'Farmhouse' table and bench

[Prashun Patel]

I'm building this for some friends. The customer does not want a typical lower-mounted stretcher as is found on every Pinterest post. I'm taking a cue from the Shakers and putting a wide stretcher up top under the table. My desk uses this type of construction and I've not had issues with racking.

They want to seat 8 (3 on each side between the legs and 2 on the ends). Any thoughts on the spacing of the legs?

[Prashun Patel]

I got some nice walnut from Pete @ Horizon. These slabs had a couple inclusions that I filled with blackened epoxy (Transtint black).

The slabs were too thick (2") for my track saw, so I ripped as deeply as I could, then finished by hand. I used an edge guide on my jointer plane, but I have found, ironically, that the guide can produce a bias because I am not focusing on the edge, but the guide. I use the guide now just to get the surface roughly jointed. But the final passes I think are best done freehand.

I used Dominos to assist in alignment. I also like to put a few extra at the ends to (theoretically) help resist any tendency for the end seams to open.

[Terry Beadle]

Oh yeah!!! Looking like progress to me and looking good while at it.

Keep on keeping on !!

[Prashun Patel]

Done with the leg glue up.


I had planned to use Enduro Clear Poly over shellac on this table. I have had great luck with this product on a bar cabinet, my own bath cabinets, and my own kitchen table. It sprays easily and I can do it in my garage.

However, one of my finishing guru's expressed some trepidation regarding it's durability on a heavily used kitchen table as this.

Arm R Seal or Waterlox - my go-to's just take so darn long to apply...

Any other opinions? I'm 50/50 on going with my original instinct.

[glenn bradley]

Those facets on the toes of the feet are just what the doctor ordered.

[Prashun Patel]

Had a chance to get the wood for the bench prepped yesterday.

Brian, yes, I will through tenon the legs into the seat.

[Prashun Patel]

I fit the stretcher to the legs. I am planning to curve and make the stretcher round, but I prefer to cut the joinery first because it's easier to reference from and hold square pieces.

The stretcher is too large for me to use the bandsaw to do the tenons, so I just cut this with my LV carcass (shoulders) and ryoba saws (cheeks).

The nice thing about doing it by hand is that I can basically hold up the calipers to the mortise, use it to mark the tenons like a story-stick, and then cut. While I am still intimidated by cutting straight by hand, I read David Weaver once said (paraphrasing): 'Cut one stroke at a time and check your progress'. At the end of the second tenon, I could notice a drastic increase in my confidence and speed.

To cut the second tenon, I placed the legs in the seat, and then scribed the location of the second shoulder. When doing this part on machine tools, I spend more time thinking about the actual measurement; with hand tools I find I think more about the precision of the marking.

To fit the tenons, I used a shoulder plane and a wide chisel. By placing the chisel completely flat, it actually does a good job of finding high spots; I find by using only the shoulder plane, I tend to take more off the tip of the tenon than near the shoulder.

I toyed with the idea of creating a recess in the legs for the stretcher to recess into, as I did with the table. However, while this would have made a perfect shoulder line on the tenon less critical, if would have complicated the measurement, because I would have to calculate the depth x 2 and add that to the marked locations of the shoulders. It occurred to me that I was only doing that to get me off the hook of having to cut perfect shoulders. So I challenged myself to make those shoulders perfectly square. I slightly undercut them so they'd seat flat. With clamps, they seat quite well now. no slouched shoulders!


I marked 1/8" on the show face of the legs and chiseled the wedge relief. I did this last part out of my trunk in the parking lot of my daughter's dance studio - to her horror and chagrin. Dad, you are weird.

Weird and Gilly! Jamming good!

[Jamie Buxton]

I'm building this for some friends. The customer does not want a typical lower-mounted stretcher as is found on every Pinterest post. I'm taking a cue from the Shakers and putting a wide stretcher up top under the table. My desk uses this type of construction and I've not had issues with racking.

They want to seat 8 (3 on each side between the legs and 2 on the ends). Any thoughts on the spacing of the legs?

My usual rule of thumb is that diners want 24" side-to-side, and at least 18" front-to-back. That is, 18" from the edge of the table to the point where their toes are going to be stopped by the undercarriage. Don't just take my rules -- try those measurements out on yourself. When you sit at a dining table, how much distance do you want so that your elbows don't collide with your neighbor? And when you sit comfortably at a table, how far deep under the table do your toes go? Then imagine yourself in a post-dinner conversation, with your legs kicked out in front of you. Your toes get even further under the table than 18".

Let's say that your big X is 4" thick. Using my rules of thumb above would make the whole table at least 116" long, but you likely only have 96" of top. Fixes? Well, you could change the base so that the feet and knees of the people at the ends go through the base instead of being stopped by it. For instance, put four just vertical legs at the corners of the table. Then everybody's got plenty of room.

[Frederick Skelly]

Beautiful slab top. Look forward to following along as you build her!

[Prashun Patel]

Jamie-
24" seems to be standard. However, they were set on the size and set on the style. They don't mind a tight squeeze to get 8 people in.

I am thinking to make the overhang 11". This will give 66" between legs, or 22" per person. One side will feature a bench, so that'll help get people in a little tighter.

I've been transparent about the shortcomings, so I believe they are comfortable with having to squeeze during Thanksgiving.

Jamie, is this a reasonable compromise?

[Jamie Buxton]

Jamie-
24" seems to be standard. However, they were set on the size and set on the style. They don't mind a tight squeeze to get 8 people in.

I am thinking to make the overhang 11". This will give 66" between legs, or 22" per person. One side will feature a bench, so that'll help get people in a little tighter.

I've been transparent about the shortcomings, so I believe they are comfortable with having to squeeze during Thanksgiving.

Jamie, is this a reasonable compromise?

Well, my feeling is that you cannot sit at a table where there's only 11" overhang. Your toes and knees are going to run into the base, and you will be very uncomfortable. But don't depend on my opinions. Mock it up yourself. Stick something under your own dining table to make a wall 11" from the edge of the table -- cardboard boxes, or a piece of plywood clamped to the end of a sawhorse or something. Try sitting at it yourself. Me, if I had a customer who insisted on that design, I'd get them to sit at the mockup too.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Jamie, for challenging my assumption. I'm planning to take the assembled legs to the client before I make the stretcher.

[Jim Becker]

I like this project and am glad for the discussion and points of view, especially Jamie's, since I have two similar projects on my list and possibly a third if a friend decides to move forward with his dining table.

I also like those facets on the leg assemblies! I suspect you can "free hand" the bevels a la Maloof at the bandsaw and then complete them with planes if you want to do something fun and, um...risky...

[Mel Fulks]

Love the top wood and subtle edge treatment. It's just right

[Prashun Patel]

I'm connecting the base legs and cross pieces with bridle joints. Perceiving the arms as a little blocky, I've decided to make facets on the cross pieces. I don't have an easy way to machine these, so it's going to be Dozuki and planes.