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Structural recommendations for a farmhouse table with a lapped, crossed legs

Woodworking Asked on August 19, 2021

I’m considering building a farmhouse kitchen table similar to this one:

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I like the "appearance of simplicity", but in truth, I’m not sure it would be all that simple. all 5 of those joints need to be quite strong.

I would be working with 3" x 5" pieces of walnut. Here is how I was considering joining these pieces, and my concerns. Keep in mind I am an amateur woodworker at best.

For the center, I want to lap the two boards to make a tight 45-degree joint (three inches thick total). I’m considering attaching a truss between each of the center points by using a 6 inch bolt, drilling through the center of a 3 or 4-inch truss on each side, and digging out a small rectangular notch which would be on the bottom of the truss, allowing me to attach a flange nut. It seems like an elegant solution but I’m concerned about clamping three things together which will have a considerable amount of lateral forces on them.

As for the connections to the top and bottom, I was thinking about using 2 7" headlock screws as pocket screws in each. I was also considering oversizing the height of the cross-section by 1/2" and then routing out 4 x 1/4" deep trenches to hold each of the points in place. I’m not sure how that will look aesthetically, but it seems like it would take the load off the center joint.

Any thoughts or concerns? How can I make this rock-solid?

Example Table

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