The Spruce / Lisa Ruschioni

Tablelegs aren’t just functional elements.

Well-crafted legs can make the look of the table.

Wood table legs are simple and inexpensive to create from dimensional lumber found at your local home center.

Completed DIY table legs on a table

The Spruce / Lisa Ruschioni

The clamps are left on for a number of hours: pressure and time equal strength.

Softwoods usually cost about $1 to $2 per linear foot.

An electric wood planer smooths down the sides.

Materials needed to build DIY table legs

The Spruce / Lisa Ruschioni

If you don’t have a planer, you’re free to substitute with a sander.

After cutting the legs to length, use a router to round off the sharp corners.

Sand one last time with fine-grit paper, then paint or stain and attach to the tabletop.

Cutting wood to the desired table leg length

The Spruce / Lisa Ruschioni

To avoid kickback, be sure that the blade and the gate are parallel with each other.

double-check that the table saw’s riving knife is installed.

Standard with most modern table saws, the riving knife helps to prevent kickback, too.

Squirting glue onto wood

The Spruce / Lisa Ruschioni

The legs will later be cut down to the correct size.

Avoid wood with knots, cracks, or imperfections.

Do not use pressure-treated wood.

Wood planks sandwiched together with glue

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Glue Wood Pieces

Apply glue liberally to one piece of wood.

Lay another piece of wood on top of this.

Repeat for the other three pairs of wood.

Clamping pieces down to ensure they stick together

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Clamp Pieces

Clamp the four table legs with the bar clamps.

Use a piece of scrap wood on each side to avoid denting the table legs with the bar clamps.

Glue will likely ooze out from the sides.

Ripping the table legs

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Wipe up the glue with the rag.

Warning

Check the surfaces of the table legs for stray glue before clamping the wood together.

This will help you avoid gluing the legs together.

Planing the table legs

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Rip Table Legs

After about four hours, release the bar clamps.

Run each leg through the table saw to rip it to 3 inches square.

Cut each of the four sides of each leg by 1/4 inch.

Cutting the length of the table legs

The Spruce / Lisa Ruschioni

Alternatively, use a belt sander to smooth down the surfaces.

Cut Ends of Table Legs

Most dining tables range from 28 to 30 inches in height.

Use Router on Table Legs

Fit a roundover bit on the router.

Using a router on the table legs

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Use the router on all four edges of each table leg to smooth them down.

Sand Table Legs

Fit the oscillating sander with fine-grit sandpaper such as #220.

Sand all four sides of each table leg.

Sanding down the table legs

The Spruce / Lisa Ruschioni

Paint or Stain Table Legs

Clean off the table legs with atack cloth.

Ifpainting the legs, first apply primer.

If staining the legs, apply a stain pre-conditioner for even, balanced staining.

Applying paint to the table legs

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Apply a clear top coating after the stain has dried.

The method you choose will largely depend on the key in of table you have and your skill level.