Joe has a problem with his legs...

Examine old legs - they often have some short grain at the curves.  The questio
is how much?  If they used short grain, then they would have been able to choose
suitable, tight grain, quality hardwood.

The questsion is - what sort of loads are going to be imposed?   
Are you going to do some table dancing on the top?  
Is it sized for a sandwich and coffee cup, or to seat 12 for a banquet?  

Your design - you have control.   Make up a maquette with expanded polystyrene,
or a bit of cardboard engineering to get the right curves

I’m sure you know how strong your chosen timber will be for the curves you want
- just fiddle with the sizes until it looks right.

And if it’s going to be painted or gilded, than you can slip in some
strengthening by halving the blank, and inserting something suitable, or
laminating, or all manner of sneaky things that can hide under paint -  but that
would be a very last resort.


Trust yourself.  Test the mockup.  Enjoy the sensation of satisfaction when you
finish.


Richard Wilson
Yorkshireman Galoot