I knocked out a patio table this weekend. It wasn't too difficult, and I made tapered legs for the first time, which turned out to be fairly easy.
Here's the frame for the table top. I did bridle joints for the outside corners and pocket screws for the middle piece.
Next I cut pocket holes in the ends of each of the slats. This was tedious.
I cut some scraps to use as spacers to make sure the slats were evenly spaced.
After I attached all the slats, I cut the aprons and glued/screwed them to the table top.
Next I cut and shaped the legs. Here are the blanks:
I built this taper cutting jig at the angle I needed based on the final dimensions of the legs. I don't use trigonometry often in my daily life, but it came in handy here figuring out the correct angle.
Here are the legs after going through the table saw.
Next I used a chamfering bit on the router table to cut a flat spot on each leg for the hanger bolts to go into.
Then I set up the drill press table at a 45 degree angle and drilled pilot holes for the hanger bolts.
Next I used a ratchet to screw the hanger bolts into the legs.
Finally, I attached the legs using corner brackets.
There was a little too much flex in the top slats for my liking, so I added a couple of support pieces on each side.
Here it is all said and done. I'm looking forward to eating dinner on it.
