Bekah wanted a big country style table for her growing family. She saw something she liked on pinterest, and we modified the design to make it easier to build.

We started with the base, which is constructed from 4×4 cedar posts using half lap joinery.

Half laps were cut using a circular saw to make repeated cuts 1/8 inch apart and then the bottoms were cleaned up with a chisel.

This shot shows how 45 degree 2×4 bracing was added to the base to provide enough structural strength to support the weight of the table top. The braces were glued and screwed to the 4×4 posts.

Here is the top made of 2×8 pine boards. Each board was jointed to its neighbor with a hand plane. A 2×4 on edge was glued around the perimeter of the top, to hide the leg structure below.

Here is the completed top, 7 foot long and 40 inches wide. Knots were filled with epoxy and then sanded flush.

To secure the top to the base, 4 separate 3×4 areas were routed out to depth of 3/4 inch to accept a piece of oak that was placed in the removed material. A 3/8 inch t-nut was mounted in the oak board and it was glued and screwed in place.

This shot shows the t-nut being pressed into the oak piece using a bench vise.

Here you can see the top being attached to the base with the 3/8 inch hex bolts.

Here you can see how the bench bases are being attached to the top of the bench. The bench top was made of a 1×12 with 2×4 attached around the perimeter. Green-treat pads were attached at each end of the base cross-member to provide water resistance and some extra height to allow material to be removed for leveling.

Here is the bench before finishing. Top surface was planed flat and then sanded with an orbital sander.

Here you can see that the legs on the bench are positioned they will fit between the table legs when it is pushed underneath. Bases were primed and then painted white. Tops were treated with a wood conditioner and then stained. Several coats of polyurethane were applied for durability.

We started with the pedestal for the table. It had to be sturdy to support the 7 foot long, 4 foot wide top. The two pedestals are made from southern yellow pine construction lumber. The center uprights are 2×6 consisting of three pieces with a gap in the center to allow a stretcher to be inserted. The base is made from 3 layers of 2x8s. The center runs the full length, the bottom layer has two pieces that act as outboard feet, and the top layer has two pieces spaced to allow the center upright to be placed between them. All pieces were glued. Screws were placed where they could not be seen – at the very top and bottom where they are hidden by the dados the central upright fit into, and from the bottom.

Three quarter inch depth dados were cut with a circular saw to allow vertical uprights to be positioned above the base feet. The additional 2×8 uprights provided more outboard support for the heavy top. Small pieces of 2x material were fitted and glued to fill in the space left between the 2×6 center upright, and the 2×8 base. At the very top of the vertical uprights, two more layers of 2×8 were laminated to provide a horizontal support for the top. They were constructed like the base without the outboard feet.

The top was also made from 2x southern yellow pine. A combination of 2×10 and 2×8 stock was carefully selected at the lumber yard for straight edges and no twist. We sifted through their entire stock to find enough true planks. This was a critical endeavor, since all joining was to be done with hand planes. We re-stacked everything neatly so we would be welcomed back. Two boards were edge jointed at a time. Five 3/8″ dowels were placed along the length of each joint using a dowel centering jig. After gluing, pipe clamps held the boards overnight before two additional boards were prepared for each side of the growing top.

The top was planed between glue-ups to keep the top as flat as possible. Even 3/4 inch pipe will bow under the pressure exerted by the clamps. The flatter the top, the better chance the boards being added would stay flat as well.

After all the boards for the top were added, we trimmed the length down to 7 feet (we used 8 foot boards). Then we used a thin batten to create a smooth curve to reduce the width at each end by 4 inches (2 inches removed from each side). We used a jig saw to cut the curve, and then began the process of sanding the top smooth and level. Knot holes were stabilized by filling with clear epoxy. A wood conditioner was applied to the pine before staining to get a more uniform color. Five coats of polyurethane was applied, with a light sand between each coat.

To complement the table, a bench was constructed for one side. Two pedestals were made similar to those used for the table but not quite as robust. They were also made of southern yellow pine.

The top of the bench was made by edge joining two 2×8. This was done to give enough width to allow the bench top to be curved like the table top.

A stretcher was added beneath the bench top, and then the it was stained to match the table and three coats of polyurethane were applied for durability.

Stain and polyurethane applied. You can also see the peg that secures the stretcher through the table’s pedestal.