Can you glue the three pieces together to form the top, then glue that top
to the table underpinning? I've put together a 4' x 4' bookcase using just
glue, and it'll hold together quite well.
--
Michael White "To protect people from the effects of folly is to
fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer

Thomas G. Marshall wrote:


I have a very short little planter table that I put together as a silly
father-son project with my 3 year old. The idea was to use up the left
over
lumber from my deck. I haven't finished the table because I am not sure
how to adhere the table top in such a way that there are no screws
showing.

Looking down, the table underpinning (no top) looks like this (go fixed
width font):

+----+ +----+
| +----------------------------+ |
| +-------------++-------------+ |
+-++-+ || +-++-+
|| || ||
|| || ||
|| || ||
+-++-+ || +-++-+
| +-------------++-------------+ |
| +----------------------------+ |
+----+ +----+

Legs are short cedar 4x4's, and the thinner bars are cedar 2x4's. Now I
have cedar boards (true ¾ x true 5½) to act as a table top. I'll draw
these with #'s OVER the prior diagram so you can get a sense as to what
overlaps what:

############################################
# +----+ +----+ #
# | +----------------------------+ | #
# | +-------------++-------------+ | #
############################################
# || || || #
# || || || #
# || || || #
############################################
# | +-------------++-------------+ | #
# | +----------------------------+ | #
# +----+ +----+ #
############################################

So the question is how do I best screw these boards to the top from
underneath? The entirety of the underpinning is pocket screws (...sort
of,
more like 30° angles), so no screws show. But I would like to keep the
no screws showing policy going here.

Do I.....

1. Use angle brackets connecting the 2x4's to the top boards from "inside"
and underneath? These would require very short screws predrilled into the
boards.

or

2. The 2x4's are a true 3¼" I have 3½" decking screws. I'm wondering
if I couldn't just counter sink in the screw the entire width of the 2x4
upwards
and (if I'm careful) have it pierce the top by only ½"... But that seems
sketchy to me.

or

3. something else?

Thanks!

--
Forgetthesong,I'dratherhavethefrontallobotomy...