Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/4851619.jpg?496)
A very good friend of mine and his wife bought two nice table legs and a large (5' x 2') slab of butcher-block. The design plan was to use the two table legs and a small bookshelf to support the top. All that was left to construct was an apron to hold everything together.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/1950680.jpg?495)
First thing needing to be done was to layout and cut the mortises for the apron tenons.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/3840236.jpg?496)
Since the apron will be constructed of 3/4" thick poplar, a 3/8" mortise will work out perfectly - which happens to be the width of my large mortise chisel...
Using a marking gauge, I scribed the layout lines fairly deep into the top of the table leg to help define the sides of the mortise when chiseling out the waste.
Using a marking gauge, I scribed the layout lines fairly deep into the top of the table leg to help define the sides of the mortise when chiseling out the waste.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/2186053.jpg?495)
The mortise chisel, which has a 35-degree bevel, chopped into the pine table leg fairly easily.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/8022257.jpg?495)
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/579811.jpg?494)
The time it took to chop this mortise was much less than the time it would have taken to setup a drill press and drill out most of the waste prior to paring the sides with a bench chisel.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/3518729.jpg?495)
After all four mortises were created, the two table legs were set aside so that work could begin on the aprons.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/8906255.jpg?494)
Due to the length of the boards and the confined space in my shop, I used one of my favorite type of hand tools - a Japanese saw - to cut the apron boards to length prior to cutting the tenons.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/9438529.jpg?494)
I used a regular rip blade in my table saw to nibble away at the waste instead of taking the time to set up a dado blade due to the fact that I only had four tenons to cut.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/7455361.jpg?494)
I used a large should plane to clean up the tenons after they were cut on the table saw.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/3788900.jpg?493)
Once the face of the tenon was cleaned up, I cut the tenon to width and pared the tenon shoulders down with a chisel to make sure it would fit tightly.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/6253072.jpg?492)
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/756831.jpg?496)
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/210006.jpg?495)
Here you can see how the table will be when finished, minus the two cross-pieces that will be installed. One will be dadoed into the center of the long apron, while the other will be rabbeted into the end and attach to the bookshelf.
I later installed metal table top clips with elongated holes to attach the top and allow for wood movement.
I later installed metal table top clips with elongated holes to attach the top and allow for wood movement.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/9002808.jpg?495)
I cleaned up the rabbets with a router plane to make sure the joint would go together without any issues.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/3472598.jpg?496)
In order to keep the large assembly square, I had to be a little creative and use my bench to help pull things in the right direction.
You can see the two cross-pieces that were added. Once the glue dried, I used a plane to clean up the top edges to make sure it would sit flush to the underside of the table top.
You can see the two cross-pieces that were added. Once the glue dried, I used a plane to clean up the top edges to make sure it would sit flush to the underside of the table top.
Kitchen Table
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/2/7/10271529/3650362.jpg?499)
Here is the final product - a great looking table and a very creative idea from the table owners to use a bookshelf instead of legs for extra storage.