Final Project (Whole Process)

The first order of business was to cut the wood in preparation of building the table. I made cross-cuts to specific lengths and stacked the wood near the table saw. The next day, I started to create the truss. I calculated the angle of the diagonal members of the truss by assuming the outer edge of the 2x4 would meet at a third of the length of the horizontal 2x4 members. The main way I fastened everything in this project was by pocket holes and screws. It was a very clean and aesthetically pleasing way of fastening the table together. The next step was to create the legs of the table, which were made with 4x4 post. Two 2'-6" posts would stand vertically and two horizontal posts, 1'2" and 2', held the two vertical legs together. Again, pocket screws were the fasteners, but I had two screws on each side of the post instead of the just one side for the 2x4's. The next step was to fasten the legs to the truss itself. For both the truss and legs, I used small bar clamps to push the wood together to keep everything flush. To assemble the table itself, I had to use heavy pipe clamps that would reach from one leg to the other in order to push the truss together with the legs at both ends. The pipe clamps were necessary, since I needed this connection to be stable as I fastened the legs into the truss. The last step was to create and table top and fasten it to the rest of the table. The 2x6 wood I used was fairly warped, so the top was initial curvy and could somewhat roll. I also needed an extra 2x4 plank in the center, as 4 2x6 wood cut to 3'-11" was not enough cover the width of the table. The top was put together with pocket screws and fastened to the table with 2 1/2 inch dry wall screws. The final product looked really good. I was actually happy with what I made, despite some frustrations that came with constructing the legs, as I had trouble using the clamps, initially. I decided to sand down the table a little to make it a little smoother. All in all, the truss tables was made fairly well, except for some dimension errors and inherent flaws in the wood.