Dining Table...Apron

The table top of any table is usually what gets noticed first, but behind (or in this case under) every good table top is a good apron! The table apron is panel that connects the top surface to the legs. This was my first phase of the table that I built.

To give the table more character and uniqueness, I decided to use reclaimed lumber. I got some reclaimed redwood for free off craigslist and cleaned it up a bit. The lumber had been used for an outdoor pergola, so I cleaned it off and sanded it a bit. Some pieces, like the cross members, I ran through the table saw to take some height off of them. I used a jointer on my shopsmith to make the top surfaces consistently flat so there would be a good flat surface for my table top to sit on.

The wood cleaned up nicely and has some old nail holes and I knew it would stain nicely.  You may be wondering about all of the angled holes in the picture. Those are pocket holes, and make an extremely strong and easy joinery to the table top that went on. I use a Kreg Pocket-Hole Jig system, and the thing is AMAZING. It saves so much time, is extremely strong, and you can't see these holes once the top is on. Of course there are projects that I don't use these for because you can see the holes, but when building something for strength, this does the trick!

After that I attached a 3/4 inch sheet of Birch hardwood plywood to start working on the table top! More to come in next post!