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.