https://ift.tt/2AhEIGp wood working project successfully completed. Decided to make the table and bench as Thanksgiving was approaching and we hadn't put enough aside to purchase the formal set we wanted. I followed these plans for the table, and scaled down for the bench. All together cost was 250. 80 in lumber, 80 for (8) table legs, 40 for the kreg jig (absolute must despite was the tutorial says), and 50 in the rest (screws, stain, table leg attachments, wood clamps, wood glue, silicone, caulk gun). I already owned a belt sander and drill.Here are the progress photos.A few things did NOT go according to plan.(1) The table legs in this tutorial are 50 a piece. And how to attach them is not well stated. I found $15/leg for the table and $5/leg for the bench at Home Depot. If I wanted to spend 300 on legs alone I would have bought the formal dining set. The table legs I found were much skinnier, and required a metal bracket attachment. Because of this I couldn't built the based and then attach the table top. It wasn't terrible but required some thought.(2) I didn't use a nail gun or finishing nails of any kind. I used shorter wood screws to attach the decorative pieces.(3) I needed two clamps to attach the base to the top. No clamp is 6 inches deep so I set a piece of plywood and clamped it to either side.(4) I didn't realize how much background knowledge I'd need that wasn't explicitly written in the instructions. The metal brackets for the legs wasn't something I realized I need until I broke off one of the bench legs trying to move it (oops). Everywhere said a kreg jig was 'optional' but I'm not advanced enough with a drill to be able to free hand that many straight holes, and this one is embarrassing to admit but I had to go back to Home Depot to get a caulk gun for the silicone...10/10 would make again. As this was my first DIY woodworking project I was pretty intimidated, but I'm happy with the result. The turkey didn't fly off the end of the table and I had a happy realization at the end of dinner that the table performed as expected, i.e. didn't shake, fall over, or cause wobbly plates. Success! via /r/DIY https://ift.tt/2OX6oWp
