Coffee Tables Part One: Check Out My Legs

This post is the first part of my Coffee Table Project.  

I started with Legs. You can buy legs at Home Depot, but they don't have any nice, chunky ones. 

For my specific leg style, I had to bust out the lathe and turn them myself. 

When I began this, I remembered that I never actually turned anything in woodshop in the early '90s. I just wasted a lot of time talking to my friend while he turned things. But I did remember all the steps.

First glue up a huge chunk of wood. In this case poplar.

Next cut it into an octagon shape so it's more nearly round.

Then load it into the lathe.

Next, get it spinning and start cutting.

Once you get the shape you want, sand it up.
The first one is easy; matching it 7 more times is a little more difficult.

8 legs done, now we can move on to the table tops.