End Table Questions

[Jim Fox]

Drawing up a plan here in Sketchup for an end table, maybe something like mission style but minus the slats. I was thinking of doing it in birch, one being my first fine furniture piece and two I have a stash that I got a good deal on. The only think I don't have is the legs. So I could either fab up some legs somehow or buy some thicker stock.

So the question is...

What size legs should I use? 1.5" finished? 2" finished?

I can buy Rough Sawn 2" locally.

[Jim Becker]

The cross section dimension of the legs needs to be proportional to the design of the table. The Shaker style tables I like to build for this purpose are 1 1/8" at the top and 3/4" at the bottom of the taper. That's relatively "dainty" but appropriate for the style and size of that particular table design. For a more mission feel, 1.5" might be better for a typical end table size, but again, "how it looks" is going to be the prime factor in sizing the legs.

[gary Zimmel]

Jim

The mission style coffee table and end tables that I built for our living room have legs that are 1 3/4" square. I also built a sofa table for the front entry and it also has 1 3/4" legs.

This size of leg seems to be in proportion for all of the pieces.

For the legs I start with 8/4 lumber to net the 1 3/4".

Just to throw a twist into everything, I am starting to build another mission style coffee table and ottaman and they will have 2 1/4" legs...

Good luck with the end table and make sure to give us a post when it's done..

[Lee Koepke]

My table here has 1 1/2" legs. For reference, the top is roughly 13" wide x 17" long x 30" tall

I started with thinner legs, but they didnt look right ( they became a cutting board :D )

Hope this helps.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii16/LCKII/Woodworking%20Projects/2008SideTable007.jpg

[Jim Fox]

What's you takes on this design? I picked the size because of an old rickety table I inherited when I bought my childhood home. I like the size because I can put a lamp on it and not loose a lot of space.

Legs are 1 3/4" square......speaking of which.......any good online source for 8/4 birch? Like I mentioned I have a stash that I want to use for my first fine piece of furniture but I don't have the leg stock nor do I want to drive 1.5 hrs to pick up such a small amount.

http://www.planesnsuch.com/Woodworking/endtable.jpg

[gary Zimmel]

Jim

Nice looking design. Very similar to the ones I built. I have an album that has pictures of it and the coffe table that matches in my profile.

I take it there going to be a drawer in it. Any idea how you are going to finish it?

The ony thing I would look at is the 36" depth for an end table. Seem a little big to me.

[Jim Fox]

Where the heck did I get 36" from? After your comment I went and measured the existing hand-me-down and it's no where near that.

So I've revised it a bit...Might have to refresh your browser.

Finish? Beats me, anyone got any suggestions?

[gary Zimmel]

Jim

Looking much better....

Lets start making some sawdust!

[George Bregar]

I like the design. Can't help with the 8/4 birch. Can't tell from the drawing but I will suggest that you notch the legs to fit that bottom shelf. If you simply notch the shelf (as it appears) you will risk forcing the legs to spread (causing the rail to leg joint to fail) when the shelf expands, or having gaps due to contraction (or allowing for expansion). Here is mine using that technique (1-3/4" sq BTW). The other difference is that my bottom shelf is contained in the rails....the groove in the side rails is deep enough to allow expansion, and the legs are notched. A 1/16" rabbet was routed on the end of the panels to create a shadow line to hide any small space as the shelf is simply butted to the front and rear rails. Hope this helps.

Edit: A blow-up of the joinery

Edit 2: No, that is not a gun to my head! :D