Walnut coffee table

Very beautiful! Really very nice table. Great job.
I love walnut but cannot afford to buy walnut lumber – I bought walnut mushroom pegs!

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

I lucked out last summer and got a bunch of walnut and cherry at an estate auction for about $0.50/ft

-- Robert in middle TN

Can’t go wrong with Black Walnut.

-- Respect your shop tools and they will respect you - Ric

Robert, you’ve done a beautiful job. I’m sure your daughter loves it.

Thanks for posting it.

-- Martin, Kansas

Nice job on design and construction. As a maker of two small walnut tables myself lately, these caught my eye.

-- Bob A in NJ

That’s great. My wife has requested a walnut coffee table that she wants to be simple and almost just like this one except she doesn’t want the breadboard ends, which I’m not sure I could construct anyway. Would you mind sharing your overall dimensions? Thanks.

-- PeteMoss

great job…looks very nice…

-- Todd, Oak Ridge, TN, Hello my name is Todd and I'm a Toolholic, I bought my last tool 10 days, no 4 days, oh heck I bought a tool on the way here! †

Nice job!

I’m curious. I’ve used both water-based and oil-based poly, and find they have a slightly different appearance. This looks more like water-based to me. Am I right?

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Excellent job. I love the breadboard ends.

-- Jason - Colorado Springs

Very nice table! I am curious as to how the legs are attached to the aprons?

-- Jim, SE PA

Thanks for all the nice comments. Dimensions are height 20.5in Top width 23.25in Len 47 in.
legs 2.5in at top tapered to 1.5in.
Finish is oil based poly, i think the white look is glare on the photo.
Legs are rabbeted at top for apron then glued to apron and finally long wood screws from the inside through the legs into the aprons.
Top is attached by gluing and nailing 1/2×1/2 strips to inside top of apron. 1×2x4 inch blocks with 1/2 in x 1 in rabbet are glued and screwed into underside of top with rabbet overlapping strip on apron.

-- Robert in middle TN

Lovely table, love the Walnut!

Archie, that’s really nice. I really like the look of walnut.

The legs are 2.5” square at the top. Did you have to laminate stock or were you able to find some thick enough?

Were you going for the continuous apron look? Is that why the rabbeted legs instead of what I would think of as the more traditional mortise and tenon of the aprons into the legs?

Are you worried about strength? Racking of the legs in particular.

I used 3×3 stock for the legs. I wanted the continuous apron look plus doing rabbets was much easier than tenons. I don’t think leg strength will be a problem on a table this short, that was another reason for the rabbets, lots of glue surface to two surfaces of the apron. It is rabbeted on sides and ends to prevent racking in either direction.
THanks for all the nice comments.

-- Robert in middle TN