# heavy table and leg help



## michaelt (May 14, 2009)

Hey yall,
Well I've got me a beautiful piece of south american mahogany (i believe) 17" x 71" to use as a table top and have reclaimed some pine 3 1/4" x 5 1/2" x 36" for the legs. I'm wondering how to join these pieces as I've never used such heavy/thick wood. I'm hoping this is all the wood I need but I am worried of racking. The tape in the photo is what I was thinking of cutting out because I didn't want to have to cut into the top of the table. I have a jig saw, a chop saw, a drill and a router but that's about it. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again.
best,
Michael
p.s. i have little to no experience in mortise and tenons and am a bit hesitant having to learn on this project.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

An easy choice would be to make an apron as a frame, and then mount the legs to each inside corner. That would give each leg a two directional fastening. If you get energetic, you could do a mortise and tenon joint on the apron pieces to each leg. With either method you could screw the apron to the underside of the top. I would do a deep pilot in the underside of the apron (which could be 2 1/2" to 3" minimum) and screw straight into the top...no pocket screws.


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## michaelt (May 14, 2009)

Much appreiated! looks like that's where I'm at. any suggestions for the size of stock I ought to use based on the size of the legs? I have some 4x4 pieces I could use. No more of the wood I used for the legs. Thanks for your help!


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## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

Very nice looking piece of wood michaelt, and the reclaimed pine has nice character too. I would go with cabinetman's idea. Build a frame, attach the legs, and then attach the frame to the underside of the table with screws countersunk into the frame. 2x4 should be more than adequate for the frame. You could use the 4x4 for the frame too, but it would be overkill. You could notch the tops of the legs as you have indicated with the tape. That should be quite doable with your chop saw. The legs could be attached to the frame with countersunk screws installed from inside so as not to show.

Gerry


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