house design » diy projects » rimu table

This weekend I made a dining table out of Rimu with a rather unusual leg system (adapted from a 'square' design I saw whilst on holiday in the Coromandel) ...

leg hub - top view

leg hub - side view

leg hub - oblique view

rimu table top

all done!

table plan

The hexagonal hub is 80mm per side and 100mm thick (this assumes using dressed 2"x2" for the legs). It is made up of 5 plates of 20mm planking. The middle plate (of the five plate stack) was cored with a 50mm hole saw and drilled so the radial bolts (that hold each leg on) could be located head-out/nut-in. Two whole plates plus the cored plate were glued and screwed together before assembling the legs. The final two plates were glued and screwed on after the legs were in place and the radial bolts secured.

Also note that the legs that run parallel with the long side of the table are longer than legs that run across the table (and thus lie at a differing angle to the floor). Some simple trigonometry will get you the lengths you need.

.success? failure?

Pros: Looks great; no legs in the table corners (easy to get around).

Cons: Use of TNG boards for the table top results in a grooved surface that traps crumbs.

Enhancement Suggestions: Trim the edges of the TNG boards and edge-glue them together.