the inverted base on the upside-down top and screw the buttons in place, leaving those on the long aprons short of the groove's bottom so the top can move.
Safety— Long parts, heavy panel
Ripping and crosscutting 72 in parts needs support at the saw — see table saw safety and woodworking safety rules — and a 36 × 72 in top is a two-person lift. No load rating is claimed; a table is not a step or a seat.
Before glue-up
- Leg length checked against the chairs it will serve
- Tenons fit; meeting ends mitred
- Grooves cut in aprons and centre rail
- Diagonals equal on the dry fit
- Enough clamps for the whole base at once
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Sources
A BenchRoot design; every dimension is on the drawing and in the cut list, given as final surfaced sizes. Table height and knee clearance are design choices, not ergonomic standards. The design was drawn and its arithmetic checked; it was not built or tested for this page, and no load rating is claimed.
- 1.
Chapter 4: Moisture Relations and Physical Properties of Wood. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282, 2021.
Used for: Dimensional change across the grain with moisture, tangentially about twice radially and very little along the grain — why a 36 in top must be free to move across its width.
- 2.
AnchorIt.gov. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Used for: Keeping items that tempt children to climb off the tops of furniture.
About this project
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