Small Old English Style Farmhouse Dining Table

Drill 3/4" pocket holes along all four edges of each end apron. The top and bottom edges are for attaching the tabletop and the lower trim; the ends are for joining to the legs.

Attach the end aprons to the legs with 1-1/4" pocket-hole screws and glue, inset 1/4" from the outside face of the leg. That 1/4" reveal is deliberate — it gives a clean shoulder instead of a flush, furniture-of-mystery joint.

Repeat the pocket-hole layout on the side aprons and join them to the leg assemblies, again inset 1/4" and with glue.

Cut cross braces from 1x4 material to fit diagonally across each corner and screw them in. They stiffen the base against racking and give you solid wood to drive the tabletop screws into later.

Drill 3/4" pocket holes in the ends of the 1x2 lower trim pieces. Attach them to the legs with 1-1/4" pocket screws, then fasten them up into the bottom edge of the aprons through the pocket holes you drilled earlier. This gives the base its two-rail farmhouse look and hides the apron's lower pocket holes.

Glue and clamp up the six 1x6 boards into a top, keeping the joints tight and the surface flat. If you're joining with pocket screws, drive them from underneath so nothing shows on top.

Once the top is dry and sanded, center it on the base and screw up through the apron pocket holes into the underside with 1-1/4" pocket screws and glue. Sand through the grits and finish with a durable topcoat.