Sapele Patio Table

Our glass top patio table was on it’s last legs. I considered replacing it with another cheap glass table, but I was tired of always having to worry about the wind blowing it over and breaking during a heavy storm. I decided to build a table instead, one that’s heavy and wind resistant.

I considered using cedar, but I have a huge stack of sapele that I got dirt cheap. Sapele has relatively decent rot resistance and let’s face it, the grain looks so much better than cedar! The only downside was all my stock is 1” and I had to laminate the legs. All the joints were made with dominos. The top is 40” x 72”. I used the domino to cut slots on the aprons and attached top with wood cleats. The table was sealed it with one coat of Penofin Hardwood oil and then another coat a week later. I hated the faint yellow color on the first coat, but after the second coat, it got a lot darker and the grain popped.