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Most farmhouse table plans quietly require a pocket hole jig. This one is built around not having one: the legs are notched to receive the aprons and stretcher, so the frame's strength comes from wood bearing on wood, with screws just clamping the joint shut. Each leg is actually two 2x4s — an outside leg and an inside leg, each notched differently, screwed face-to-face — which gets you the look and strength of a chunky solid leg while every notch is cut in cheap, manageable 2x4 stock.
The notches ARE the build. Cut them carefully — saw kerfs to depth and chisel or snap out the waste, or nibble with repeated passes — and the rest of the table assembles like a kit. Cut them sloppy and every joint wobbles in its seat forever. Take the time on the first leg to develop the technique; the other seven notches go fast once you have it.
The top is seven 2x6s with 2x8 breadboard ends, screwed down from above in a deliberate pattern (1" from each end and edge, one center screw) and pulled tight to 2x2 under-supports from below. One honest caveat this design carries: the breadboard ends are screwed rigidly across the grain of a 38"-wide top, so expect some seasonal gapping at that joint — construction lumber moves. It's a farmhouse table; the small gaps are part of the vocabulary. A note in the original plan even offers rotating the leg assemblies to expose the notch detail, Restoration-Hardware style, at the cost of end-chair legroom — decide before step 6, not after.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| 2x4, 8 ftLegs, aprons, stretcher. Pick the straightest boards in the store — a bowed leg can't be fixed later. | 8 each |
| 2x2, 8 ftTabletop under-supports and overhang supports. | 6 each |
| 2x8, 8 ftThe two breadboard ends. | 1 each |
| 2x6, 8 ftThe tabletop. Choose boards with matching grain and no crown. | 7 each |
| Self-tapping wood screws, #9 x 2-3/4", star driveThe main assembly screw throughout. | 100 each |
| Self-tapping wood screws, #10 x 4", star driveApron-to-leg angles and breadboard ends. | 20 each |
| Wood glueEvery joint gets glue — the screws clamp, the glue holds. | 16 oz |
| Stain and topcoatA dining top wants a durable film finish — polyurethane, not just wax. | 1 quart |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Outside legs (A)Notched per the plan diagrams. | 4 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 28 1/2" |
| Inside legs (B)Notched top AND bottom — different from the outside legs. | 4 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 28 1/2" |
| Bottom end supports (C)Carry the stretcher between the leg pairs. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 34 1/2" |
| Stretcher (D)Add 4" if you rotate the legs for the exposed-notch look. | 1 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 81" |
| Side aprons (E) | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 81" |
| End aprons (F) | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 28 1/2" |
| Overhang supports, ends (G) | 2 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 28 1/2" |
| Overhang supports, sides (H) | 2 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 78" |
| Under-tabletop supports (I) | 10 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 28 1/2" |
| Breadboard ends (J)2x8 | 2 | 1 1/2" × 7 1/4" × 38 1/2" |
| Tabletop boards (K)2x6 | 7 | 1 1/2" × 5 1/2" × 81" |
Buy 22 boards at 8 ft.
1 board
7 boards
8 boards
6 boards
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 →
Mark the notches on the four outside legs (A) per the plan diagrams. To cut each one: set the circular saw to the notch depth, make repeated kerf passes inside the marked shoulders about 1/4" apart, knock the waste fingers out with a hammer, and pare the bottom flat with a chisel.
Go slow on the first one — it's technique practice for the seven that follow. The joint only seats solidly if the notch bottom is flat.
The inside legs (B) get notches at BOTH ends: bottom notches to receive the end supports, top notches for the aprons. Mark them from the diagrams, double-check against an outside leg before cutting, and cut with the same kerf-and-chisel method.
The top and bottom notches are different — label each leg's orientation in pencil the moment it's cut.
Glue and screw each inside leg to its outside leg with 2-3/4" screws, driving from the inside leg so the screw heads end up hidden. Placement matters: the legs are handed, and which side the inside leg sits on determines where its notches face. Dry-fit all four assemblies in table position before driving a single screw.
Seat the bottom end supports (C) in their notches and screw them to the legs — two screws into the inside leg, two into the outside leg, per side.
Decision point from the plan: rotating the leg assemblies puts this support (and its notch detail) on the OUTSIDE, like the Restoration Hardware original — but costs end-chair legroom and adds 4" to the stretcher. Either is right; pick now.
Drop the stretcher (D) into the end supports' notches and screw it down. The base is now a freestanding H — stand it on a flat surface and check nothing rocks before moving on.
On a level surface, screw the side aprons (E) and end aprons (F) into a rectangle. Check the diagonals — this frame decides whether the tabletop sits square on the base.
Fit the apron frame down into the top notches of the legs. Drive the 4" screws at an angle through the apron into each leg — three screws per leg, and be generous with glue in the notch seats. Then check the whole table for square one more time; this is the last moment it's adjustable.
Mark the side aprons every 5-3/4" and screw the 2x2 supports (I) across between them with 2-3/4" screws. The spacing doesn't need to be exact and the last bay will be narrower — their job is to give every tabletop board something to be pulled down against.
Screw the overhang supports (G, H) around the apron's top edge, flush with the top, using 2-3/4" screws — and screw these in thoroughly. They're what the tabletop's overhang hangs from; a lifting overhang is this exact part under-fastened.
Position the 2x8 breadboard ends (J) per the plan's measurements — they cap the tabletop boards and overhang the end aprons. Screw through with the 4" screws into the legs, then up from the underside of the end overhang supports into the breadboards.
Mark the screw pattern on both ends of every tabletop board (K): 1" from the end, 1" from each edge, one in the middle — and PREDRILL every mark, because a screw 1" from the end of a 2x6 without a pilot hole is a split, guaranteed.
Set the center board first, screw its ends down through the top, then pull it tight from below with screws up through the under-supports (I).
Add the remaining tabletop boards from the center out, clamping each tight to its neighbor before screwing — the top should read as one surface, not seven boards. Screw down through the marked ends and up from the under-supports as you go.
Finally, drive the 4" screws through the tabletop boards into the breadboard ends. Sand the whole top flat, starting coarse, and finish with something that shrugs off spilled milk — this is the most-touched surface in a house.
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