Bistro Table & Chairs

This bistro table-and-chair set is the perfect size for a breakfast nook or eat-in kitchen.

Building a table and set of chairs provides a challenging project, even for experienced woodworkers. But in this case, templates and a few jigs make creating the parts easier. Loose tenons and knockdown hardware speed up the assembly, so you’ll be sitting down to your morning cup of joe in no time.

Get a leg up on the chairs

1 From 11⁄8"-thick stock, cut blanks for the back and front legs (A, B) [Chair Exploded View, Materials List]. (We built both the chairs and the table out of cherry.) Make full-size templates for the legs out of 1⁄4" hardboard [Drawings 1, 2]. Using the templates, trace the outline of the legs onto the blanks.

2 Bandsaw the legs to shape, staying just outside the layout lines, then flush-trim them at the router table [Photo A]. Determine which will be right legs and which will be left and label them on the inside face.

3 To align the mortising jigs used on the faces of the legs, mark the centerlines of these mortises. Start by butting a back leg

(A) against a straight-edged piece of stock to mark the center height location of the back rail mortise [Photo B, Drawing 1]. At this mark, draw a centerline parallel with the bottom of the leg [Photo C].

4 Make a mark 17⁄8" from the front of the leg and draw a second centerline at this mark [Drawing 1, Photo D]. Repeat this process to lay out the mortise centerlines on the inside faces of the remaining back legs.

5 Lay out the mortise centerlines on the inside edges of the back legs for the side rails [Drawing 1]. Using a similar procedure, lay out the centerlines for the mortises on the front legs (B) [Drawing 2].

6 Make a pair of mortising jigs to rout the mortises on the inside faces of the legs [Jigs make mortising a snap].

7 Clamp one of the face-mortising jigs to the inside face of a corresponding leg and rout the back rail mortise [Photo E]. Repeat for the remaining face mortises.

8 [Drawings 1, 2]. Clamp the edge/end-mortising jig on one of the legs, aligned with the centerlines, and rout the side rail mortise [Photo F]. Repeat for the remaining legs.

When making multiples, such as chairs, save time by cutting out the parts and routing joinery in groups. Deal with final fitting during assembly. Tip! Pattern bit or flush-trim bit? Learn how to use both. woodmagazine.com/ template A F C D E B CHAIR EXPLODED VIEW G H D C B Back leg template A CORNER BLOCK DETAIL 3" 3" H 5/32" holes, countersunk Flush-trim bit A Attach the template to a leg with double-faced tape. Set the bit bearing to ride against the template while cutting the full thickness of the leg. #8 x 1½" F.H. screw 14½" 3/8 x 2¼" tenon, 111/16" long 3/8 x 2¼" mortise, 7/8" deep Curved crest rail offers comfortable back support. 3/8 x 2¼" mortises, 7/8" deep 4" 12¾" 3/8" counterbore ¼" deep on back face with a countersunk shank hole centered inside Dished seat adds comfort. Notch on back leg holds crest rail. 12° bevel 3/8" plug 3½" 1/8" round-overs #8 x 1¼" F.H. screw #8 x 1¼" F.H. screw #8 x 1½" F.H. screw

on the inside face. BACK LEG A Straightedge B Measuring from the bottom of the leg (A), A mark the center of the mortise length A Adjustable protractor C Use the bottom of the leg to set the angle of an adjustable protractor. Then draw a line through the mark you made earlier. Mortise centerlines FRONT LEG 17/8" D Place the end of your ruler against the protractor and draw a second centerline perpendicular to the first and the length of the mortise. 10º 17¾" 19/16" One square =1" 17/8" B 5º 1½" FRONT LEG Inside face 15/8" 3/8 x 2¼" mortises, 7/8" deep 10º Inside edge 3/8" 1 2 Cut angled notch to match crest rail. 3½" 5/8" Inside edge 3/8 x 2¼" mortises, 7/8" deep 34" 15/8" 15/8" 3/8" 17/8" 159/16" B 17" BACK LEG Inside face One square =1"

E In your plunge router, install a rout the mortises in the legs. A 3⁄8" C spiral upcut bit and a Edge/end-mortising jig F Clamp the leg between bench dogs " upcut bit CHAIR SIDE ASSEMBLY 5⁄8" guide bushing to Bench dog or in a vise to rout the edge mortises. B 3/ 8 A 3 ½" round-overs 3/8 x 2¼" tenons 111/16" long 12" ½" round-overs 15° bevel 135/8" 3/8 x 2¼" mortises, 7/8" deep 1/8" round-overs 1/8" round-overs