With the legs mortised for the bottom cross brace, the top cross brace needs to be dealt with.

Doing the ol' dovetail half lap boogie on these since they'll be flush with the tops underside.

1/2" straight bit in the router table to clear out waste where I can with non-meat powered toolage, accuracy to boot!
Tape defines the bottom of the cut for chisel guidance.

Bottom squared up with my bigazz (to me) mortice chisel that I rarely use. LBD will be ecstatic that it is a 10mm 😀

Since the "slot" is 1/2" wide and 3/4" into the leg, the back side of the DT will also be 3/4" for harmony and in-tunedness with nature.

The top cross pieces are just simple sticks, 3/4" thick and 1" wide. Half lapped in the center.

Get the DT cut into their ends and some more finagling to get a reasonable fit. Thankfully these will be hidden (I'm so ashamed!)

Spent some quality hours with the DS to perfect some boards for the top (will be an 18" circle if plans and fate come together).

Since I will not have any easy way to flatten an 18" disc, I did the final drum sander pass to 180 and hope that everything will glue up flat and evenly so I don;t have any ridges to deal with.

Masking tape at the joint lines, top and bottom, will keep any squeeze out from getting into the grain as a way to keep the final surfacing simple.

Clamped and ready for a good dry over the work week.