Advice needed

[Cocobolove]

I am planning an end table. I have a big piece of 1x10 white oak, about 8' long. I'm planning on making the border around the top, and the apron (if that's the right word). Gonna use slate tiles fo the top, aproximately 4" square, actually all different, but close to 3 15/16". Is the best approach building the top around a piece of plywood? I don't want any fasteners, plan on gluing, pinning, crap like that.

I've got a few pieces of redwood I'm gonna use for the legs. Plan on making them curved.

My questions are, what's the best way to fasten the apron to the top?
- do I need a spanner on the legs?
- is the plywood base the way to go?
- and I want to do like a double dovetail (for lack of a better word) on the tops corners, kinda like a bowtie tying the miters together. never done ANYTHING like this. I started the other day cutting out the top border.

Please, please, any advice. Thanks in advance guys. Matt.

[Don]

Hey, Matt. If you could post a sketch of your plan it would help us a little. Any tiles would be better on a bed of 3/4" plywood. I'd fasten the aprons through that with screws. The legs could be attached to the aprons using a tounge and groove joint. A footbrace on the legs will depend on, how wide the aprons are, how high the table is, how heavy (plus load) you think it will be, plus the look you are going for. People usually think you have to go leg to leg with a brace, but consider criss-cross braces.

Make a test corner of your top banding joint on a softer scrap of wood, refine your technique - then have at it. Finger joints look good on something like this too. What kind of machinery do you have for the project?

dawjr

[Cocobolove]

I'm not sure how to sketch something on here for y'all. But basically I am thinking, an oak top border 2 1/2" wide 1" thick, routered to be even with the tiles inside the border. Plywood :D subfloor:D, apron out of the same 2 1/2" oak. cherry, or redwood curved legs. And depending how good I can get it to turn out, a diagonal spanner, (hopefully curved too).

I have a table saw, band saw, worm gear saw, belt sander, router, and bunches of drills. The only thing I REALLY wish I could afford is a planer.

I guess I'm just curious how to fasten the apron. I think I'm gonna try some finger joints for the miters, but would it be better to somehow pin it in place, or to make a type of L bracket to fasten it to the plywood :Dsubfloor:D?

The final total length will be 34", and the width will be 22"