Woodworker's Journal 1993-17-5, страница 50

Old-Foshioned

FARM TABLE

This country classic seats the whole family

Large, sturdy tables like these are found in many American farmhouses, from the New England coastline lo the expansive plains of the great Midwest. This handsome version features a spacious 36 in. by 72 in. top—big enough to allow eight hungry people to sit pretty comfortably.

A good size drawer on each end provides extra storage space for a variety of tableware. The extra long drawer sides allow each drawer to be pulled out far enough to expose the entire contents, yet an easy-to-make retainer system keeps them from pulling out too far.

Early farm tables were likely to be made from lumber supplied by a local sawmill, so you can find them made out of a variety of woods. Most often, though, they were made from pine, poplar, maple, cherry, or some combination thereof.

The l£g$; You'll need 3'A in. thick stock for the four legs (A). Since it's not easy to find such thick stock, there are a couple of options to consider. You can face-glue several thinner 50

boards, like maybe a 'A in. board sandwiched between a pair of 1'/- in. boards. Although this w ill give you enough thickness, the glue lines will show, looking rather unsightly, unless you paint the legs.

Even though we planned lo paint the legs and base parts on our table, we took a slightly different approach. For about $20. we purchased a 10 ft. length of clear western red cedar 4 by 4 stock (which measured 3'A in. by 3'/- in.) at our nearby lumberyard. This stock is generally used to make outdoor decks. While cedar is not a traditional w^:ood for a farm table leg. using it enabled us to get the exact 3'A in. square size we needed w ithout having to glue up any stock—and at a pretty good price lo boot. Plus, we found that the clear cedar turned rather nicely on the lathe. The 10 ft. length provided enough stock for all four legs.

Once you've got 3'A in. square stock, cut it lo about 29'A in. long and mounl it between centers on the lathe. Turn the four

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