project plan

®
PROJECT PLAN
Harvest table
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Harvest
Table
Fast, easy
Project Facts
44
FEBRUARY 2002 THE FAMILY HANDYMAN
■
Dimensions
30" H x 30-1/2" W x 64-7/8" L
■
Time
4 hours to cut and assemble
(extra time for finishing)
■
Cost & Skill Level
$225; beginner and up
■
Tools
Combination square, miter
saw, screw gun and tape
measure
and elegant
Simple off-the-shelf
materials and basic tools
make this the easiest
table you’ll ever build!
Here’s all you need!
■
Hardwood
veneer flooring
■
3/4" plywood
base
■
Stairway
newel posts
■
Wood trim
■
Hardware
by David Radtke
T
he top of this table is as tough as a hardwood
floor—literally. It’s made of hardwood veneer
flooring that’s glued and screwed to a 3/4-in.
plywood base. The hardwood legs are not usual table fare
either; they’re made from standard stairway newel posts.
The rest of the wood parts are used in a unique way to
complete the look of the table. The legs are fastened with
special steel brackets and bolts that are easily removed
for storing the table or moving it on moving day.
Almost everything you need is available at home centers or full-service lumberyards and will easily fit into
your trunk (if you have the lumberyard cut your plywood to size). The only parts I couldn’t find at a local
home center were the heavy-duty steel apron brackets
and hanger bolts for strong leg connections. We’ll give
you a mail-order source at the end of the article.
More HARVEST TABLE ➤➤
THE FAMILY HANDYMAN
FEBRUARY 2002
45
Harvest
table
T
he length of the table is designed to accommodate
two chairs comfortably side by side. The width is
designed to fit four widths of tongue-and-groove veneer
flooring laid side by side. If you decide to use a different
brand of flooring from ours (see Buyer’s Guide, p. 52),
adjust the width and size of your table accordingly. This
table used a single package of flooring; a larger table
would require a second package.
3" x 3" x 48"
NEWEL POST
LEVELING
BLOCKS
WASTE
PIECE FROM
NEWEL TOP
CUT your newel post perfectly square using a
simple miter box as a guide. Cut the top first, then
flip it end-for-end and trim the other end.
1
1x4 OAK
BOARDS
2"
PORTABLE
MITER SAW
GUIDE
1/8" WIDE AND
1/4" DEEP
SAW KERFS
CUT the aprons to length, then
cut a 1/8-in. wide by 1/4-in.
deep saw kerf 2 in. from the
end. To make the kerf wide enough
with the slender handsaw shown,
you’ll need to make individual cuts on
each side of your mark, then knock out
the center section with a knife. Don’t
worry, a little too wide is still OK.
2
29-5/8"
64"
Getting the right
materials makes the
assembly go like
clockwork
1-3/4"
3/4" PLYWOOD
SUBTOP
1-3/4"
COMBINATION
SQUARE
DRAW guidelines on the underside of the plywood subtop to later
align the aprons. Next, place a mark 3-1/2 in. in from each edge to
mark the end points of the apron pieces and the edges of the legs. The
size of our plywood subtop accommodates the dimensions of the flooring
with a bit left over.
3
46
FEBRUARY 2002 THE FAMILY HANDYMAN
If you can’t find the exact materials
listed in our Buyer’s Guide, select
substitutes. The 48-in. colonial-style
newel posts were a staple in the stair
parts section at a local home center.
If newel posts aren’t the right shape
or length for your table design (you
may decide to build a coffee table),
you can also buy table legs (see
Buyer’s Guide, p. 52, for details).
Harvest
table
FIG. A
HARVEST
TABLE DETAIL
E
F
45-DEGREE
BEVEL (TYP.)
