Wine crate end table with legs.

This is the first wine crate end table that I built. I did this one with four tapered pencil post legs before I decided the renaissance trestle style worked better for the wine crates.
The legs are reclaimed fir, sawed down from old 2x4s with nail holes and oxidation stains left in, I like them better that way.
The stain is very light, Minwax Ipswitch pine. It hardly darkened the wood at all. I tend to like darker stains, but I thought I'd give this one a try. The table was meant for a room with a dark wood floor and brown walls and I figured a light colored piece of furniture would help brighten the room.

The legs on this table bolt on and are removable. The pieces of the apron are screwed and glued to the plate that the crate sits on. a corner brace connects with each part of the apron and a threaded bolt pulls the leg tightly into a triangle formed from the aprons and the brace.

I learned this design for attaching legs when I was working for an Amish furniture dealer. The Amish used this design on all the leg tables they made, from end tables to twenty seat dining tables and I think it's the strongest leg joint you can have. A little piece like the wine crate end only needs a single bolt in the corner, but bigger legs use two or three.

As the table ages, or due to temperature and humidity variations, the wood may shrink or expand, but this joint requires only a quarter turn on the nuts to keep it snugged up tight.

The top comes off to access the crate for storage, and this one is currently full of photo albums, you know, physical pictures, from before we let them pile up on the hard drive unseen.