Great-lookin' legs from ordinary boards

Stock selection makes a big difference in the appearance of solid-wood legs. In the photo, the grain in the right-hand leg runs parallel to two faces. The leg displays quartersawn pattern on two faces and plainsawn pattern on the other two. This leg does not look good where adjacent faces are visible. In the left-hand leg, the grain runs corner to corner, parallel to one of the diagonals. The leg displays straight riftsawn pattern on all four faces. This leg looks good from any angle. You don't have to buy special stock to get the right grain orientation. Most boards display rift grain at the edges and plain grain in the middle. Cut your legs from the edges, as shown in the photo below left, to get legs with four good faces.