Flagman Table

Step 4 Legs!

Legs are definitely the trickiest part in terms of getting the height right and getting the thing to sit level on all four feet. There are some later steps that will help with tweaking the level, so don't sweat it if the table is slightly off at first.

The legs are made of strips of 3/4" plywood ripped down on a band saw to about two inches thick at one end and three or so at the other. This gives them a nice taper, for a little elegance in the stance

I wanted the feet to be directly underneath the outside corners, and the table to be thirty inches high.

I jammed the fat end of a leg piece back into the diagonal center bracing, alongside the brace that runs from the outside corners. Then, from the outside corner, I extended my tape measure straight up thirty inches. Fiddle with the leg piece until it intersects the tape. Mark and cut. To find the miter that will make it lie flat on the floor, hold the new leg, trimmed to length, up to the tape in the same way. Using the corner brace as a straightedge, scribe a line across the leg and cut.

Make eight legs to the same dimensions. Use a quarter-inch machine bolt to attach two legs to each corner brace, the legs sandwiching the brace. Tighten it, but leave some play.

Another brace then drops from the outside corner to the midpoint of the leg. Bolt through the same way. put a third bolt through both legs at the bottom of the leg. Tighten this one way down, and it will pinch the legs together, making another taper in the other dimension of the leg.