F
F
C1
D1
1"
DRYWALL
SCREW
B
A
D2
C2
2" ANGLE BRACKET,
3/4" SCREWS
APRON
BRACKET
APRON BRACKET,
5/8" SHEET METAL
SCREWS
D1 5/16" x 3"
2" ANGLE BRACKET,
3/4" SCREWS
C1
A
D2
B
C1
HANGER BOLT,
WASHER AND
WING-NUT
E
A
1" DRYWALL SCREW
CHAMFER ONE EDGE OF B,
DRILL 1/4" DIA. BOLT HOLE
1-3/4"
1" BRAD
1/8" x 1/4" DEEP
SAW KERF
F
3-1/2"
2"
1-3/4"
C2
D2
C2
3-1/2"
4"
BOTTOM VIEW
If you plan to paint the legs, choose
poplar or maple because their
smooth surfaces paint up beautifully. Oak is porous and looks best
stained and varnished.
Hauling a big piece of plywood
home in a standard sedan can be a
problem as well, so ask the store
clerk to cut it to the dimensions you
need. Lumberyards and home centers will usually charge a small fee
for cutting the plywood for you, but
SECTION
VIEW
here’s a place where the benefit is
well worth the extra buck.
The prefinished flooring top we
used has a plywood substrate with
about a 1/8-in. thick solid wood
surface. This style flooring is meant
to be installed as a floating floor, not
glued to flooring underlayment.
However, for a small area like this
table, gluing and screwing the floorMore HARVEST TABLE ➤➤
THE FAMILY HANDYMAN
FEBRUARY 2002
47
Cutting List
KEY
PCS.
A
1
3/4" x 29-5/8" x 64" plywood subtop
(base)
B
4
3" x 3" x 28-1/2" factory-turned newel
posts (cut as shown)
C1
2
3/4" x 3-1/2" x 22-5/8" oak aprons
C2
2
3/4" x 3-1/2" x 57" oak aprons
D1
2
3/4" x 2-1/4" x 22-5/8" dentil molding
D2
2
3/4" x 2-1/4" x 57" dentil molding
E
F
SIZE & DESCRIPTION
1 pkg. Harris Tarkett Vanguard flooring
(Wheat Oak)
1
3/8" x 1-5/16" x 16' oak edge trim
(Princeton doorstop) cut to fit
Harvest
table
ing to the plywood below is just
fine. Large areas such as floors need
to move independently from the
plywood or subfloor below.
You can use more sophisticated
tools for cutting the parts, but I
found the simple handsaw miter
box worked really well for getting
straight 90-degree cuts as well as the
45-degree miters for the edging
around the tabletop.
To get the flooring edges to
align perfectly with the plywood
CENTER OF
APRON
2" x 2"
STEEL ANGLE
BRACKETS
1x4
APRON
3/4"
CABINET
SCREWS
1-3/4"
More HARVEST TABLE ➤➤
4"
POSITION the aprons along the lines drawn in
the previous step. Screw the aprons to the underside of the top using steel angle brackets. Use
three brackets for the two longer aprons. Slightly bend
the angle brackets if they’re not holding the aprons
square to the plywood subtop.
4
CHAMFERED
EDGE
APRON
BRACKET
TAP the apron brackets into the saw kerf
cuts you made earlier. With the bracket
centered on the apron, screw it to
the aprons with 5/8-in. sheet metal screws
(purchased separately).
5
5/16" x 3"
HANGER BOLT
APRON
BRACKET
WING-NUT
3"
4-3/4"
CHAMFERED
EDGE
SHAVE OFF one upper edge of each leg (chamfer) with a
hand plane to create a flat spot for drilling. Cradle the leg
tightly between the aprons and against the subtop, then drill
a 1/4-in. pilot hole into each leg.
6
48
FEBRUARY 2002 THE FAMILY HANDYMAN
Harvest
table
HAPPY
CLAMPER
5/8" SHEET
METAL
SCREWS
LOCKING
PLIERS
SPRING
CLAMPS
DENTIL
MOLDING
TURN the hanger bolt into the pilot hole with a
locking pliers clamped around the Wing-Nut (to
protect the threads). Leave about 1-1/4 in. of the
bolt exposed, then remove the Wing-Nut. Slip the leg and
bolt into place and tighten the Wing-Nut to the bracket.
