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This table earns the name "truss table" honestly: rather than the post-and-beam look of this catalog's outdoor bar-height truss table, this one is a trestle design — angled 2x4 legs beveled at 10°, tied by a diagonal truss brace cut at 50°, under a 2x6 plank top.
This build is genuinely more advanced than most in this catalog and assumes real compound-miter-saw experience. The two main legs get a top edge beveled at 10° with both ends cut off at 45° partway down — build two of these, they're identical. The four leg uprights are trickier: they need a 10° bevel on one end, but two are cut one way and the remaining two cut as a mirror image, meaning you'll reset your saw's bevel direction partway through and cut the second pair as true mirrors of the first, not just more of the same.
Drill pocket holes at all leg joints before assembly, placing them on the inside faces where they're least visible, plus upward-facing pocket holes for attaching the tabletop later. Build the tabletop on a flat, level surface with glue — a plank top out of square or unlevel telegraphs into every joint below it. Attach the legs to the underside of the tabletop, then add the bottom stretcher, screwed down with 2-1/2" (or longer) screws — reusing pocket hole screws here is fine so you don't need a second box of fasteners.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| 2x4, 8 ft | 5 each |
| 2x6, 8 ft | 7 each |
| 2x2, 8 ft | 1 each |
| Pocket hole screws, 2-1/2" | 50 each |
| Wood glue | 4 oz |
| Primer and paint, or stain and poly | 1 set |
Overall cost: $$$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Main legs2x4, 8 ftTop edge beveled at 10°, bottom outside corners cut off at 45°. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 38 1/2" |
| Leg uprights2x4, 8 ftOne end cut at 10° angle, long point measurement — two cut one way, two mirrored. | 4 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 28" |
| Leg cross braces2x4, 8 ftLong point to long point, both ends cut at 10° off square, ends not parallel. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 29 1/4" |
| Tabletop planks2x6, 8 ft | 7 | 1 1/2" × 5 1/2" × 83 1/2" |
| Tabletop breadboard supports2x2, 8 ftCut to fit. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 38 1/2" |
| Truss center beam2x4, 8 ft | 1 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 72" |
| Truss braces2x4, 8 ftLong point to short point, both ends cut at 50° off square, ends parallel. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 29 7/8" |
Buy 13 boards at 8 ft.
7 boards
5 boards
1 board
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Bevel the top edge of the two main legs at 10° and cut the bottom outside corners off at 45°. Cut the four leg uprights with a 10° bevel on one end — two cut one way, the remaining two cut as mirrors. Drill 1-1/2" pocket holes at all joints, placing them on the inside faces where possible, plus upward-facing pocket holes for the tabletop. Assemble with 2-1/2" pocket hole screws.
Build the tabletop from the plank boards on a flat, level surface with glue, keeping it square as you go.
Attach the legs to the underside of the tabletop with 2-1/2" pocket hole screws.
Screw the truss center beam down as the bottom stretcher, using 2-1/2" or longer screws — pocket hole screws work fine here.
Offer up the truss braces between the stretcher and the tabletop's center support, mark against the actual fit, and trim as needed before final attachment. Sand and finish the whole table.
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