The beautiful library table is of very simple design, consisting essentially of only four massive pieces. The top and legs are particularly heavy and are of such a size that will necessitate the gluing of two or more pieces together. For one who has not had very much experience in carpentry it would probably be better to order these pieces from the lumber mill already glued. Before leaving the mill the two leg pieces should be laid, one over the other, and cut out to the proper shape by the band-saw. To facilitate this operation, the design of the legs should be laid out full size on a sheet of paper, which can be attached to the lumber before sawing. In finishing the legs, great care should be exercised to maintain all the edges sharp and square- This can be done by temporarily nailing the two pieces together and working them both up at the same time. After finishing all around, the two legs should then be separated and mortised to receive the projecting ends of the foot board. The foot board should now be carefully marked off, and as the finishing proceeds, frequent comparisons should be made with the two mortises already cut in the legs, to see how the projecting ends are going to fit. The mortises for the tightening keys should next be cut, after which the legs may be placed in position. The connections between the legs and the top are made by means of two pieces of pine, one and three-fourths by one and three-fourths inches, which are screwed both to the top and to the inside of the legs, as shown in the working drawing.

On account of its massive lines, it would ordinarily be advisable to construct this table of pine lumber, which can be stained to the desired shade. A good substitute for the heavy top may be made by providing a one-inch top and reenforcing it on the under side with a strip of one-inch stuff and then covering with real or imitation leather. This arrangement has every appearance of a heavy top, and the large-headed brass or copper nails, which hold the leather on, give the edge an attractive appearance.

For top, see drawing.

How To Make A Library Table #2

The library table illustrated is an especially massive and rich-looking piece of furniture. This table has been made at a very reasonable cost, using a good quality of pine, which was afterward stained to a deep, rich brown. The top was particularly inexpensive, being made from one-and-one-fourthinch boards, reenforced around the edges with a narrow board, to give it a massive appearance. The top was then covered with a dark shade of imitation leather, fastened with large-head, dull-finished brass nails.

Into the legs at either end is mortised a cross-piece one by five inches, the tenons of which should project beyond the legs about one-half inch. The footboard is particularly large, and is supported by the two crosspieces by means of a pair of legs with wooden keys, plainly shown in the illustration. In making this form of connection, care should be taken to see that the hole through which the key passes extends beyond the line of the crosspieces, so that in driving in the key it will bring the pieces tightly together.

The pieces that support the top are one by five inches, and are mortised for a short distance into the legs. To these pieces the top is secured by means of large screws at intervals of about eight inches, which pass through the upper inside edges of these pieces and into the top boards at an angle.

While there is nothing particularly difficult in making a set of drawers for a large table, it would be better for the beginner who has had but little experience in handling tools to omit these, or else carefully examine some good table and note how the drawers are constructed and held in place.

The support for the drawers in front is a strip one by three inches (plainly shown in the sectional view), and in the center of the table they are supported by a piece one by five inches running crosswise.

The panels are of three-eighths-inch board, in which is cut the mission cross. These panels should be mortised above and below into the crosspieces for a distance of about one-fourth of an inch. The entire table, with the exception of the top and the drawers, should be made and fitted together before gluing.

For top and drawers, see drawing.