Cedar Table & Chair Plans

Misc: 1 5/8 in. and 2 in. galvanized deck screws, 3/8-in.-dia. wood plugs
No. 20 biscuits, Titebond II glue

Building the Table
Start by making the laminating form. We chose MDF (medium-density fiberboard) for the form because it is inexpensive.

First, make the trammel base for the router. Install a 3/4-in.-dia. straight bit in the router, and bore a 3/8-in.-dia. hole through the trammel so that the hole's center is 24 in. from the outside of the router bit. Use a short length of 3/8-in. dowel to pin the trammel to a large piece of MDF. Now, make three passes with the router to cut an arc through the stock. Temporarily leave a section of the panel connected at each end of the arc. Make a set of alignment marks across the arc, and use the router to cut the panel into two sections. Use the two sections as templates. Cut slightly oversize blanks from the remaining panel stock. Screw a template to each blank, and use the router with a flush-trimming bit to cut the blanks to finished radius. Each routed piece becomes the pattern. To prevent glue from sticking to the form, apply a coat of varnish to it. Then wax it after the varnish dries.

Next, place 3/4-in.-thick blocks between the bending forms, and temporarily clamp the forms together. Fasten alignment strips to the surfaces of the forms. Set up the band saw with a tall rip fence and a 1/2-in.-wide, four-tooth-per-inch blade. Rip 1/8-in.-thick, 48-in.-long cedar strips.

Spread glue on the strips, and place the six strips stacked in the form. Clamp the form together. When all the apron blanks have been glued up, plane a square, straight edge on each blank, then rip the apron blanks to finished dimension.

Next, make a plywood cradle with a radius that matches the apron's finished outside length. Clamp the cradle to a long auxiliary fence attached to the table saw's miter gauge. The first cut removes one rough end from the apron. Turn the apron around, and crosscut the apron to finished length.

Use the cradle again to hold the apron as you cut the biscuit slot in each end. Assemble the apron. Then apply glue to the apron ends, the biscuit slots and the biscuits. Use a band clamp to apply clamping pressure. Check the apron diameter for distortion, and adjust it if necessary. Rip, joint and crosscut the leg stock to finished dimension. To cut the curved notch in the leg, first make a 90-degree cut and then use a sharp chisel to pare the curve.

Rip, crosscut and notch the table rails and chamfer the edges. Spread glue on the notches, and clamp the pieces together. Position a table leg between a pair of rails, and counterbore the screw holes. Fasten the legs and rails with galvanized deck screws. Center a leg over each apron joint. Countersink the screw holes, and drive screws into each leg. Now cut the crossrail to size. Place the crossrail into the leg assembly, and cut the glue blocks to fit at its ends. Glue the blocks in place.

Rip and crosscut the top slats to size. Use a rounding-over bit in the router to ease the slat edges. Clamp the center slat in position, bore its pilot holes and fasten it to the apron. Fasten the remaining slats to the center rail spaced 3/8 in. from each other. Mark out the top's diameter and cut it to shape with a sabre saw. Sand the slat ends smooth, then use the router and rounding-over bit to ease their edges.

Use a plug cutter in your drill press to make the plugs to cover the screwholes. Glue the plugs over the screwheads, and use a chisel to pare the plugs smooth. Sand the table smooth with 120-grit sandpaper.

Chair Construction
The first step in chair construction is to make a thin plywood template for the rear leg. Rip and crosscut the rear leg blanks, then trace around the pattern onto the leg. Cut the outside of the leg to shape, and smooth its outline with a block plane. Cut its inside surface to shape, and smooth it with a spokeshave.

The other chair components are ripped, crosscut and planed to final dimension. Lay out the mortises and tenons on these pieces. The mortises are most easily cut with a router and a spiral up-cutting bit. This will require that you cut the ends of the mortises square with a chisel. However, this process will not work on the inside surfaces of the rear leg because the router fence does not have a straight edge to bear against. Cut these mortises by laying the leg against a fence on a drill press table. Bore a series of overlapping holes. Then cut the mortises square with a chisel.

Cut the tenons on the back slats, rails and stretchers using a dado blade installed in the table saw. On the rails and stretchers, be careful to keep track of which face of the component you are working on because the tenon is not centrally positioned on these pieces. Adjust the height of the dado blade accordingly. Also, note that the tenon that joins the side stretcher to the rear leg has an angled shoulder. Cut this by hand using a dovetail saw or backsaw.

Begin the final assembly by gluing and clamping together the side stretchers and the cross stretcher. Measure diagonally from both corners of the assembly to check it for square. Next, glue and clamp together the rear legs, slats and rail. Glue and clamp the front legs and rail. Then, glue and clamp together all the subassemblies. Cut and install the cleats and the seat slats. Install wood plugs.