A farmhouse table has a wonderful aura of warmth and history. After completing my window seat, I decided to build one. A table is a relatively simple project and here's how I built mine.
If you are interested in building a window seat, you can read about it here >> http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Window-Seat-with-Storage/
If you are interested in building a window seat, you can read about it here >> http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Window-Seat-with-Storage/
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Signing UpStep 1: Making the table legs
In my design, I considered 3 different types of legs made from 30" long cedar 4x4s. (You could use other types of wood including gluing three 2x4s together to make solid legs.) The simplest design was to cut the legs to length and use the 4x4s square. Second was to taper the two inside surfaces and third was to taper all four surfaces. I ended up tapering all 4 sides on my bandsaw. The cut line begins 4" from the top and removes 1/2" at the bottom. Pic 2 shows how little I removed. I wanted the legs to have "shape" while remaining stout in appearance and this slight taper seemed about right. Pic 2 also shows the levelers in the bottom of these legs which were salvaged from a previous project. I decided to leave the levelers and shortened the legs a bit.
My table saw cannot cut a leg this thick without making 2 passes so I tapered them on my bandsaw. The bandsaw leaves a rougher finish and that looked even better on this rustic table. I made a quick and dirty jig to cut the legs which you can see in pic 3. The jig has a runner which slides in the miter track of the bandsaw table. Two hold downs were sufficient to secure the leg to the jig. I anchored an L-shaped block & a long block for positioning the leg on the jig. Once you've cut away 2 sides, the long block is no longer accurate and it becomes necessary to line up your mark on the bottom of the leg with the edge of the jig before clamping.
Because these legs were salvaged they had old screw holes in them which were filled prior to painting. In retrospect, it probably would have looked cool to just leave them. I lightly sanded the legs with 100 & 150 grit sandpaper which smoothed them without removing all the saw marks. One coat of chalk paint and 2 coats of clear Briwax was used to finish the legs. Briwax yellows the finish a bit which aged the paint nicely. Between coats of Briwax I sanded through the paint on some of the edges with 100 grit paper to show wear.
My table saw cannot cut a leg this thick without making 2 passes so I tapered them on my bandsaw. The bandsaw leaves a rougher finish and that looked even better on this rustic table. I made a quick and dirty jig to cut the legs which you can see in pic 3. The jig has a runner which slides in the miter track of the bandsaw table. Two hold downs were sufficient to secure the leg to the jig. I anchored an L-shaped block & a long block for positioning the leg on the jig. Once you've cut away 2 sides, the long block is no longer accurate and it becomes necessary to line up your mark on the bottom of the leg with the edge of the jig before clamping.
Because these legs were salvaged they had old screw holes in them which were filled prior to painting. In retrospect, it probably would have looked cool to just leave them. I lightly sanded the legs with 100 & 150 grit sandpaper which smoothed them without removing all the saw marks. One coat of chalk paint and 2 coats of clear Briwax was used to finish the legs. Briwax yellows the finish a bit which aged the paint nicely. Between coats of Briwax I sanded through the paint on some of the edges with 100 grit paper to show wear.
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Great job!