MAKE AN OUTDOOR COFFEE TABLE OUT OF CASTLE JOINTS.

Hello, everyone! We continued to discover for you. In this episode, we will see MAKE AN OUTDOOR COFFEE TABLE OUT OF CASTLE JOINTS.

The season of summer has here in full force, and I’ve been making the most of the pleasant weather by spending time on my terrace in Montreal.

Having said that, there is one essential piece of furniture that has been absent from my patio setup until now, and that is a coffee table. Not just any coffee table, but rather one that has a unique and interesting design.

In the meantime, I can’t wait to try my hand at building some castle joint joinery. Consequently, I reasoned that this would be an excellent opportunity to test it out in a project setting.

You may be wondering, “What exactly is a castle joint?” It is essentially a three-way interlocking junction that incorporates the bridle joint and the cross-lap joint into one single structure. If you think that seems difficult, there’s no need to worry about it! In the video that follows, I will walk you through it step by easy step.

Coffee Table with Castle-Joint Construction.

The Castle Joint Method: A Step-by-Step Guide to Constructing an Outdoor Coffee Table
Because this coffee table will be used outside, I’ve decided to make it out of cedar wood. Before beginning to work with any kind of wood, it is essential to first square it up.

Consequently, I began by squaring up my 4×4 posts and then proceeding to cut the legs and aprons to the appropriate lengths.

Cut the “Castle” of the Joint in the First Step.

To begin, I will take the width measurement of the stock and then I will divide that amount by 3. After that, I’ll adjust the length of my combo square to match that value.

After that, I can take hold of one of the legs and mark it on both of its sides. It does not have to be exactly one-third, but it should be close enough so that it will look evenly balanced. Try not to stress out too much over this.

After that, I will take another combination square and adjust it so that it is the same width as the stock. After that, make a mark with it at the top of the joint. In point of fact, you only need to indicate one of the legs; you don’t need to mark any of the others.

You are going to want to construct a reliable tenoning jig for yourself so that you can cut the bridle joint. It should fit snugly against the fence of the table saw and have a sturdy backstop, in addition to being tall enough to support your workpiece. In the designs, you’ll find instructions that outline how to construct your very own tenoning jig.

To begin, bring the blade up until it reaches the marking at the very top of the joint. The next step, after ensuring that your workpiece is firmly attached to the jig, is to adjust your fence such that the cutting edges of the blade just brush against the inside of your markings.

Proceed to make the initial incision. After that, you just need to rotate the piece by 90 degrees and do it again while keeping the fence in the same position.

After you have completed cutting each of the four sides, you should be left with a pattern that looks like tic-tac-toe. Perform this action on each of the four legs of your fence without moving it.

After that, you are free to proceed with moving the fence in order to take away all of the material from the middle of the joint in a step-by-step manner. It ought to be the case that you are left with four legs that appear like the tower of a castle.

In the second step, cut tenons into the aprons.

Aprons for the table are my next opportunity to work. In order to make the markings, I will utilize the identical combination squares as before (without making any adjustments to them).

As its name suggests, I can use my tenoning jig to cut the tenons, which is a possibility every time. After I have ensured that the stock is properly fastened to the jig, I will proceed to make the cut by positioning the tips of the blade so that they are on the outside of the line.

After that, I can give the item a turn of 180 degrees and proceed with the second cut.

Now that I have cut each of the four table aprons, I can put the tenoning jig to the side. In addition to that, I have complete freedom to shift my fence and lower the blade. I will adjust the height of the blade so that it is just below the tenon.

My miter gauge will come in handy when it comes time to remove the tenon’s shoulders. Because you don’t want to make this crosscut flush against your fence, I put a little stop in place and adjusted the fence so that the blade was flush with the line but just within it.

After that, I was able to proceed with cutting the shoulders in order to reveal all of the tenons.

Cutting Lap Joints Within the Tenons Is the Third Step.

Okay, so I’ve already cut my legs and my aprons, but there’s one more cut I need to do to the aprons in order for this castle joint to come together properly, and that is a cross lap joint within the tenons themselves.

I’ll slide one of the legs onto the tenon and use a pencil to mark where the lap joints should be cut. After that, I’ll cut the lap joints. In addition to that, I’ll place another mark exactly halfway up.

After you have adjusted the height of the blade, using a miter gauge to establish two stops, one at either end of the cutout and just inside the line, is the next step that is the easiest. Because of this, you will be able to make consistent cuts across all of the aprons.

When you have finished making the initial cut at each end of the joint, you may then gradually move the stock to take away the remaining material in the middle of the joint.

Step 4: Assemble the Table Base with Glue.

After I’ve finished cutting out all of the pieces, I’ll make sure that they can all be assembled correctly. After that, I could apply glue to each individual component of the joint and put the pieces back together like a puzzle.

I’ll secure the table foundation to my workbench using some clamps, and then let it air dry for the night. The following day, I went over everything with some sandpaper that had an 80-grit grit to make the joints flatter and smoother.

Installation of Tabletop Planks is the fifth step.

Adding the tabletop will bring this coffee table’s construction to a successful conclusion. To begin, I’ll remove the rounded ends from two cedar fence boards by cutting them with a utility knife. After that, I can use the miter saw to cut four pieces to the appropriate length, and I can also rip two sections down to a more manageable thickness.

A few screws helped me keep the thin pieces in place on the sides. The planks that will make up the top of the structure will be supported by these parts.

At this point, I can lower the planks and examine whether or not everything will fit. Now, I could easily attach these planks to the table using screws, but I don’t want any screws to be visible.

so I’m going to turn the table over and attach the planks to the table using some corner bracing from beneath. I started with one plank at a time and utilized one corner bracket for each plank as I worked my way up.