7
GLUE the dentil molding to the aprons and clamp
them in place. If you don’t have enough clamps,
let the freshly glued and clamped section set for
45 minutes, then move to the next apron. Use a clamp
every 8 in.
8
subtop, you’ll find that a sanding
block or a belt sander along the edge
will straighten the edges for the final
trim piece around the perimeter.
TONGUE-ANDGROOVE VENEER
STRIP FLOORING
GLUE UNDER
PIECE WITH
TONGUE AND
GROOVE
Choose a tough finish
for your table parts
We chose an oil stain (see Buyer’s
Guide) that matched our prefinished flooring. Be sure to sand all
the parts with 150-grit sandpaper
before staining. Let the stain dry
and apply two coats of a waterborne
polyurethane varnish. We used a
semigloss poly acrylic finish by
Minwax. To minimize tedious
cutting in with a brush,
be sure to prefinish
the wood edge
trim before
GROOVE
END
I tried a 1-1/4 in.
screw and puckered the surface
of the flooring in a couple of
spots when I drove the
screw in a half turn too tight!
Oops!
CONSTRUCTION
ADHESIVE
POSITION the first piece of flooring with the grooved side and end
perfectly aligned with the corner of the plywood subtop. Apply a couple of dots of construction adhesive to the underside of each piece of
flooring and then screw through the bottom of the plywood subtop into the
flooring. Use 1-in. drywall screws (two on each end).
9
More HARVEST TABLE ➤➤
50
FEBRUARY 2002 THE FAMILY HANDYMAN
Harvest
table
Top, leg,
apron and
molding
options
You can build this
simple project
exactly as we’ve
done or put your
own spin on it. Feel
free to choose from
a variety of wood
species for your
aprons, legs and
edge moldings.
Look through the
molding bins at your
lumberyard and
home center. Color
can also change the
overall look of the
project.
Keep in mind that
you can choose from
a variety of materials
for your tabletop as
well, from ceramic
tile to plastic
laminate flooring, so
pick the material that
suits your sense of
style. Whatever you
choose, follow the
step-by-step photos
and clear drawings to
guide you through
the basic process.
FEBRUARY 2002
51
Harvest
table
CUT FLUSH
WITH
PLYWOOD
BASE
CARPENTER’S
GLUE FOR
TONGUE
AND GROOVE
COMBINATION
SQUARE
TRIM the ends of the flooring flush with the edge of the
plywood subtop. Stroke the saw gently, cutting on the downstroke, and be sure the piece you’re cutting has been glued and
screwed first to hold it steady.
10
CARPENTER’S
GLUE
HARDWOOD
EDGE TRIM
you glue it to the sides of the
tabletop. Protect the back of
the trim with masking tape
as you stain and varnish it so
the wood glue will bond to
the trim.
Prime the legs with a
brush-on primer. When
that’s thoroughly dry, sand
it with 120-grit sandpaper
and then apply two coats of
spray enamel for a really
smooth finish.
GLUE AND NAIL the 1-5/16 in. edge trim to cover the edge of
the flooring and the plywood underneath. It’s much easier to
prefinish these pieces—you’ll save yourself the trouble of carefully staining and varnishing them right alongside the finished flooring.
11
Buyer’s Guide
Many brands of engineered wood flooring are sold at home centers. We designed the
size of the table for Vanguard Wheat Oak (9/16 in. thick) by Harris Tarkett. To locate a
dealer near you, call Harris Tarkett at (800) 842-7816 or visit its Web site at
www.harristarkett.com.
Order your set of four apron brackets (part No. 34303) for $3.49 plus shipping from
Rockler at (800) 279-4441 or visit its Web site at www.rockler.com.
We used Ace Hardware brand cherry oil stain.
Check out the variety of table legs at Osborne Wood products (800-849-8876,
www.osbornewood.com) and Woodturner’s Inc. (877-603-9663,
www.queenannelegs.com).
Art Direction • BECKY PFLUGER
Illustration • EUGENE THOMPSON
Photography • BILL ZUEHLKE
Project Design • DAVID RADTKE
52
FEBRUARY 2002 THE FAMILY HANDYMAN