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PROJECT PLAN

Harvest tableThis article originally appeared in The Family Handyman magazine.

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Project Factsn Dimensions

30" H x 30-1/2" W x 64-7/8" L

n Time4 hours to cut and assemble(extra time for finishing)

n Cost & Skill Level$225; beginner and up

n ToolsCombination square, mitersaw, screw gun and tapemeasure

Harvest Fast, easy and elegantTableHarvest Fast, easy and elegantTable

44 FEBRUARY 2002 THE FAMILY HANDYMAN

THE FAMILY HANDYMAN FEBRUARY 2002 45

More HARVEST TABLE ää

The top of this table is as tough as a hardwoodfloor—literally. It’s made of hardwood veneerflooring that’s glued and screwed to a 3/4-in.

plywood base. The hardwood legs are not usual table fareeither; they’re made from standard stairway newel posts.The rest of the wood parts are used in a unique way tocomplete the look of the table. The legs are fastened withspecial steel brackets and bolts that are easily removedfor storing the table or moving it on moving day.

Almost everything you need is available at home cen-ters or full-service lumberyards and will easily fit intoyour trunk (if you have the lumberyard cut your ply-wood to size). The only parts I couldn’t find at a localhome center were the heavy-duty steel apron bracketsand hanger bolts for strong leg connections. We’ll giveyou a mail-order source at the end of the article.

by David Radtke

n Hardwood veneer flooring

n 3/4" plywoodbase

n Stairway newel posts

n Wood trimn Hardware

Simple off-the-shelfmaterials and basic toolsmake this the easiesttable you’ll ever build!

Here’s all you need!

and elegantand elegant


The length of the table is designed to accommodatetwo chairs comfortably side by side. The width is

designed to fit four widths of tongue-and-groove veneerflooring laid side by side. If you decide to use a differentbrand of flooring from ours (see Buyer’s Guide, p. 52),adjust the width and size of your table accordingly. Thistable used a single package of flooring; a larger tablewould require a second package.

1CUT your newel post perfectly square using a simple miter box as a guide. Cut the top first, thenflip it end-for-end and trim the other end.

3DRAW guidelines on the underside of the plywood subtop to lateralign the aprons. Next, place a mark 3-1/2 in. in from each edge tomark the end points of the apron pieces and the edges of the legs. The

size of our plywood subtop accommodates the dimensions of the flooringwith a bit left over.

2CUT the aprons to length, thencut a 1/8-in. wide by 1/4-in.deep saw kerf 2 in. from the

end. To make the kerf wide enoughwith the slender handsaw shown,you’ll need to make individual cuts oneach side of your mark, then knock outthe center section with a knife. Don’tworry, a little too wide is still OK.

Getting the right materials makes theassembly go like clockwork

If you can’t find the exact materialslisted in our Buyer’s Guide, selectsubstitutes. The 48-in. colonial-stylenewel posts were a staple in the stairparts section at a local home center.If newel posts aren’t the right shapeor length for your table design (youmay decide to build a coffee table),you can also buy table legs (seeBuyer’s Guide, p. 52, for details).

3" x 3" x 48"NEWEL POST

WASTEPIECE FROMNEWEL TOP

29-5/8"

64"

COMBINATIONSQUARE

3/4" PLYWOODSUBTOP

1-3/4"

1-3/4"

LEVELINGBLOCKS

PORTABLEMITER SAW

GUIDE2"

1x4 OAKBOARDS

HarvestHarvesttabletable

1/8" WIDE AND1/4" DEEP

SAW KERFS

THE FAMILY HANDYMAN FEBRUARY 2002 47

If you plan to paint the legs, choosepoplar or maple because theirsmooth surfaces paint up beauti-fully. Oak is porous and looks beststained and varnished.

Hauling a big piece of plywoodhome in a standard sedan can be aproblem as well, so ask the storeclerk to cut it to the dimensions youneed. Lumberyards and home cen-ters will usually charge a small feefor cutting the plywood for you, but

here’s a place where the benefit iswell worth the extra buck.

The prefinished flooring top weused has a plywood substrate withabout a 1/8-in. thick solid woodsurface. This style flooring is meantto be installed as a floating floor, notglued to flooring underlayment.However, for a small area like thistable, gluing and screwing the floor-

Cutting ListKEY PCS. SIZE & DESCRIPTION

A 1 3/4" x 29-5/8" x 64" plywood subtop(base)

B 4 3" x 3" x 28-1/2" factory-turned newelposts (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 1 pkg. Harris Tarkett Vanguard flooring (Wheat Oak)

F 1 3/8" x 1-5/16" x 16' oak edge trim(Princeton doorstop) cut to fit


11/13 Becky I aded the color on A on the bottom view, if you don't want it there, just delete it Gene

45-DEGREE BEVEL (TYP.)

1-3/4"

APRON BRACKET

2" ANGLE BRACKET, 3/4" SCREWS

2" ANGLE BRACKET, 3/4" SCREWS

1-3/4"

4"

2"3-1/2"

3-1/2"

1/8" x 1/4" DEEP SAW KERF

APRON BRACKET, 5/8" SHEET METAL SCREWS

CHAMFER ONE EDGE OF B, DRILL 1/4" DIA. BOLT HOLE

1" DRYWALL SCREW

1" DRYWALL SCREW

1" BRAD

5/16" x 3" HANGER BOLT, WASHER AND WING-NUT

C1

D1C1

C1

C2C2

BOTTOM VIEWSECTION

VIEW

C2

B

B

A

A

A

D1

D2

D2

D2

E

E

F

F

F

F

Fig. A HARVEST TABLE

Story Number— Story Name—Harvest Table Issue—Feb. 02 Editor—David Radtke Art Director—Becky Pfluger Tech Art Version—1F 11/13/01


FIG. AHARVEST TABLE DETAIL


ing to the plywood below is justfine. Large areas such as floors needto move independently from theplywood or subfloor below.

