How to Make Rustic Tables

Rustic furniture complements a log cabin or ranch home. Solid wood construction using mortise and tenon joinery makes rustic furniture durable. Once rustic tables are coated with acrylic wood treatment, they have a deep shine that emphasizes the inner beauty of the wood. Making your first piece of rustic furniture is a challenge; the easiest piece to start with is a table. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Find a slice of burled walnut with an approximate diameter of 2 feet for an occasional table, 3 feet for a bistro table, 4 feet for a patio picnic table or 6 feet for a dining table.

2

Turn the walnut slice "bad" side up. Scribe a circle, square or rectangle of the maximum possible dimensions onto the burled walnut slice, using a carpenters pencil. This creates a registration line. Registration lines provide a consistent beginning point for making measurements and constructing furniture. Leave at least 2 inches of irregular wood between the registration line and the edge of the walnut slice.

3

Make four marks spaced evenly around the registration line you created in Step 2. Use a 2-inch diameter hole saw to create round mortises in the bottom of the burled walnut slice to receive the tenon ends of the 3-inch diameter logs. Use the same hole saw to cut a 3-inch diameter tenon partway through the ends of the 3-inch logs. Use a coping saw to finish cutting the tenons.

4

Use coarse, medium, fine and extra fine sanding belts in that order, to smooth the burled walnut piece for your tabletop. Apply three or more coats of clear acrylic wood treatment to seal the wood, allowing it to dry completely between coats.

5

Use the power drill and a 3/4-inch diameter hole saw to make mortises in the 3-inch diameter logs to receive the one-inch diameter braces. Apply glue inside each mortise and at the end of each tenon.

6

Push the tenons of the 30-inch legs into the correct mortise. Wipe away any excess glue with a warm, damp cloth. Turn the legs so that the mortise holes face each other on opposite sides of the table. Insert the one-inch diameter braces into the correct set of holes. Wipe away excess glue.