Uploaded February 2019 | Updated September 2026, 8 hours ago
Now that I had the legs glued up and the table top done, I needed to flip the table top over so I could work on the underside. I gave it a light surfacing to flatten it up, and then routed out the mortises for the legs. I gave everything a quick test fit and then moved on to the glue up. I quickly realized that I hadn't test fit every joint and that one wasn't going to fit, coming to the conclusion that I had forgotten to give the mortise a pocket allowance. I pulled the piece back out and gave it a sanding, eventually getting it to fit. Once I had the whole underside glued together, I moved it all into place on the table top and it dropped into place. A couple days later I moved the table back into the barn to give it some stain. Since the barn isn't heated and it's been cold here lately, I moved the table down to my grandpa's shop to apply the coats of polyurethane. Kelly and I applied 2 coats to the underside and 4 coats to the table top, with a light sanding in between each. Lastly, I recruited as many people as I could to help hoist this crazy heavy table up into the house.
Now that I had the legs glued up and the table top done, I needed to flip the table top over so I could work on the underside. I gave it a light surfacing to flatten it up, and then routed out the mortises for the legs. I gave everything a quick test fit and then moved on to the glue up. I quickly realized that I hadn't test fit every joint and that one wasn't going to fit, coming to the conclusion that I had forgotten to give the mortise a pocket allowance. I pulled the piece back out and gave it a sanding, eventually getting it to fit. Once I had the whole underside glued together, I moved it all into place on the table top and it dropped into place. A couple days later I moved the table back into the barn to give it some stain. Since the barn isn't heated and it's been cold here lately, I moved the table down to my grandpa's shop to apply the coats of polyurethane. Kelly and I applied 2 coats to the underside and 4 coats to the table top, with a light sanding in between each. Lastly, I recruited as many people as I could to help hoist this crazy heavy table up into the house.