You can use more sophisticatedtools for cutting the parts, but Ifound the simple handsaw miterbox worked really well for gettingstraight 90-degree cuts as well as the45-degree miters for the edgingaround the tabletop.

To get the flooring edges to align perfectly with the plywood

4POSITION the aprons along the lines drawn inthe previous step. Screw the aprons to the under-side of the top using steel angle brackets. Use

three brackets for the two longer aprons. Slightly bendthe angle brackets if they’re not holding the apronssquare to the plywood subtop.

5TAP the apron brackets into the saw kerfcuts you made earlier. With the bracketcentered on the apron, screw it to

the aprons with 5/8-in. sheet metal screws (purchased separately).

6SHAVE OFF one upper edge of each leg (chamfer) with ahand plane to create a flat spot for drilling. Cradle the legtightly between the aprons and against the subtop, then drill

a 1/4-in. pilot hole into each leg.

CENTER OFAPRON

2" x 2" STEEL ANGLE

BRACKETS

3/4" CABINETSCREWS

1x4APRON

4"

4-3/4"

3"

CHAMFEREDEDGE

CHAMFEREDEDGE

WING-NUT

5/16" x 3"HANGER BOLT

1-3/4"


APRONBRACKET

APRONBRACKET



7TURN the hanger bolt into the pilot hole with alocking pliers clamped around the Wing-Nut (toprotect the threads). Leave about 1-1/4 in. of the

bolt exposed, then remove the Wing-Nut. Slip the leg andbolt into place and tighten the Wing-Nut to the bracket.

8GLUE the dentil molding to the aprons and clampthem 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 clampevery 8 in.

LOCKINGPLIERS SPRING

CLAMPSDENTIL

MOLDING

HAPPYCLAMPER

9POSITION the first piece of flooring with the grooved side and endperfectly aligned with the corner of the plywood subtop. Apply a cou-ple of dots of construction adhesive to the underside of each piece of

flooring and then screw through the bottom of the plywood subtop into theflooring. Use 1-in. drywall screws (two on each end).

GLUE UNDERPIECE WITH

TONGUE ANDGROOVE

GROOVEEND

TONGUE-AND-GROOVE VENEERSTRIP FLOORING

I tried a 1-1/4 in.screw and puck-ered the surface

of the flooring in a couple ofspots when I drove thescrew in a half turn too tight!

Oops!

subtop, you’ll find that a sandingblock or a belt sander along the edgewill straighten the edges for the finaltrim piece around the perimeter.

Choose a tough finishfor your table parts

We chose an oil stain (see Buyer’sGuide) that matched our prefin-ished flooring. Be sure to sand allthe parts with 150-grit sandpaperbefore staining. Let the stain dryand apply two coats of a waterbornepolyurethane varnish. We used asemigloss poly acrylic finish byMinwax. To minimize tediouscutting in with a brush,be sure to prefinishthe wood edgetrim before

CONSTRUCTIONADHESIVE


5/8" SHEETMETAL

SCREWS


FEBRUARY 2002 51

Top, leg,apron andmoldingoptionsYou can build thissimple projectexactly as we’vedone or put yourown spin on it. Feelfree to choose froma variety of woodspecies for youraprons, legs andedge moldings.Look through themolding bins at yourlumberyard andhome center. Colorcan also change theoverall look of theproject.

Keep in mind thatyou can choose froma variety of materialsfor your tabletop aswell, from ceramictile to plasticlaminate flooring, sopick the material thatsuits your sense ofstyle. Whatever youchoose, follow thestep-by-step photosand clear drawings toguide you throughthe basic process.



Buyer’s Guide Many brands of engineered wood flooring are sold at home centers. We designed thesize of the table for Vanguard Wheat Oak (9/16 in. thick) by Harris Tarkett. To locate adealer 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 fromRockler 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).

10TRIM the ends of the flooring flush with the edge of the plywood subtop. Stroke the saw gently, cutting on the down-stroke, and be sure the piece you’re cutting has been glued and

screwed first to hold it steady.

11GLUE AND NAIL the 1-5/16 in. edge trim to cover the edge ofthe flooring and the plywood underneath. It’s much easier toprefinish these pieces—you’ll save yourself the trouble of care-

fully staining and varnishing them right alongside the finished flooring.

CARPENTER’SGLUE FORTONGUE

AND GROOVE

COMBINATIONSQUARE

CUT FLUSHWITH

PLYWOODBASE

CARPENTER’SGLUE

HARDWOODEDGE TRIM

Art Direction • BECKY PFLUGERIllustration • EUGENE THOMPSONPhotography • BILL ZUEHLKEProject Design • DAVID RADTKE

you glue it to the sides of the tabletop. Protect the back ofthe trim with masking tape as you stain and varnish it sothe 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 ofspray enamel for a reallysmooth finish.


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