# Table legs



## Nick6685 (Mar 23, 2011)

So I was thinking about building a table as my next project. It will probably serve as a assembly table/beer pong table haha. I have a question about the table legs. What size stock do you guys start with when designing table legs. I'm wondering more about width/depth more than length. Im a complete newbie so short of buying pre-made legs I'm not sure where to start.

All of my projects so far have been constucted using 3/4 material, and the only was I can figure to make decently thick table legs that would support any weight using 3/4 be to face glue then cut to size and taper. Do you guys just buy thicker stock to begin with, or is there something im missing haha.

Any suggestions would be great,

Thanks guys!


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Leg thickness is entirely a function of intended use and what you design...

Did you have a style in mind? Tapered, cabriole, turned etc...? I tend to build mostly laminated legs because they are stronger, but thats not an across the board answer. 

Need more info on what your wanting to do...

~tom ...it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...


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## wood player (Jan 21, 2011)

I usully face glue stock as thick as possible to get the thickness I need but since I now have a mill will try for full thickness. With glue up try to plan how the grain patterns will look in the finished piece.Good luck with your project. We will of course need pictures


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## Nick6685 (Mar 23, 2011)

Tom,

I'm thinking about doing a slight taper, nothing extreme. The table is going to see limited weight, the reason I'm building it is to get some experience at gluing up larger panels(tabletops) and to just get more experience overall. 

I know style/functionality differs between people but just for a starting reference how thick is the stock at the top of the leg before you start tapering and basically should I just find stock that thick or is there another way to do it. 

I have a woodcraft near me, but I havent really been able to find stock in those dimensions, and when I do it's very very expensive. Also the legs will be connected to the apron via M&T, and the table top would be attached using "z" clips.

I think im overcomplicating things, but since ive never built a table I figured I would get some info from the veterans.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Well for starters, I'm by no means a veteran.

But, I have built quite a few tables of all shapes and sizes.

We're making progress... Lol how large is the table top going to be? I'm assuming based on above that its 3/4 top? And I'm also going to assume 3/4x3.5 apron?

Btw, you should find a local mill to buy lumber, much cheaper and wider selection.

~tom ...it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

New2Woodworking said:


> So I was thinking about building a table as my next project. It will probably serve as a assembly table/beer pong table haha. I have a question about the table legs. What size stock do you guys start with when designing table legs. I'm wondering more about width/depth more than length. Im a complete newbie so short of buying pre-made legs I'm not sure where to start.
> 
> All of my projects so far have been constucted using 3/4 material, and the only was I can figure to make decently thick table legs that would support any weight using 3/4 be to face glue then cut to size and taper. Do you guys just buy thicker stock to begin with, or is there something im missing haha.
> 
> ...



Did you see this thread? Cooler than hell!

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/heres-way-cut-tapers-27863/


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

There aren't any set rules. If you look at examples through history you will see that legs are sometimes heavy and in other periods light and dainty. In the William and Mary period, legs were hefty with trumpet shaped turnings. Some years later in Sheraton's work they were light, thin and tapered. Thicker stock takes much longer to kiln dry than 1" stock and there can be a lot of issues when doing it. Large trees that can yield thick stock are not as prevalent either. You may know that cutting away a significant portion of solid stock, as in a large taper, may cause the work piece to warp which is hard to predict. I find it's rare to see 4" thick stock at most of my suppliers with the occasional availability of mahogany. If you can't find it, you can't use it which only leaves gluing up thinner stock as an option. 

A shop table doesn't make a lot of difference but on other projects, showing a glue up may not be appropriate. When this is the case, you have to find sources and that can be a challenge. Just because the lumber is thick doesn't mean that it's grain and structure will be acceptable. In essence, you are looking for something that is relatively rare and may be difficult to obtain. If I was doing a William and Mary reproduction, gluing up just wouldn't be acceptable, for a shop table, I wouldn't care and probably would use scraps, likely in multiple short pieces.

I just did a project with thicker tapered legs. The job was done in knotty pine and I needed/wanted 4" +- legs. The only stock I could find was construction posts. Fortunately, the ones I found had been sitting around a long time and were dry enough for furniture work. I could have glue up but didn't want to. Even though I live in the pine tree state, the only 4x4s I could find that were not wringing wet were 3 12' pieces and two of them were bent like pretzels. I had enough to run a sample and two legs, which is all I needed on this job.

Regardless of how you make the legs themselves, a solid attachment is critical, especially when playing beer pong, LOL!


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## Schu (Jan 25, 2011)

Another option if you want thick legs and not the glue lam's is to make an angle or box leg. Two flat 3/4" pieces mitered along the edge that flow into the table skirt. Each piece could also be taperd if that is the look you are going for. Or with the box, four pieces mitered together. Bit harder to taper those.

It all depends on what look you are going for.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Schu said:


> Another option if you want thick legs and not the glue lam's is to make an angle or box leg. Two flat 3/4" pieces mitered along the edge that flow into the table skirt. Each piece could also be taperd if that is the look you are going for. Or with the box, four pieces mitered together. Bit harder to taper those.
> 
> It all depends on what look you are going for.


+1

~tom ...it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...


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## Nick6685 (Mar 23, 2011)

*Thanks*

Hey guys thanks for the input.

Tom: The table is 72L x 36W and yes 3/4'' thick. I glued up the panels last night, some hard maple my grandfather had no use for. I've come to one conclusion, I NEED MORE CLAMPS haha.

Schu: I like this idea, I have my table top done, and the material for the apron and legs ready to go. Thanks

Pics to come soon!


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## wood player (Jan 21, 2011)

I found I didn't like the legs I made on one of the couch tables because they wern't tapered enough 3 inches down to 2 inches in 30 inches it looked clunky I liked the next one that tapered to 1 1/4 at the bottom and 2 3/4 at the top in about 30 inches just keep in perportion it will bear the weight even if it looks pencil post


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

New2Woodworking said:


> Hey guys thanks for the input.
> 
> Tom: The table is 72L x 36W and yes 3/4'' thick. I glued up the panels last night, some hard maple my grandfather had no use for. I've come to one conclusion, I NEED MORE CLAMPS haha.
> 
> ...


What's the latest New2? Where are the pictures you promised? :smile:

~tom ...it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...


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## Nick6685 (Mar 23, 2011)

Been busy so havent gotten around to making any headway on the legs yet. Hopefully, this weekend I will have time. Thanks again guys for all the info.


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