Alright, I’ll admit it. I have been keeping some things from you, dear blog readers. Specifically, the atrocious failure that was my first attempt to make a living room table.
I mis-measured the top so the legs grip it by the outside instead of seamlessly disappearing into it. I also forgot that the leg orientation mattered so I laboriously cut mortises half way into them, only to realise that they were on the wrong side of two of the legs and then had to instead cut them all the way through (that’s those ugly gashed you can see midway down the legs).
Anyway, it’s not pretty but it holds up weight and we’ve been using it for several months now, so that’s something at least.
Last week I decided we needed a second one, and this one I’d do right!
I did all my measurements and cuts right, and joined three thick planks into a solid, flat top. The fit was so good it almost didn’t need glue, but I glued it anyway.
Next up, four legs cut perfectly to size so they’d grip the top without any need for nails or fancy joints.
A bit of glue, a bit of plywood cut to fit exactly on the deliberately overhanging support rails and BAM! One very stable, fully functional table I don’t need to be ashamed of:
