Project DIYFarmhouse Dining Table

Farmhouse Dining Table Step by step

• STEP: 1

  Click HERE to download Project Plans

   

  You will need:
  5 – 1x8x10 Red Cedar Board
  16 – 2x6x8 Red Cedar Lumbar
  3 – 4x4x8 Red Cedar Timber

   

  Once you have all your lumber be sure to check the sight lines to see how straight your boards are. The more straight, the less planning and jointing. 

  
• STEP: 2

  Run your 1x8x10 Cedar boards through a jointer on all sides because you want these to be almost flat since you will line these up together to make your top and eventually plane them together.

  
• STEP: 3

  You will then run your pieces through a table saw to give you a true edge when you butt them up against each other.

  
• STEP: 4

  Based on what size planer you own, section out your top for sizes that will fit the machine.

  
• STEP: 5

  Glue the sides of all our sections together with wood glue. Spread it evenly over the sides before putting together.

  
• STEP: 6

  Next lay out your pipe clamps on the table and start positioning them in groups of 3 and then 2's.

  
• STEP: 7

  Push the pieces together on the pipe clamp and start to tighten. Tip: Use a cut off piece as a spacer between the wood and the clamp so if any denting occurs it doesnt damage your table top.

  
• STEP: 8

  Once you have your boards clamped together, it's good to clean the glue off with a wet cloth now while its wet rather then later when you have to chisel it off. 

  
• STEP: 9

  You will have some uneven sides after your glue has dried. It's best to join one side so it's flat to run through the planner. Make pencil marks all down the one side so you know when you are done joining it.

  
• STEP: 10

  Run the pencil side through the joiner until you dont see the marks anymore to know you have a flat side.

  
• STEP: 11

  Next, run your boards through the planner to create an even top and bottom side. Make sure before you glue your boards that you only glue up as many as can fit through your planner.

  
• STEP: 12

  Now that you have your sections flat, lay 2 sections out and glue them together. Once one glue up is done and setting, you can add your other sections so that you are not wrestling with more than one seam at a time.

  
• STEP: 13

  You are going to need 4 - 2 x 6's to make each leg. You will cut each one to 30 in sections and then glue them in 3 pieces each to make the 6" side of the square.

  
• STEP: 14

  Clamp all the 2x6 legs and let them dry,

  
• STEP: 15

  Now we are going to cut an angle at 45° on the solid corner edge of the outside legs. You will want to make sure that when you do the same thing to the other side that you have a long edge and a short edge to make the frame.

  
• STEP: 16

  Now that your leg pieces are cut and angled, we can start to put the pedistal together. Start with the outer frame first and glue up the corners, let it set and then add some nails to secure it.

  
• STEP: 17

  Your miters may not be perfect so you can add some wood filler, maybe something that stains well and fill in the corners, then let dry.

  
• STEP: 18

  Once you have all your wood filler in and it's dry, go ahead and take your orbital sander with 120 and start sanding up to 180 grit. 

  
• STEP: 19

  It's hard to get the orbital into your corners so use your Microzip for that starting with 120 grit as well.

  
• STEP: 20

  Your edges are pretty sharp and if left that way, can cause the wood to splinter or tear off so grab a 120 sponge and knock down the edges a bit. 

  
• STEP: 21

  Lay your X's beams over each other and mark where you will be making a half-lap joint. Set your depth stop so that you are only going half way down on the cut.

  
• STEP: 22

  The bottom of your table top is flat so lets sand down the top uneven spots starting with 120 and going all the way up to 220. In between some of these stages we will be adding an age accelorator. 

  
• STEP: 23

  We have decided, since cedar is so soft that we want to round out the edge a bit and a great way of doing that is with a router, making a 1/2" chamfer edge to the top. We also added a 1/4" chamfer edge to the inside edge of the pedistal legs. 

  
• STEP: 24

  Now we will add the weathered stain to the top. We add 2 coats and each coat takes about an hour to dry. This will give the wood a grey look and make it look like its been outside.

  
• STEP: 25

  Do the same thing to the legs to tie the piece together. 

  
• STEP: 26

  We used pocket holes on our aprons to attach them but dont want anything visible when we attache the trestle to the legs so we chose to use a biscut jointer to attache it. 

  
• STEP: 27

  We will make the trestle flush with the top edge of the bottom of the pedistal. 

  
• STEP: 28

  Once you have glued and attached the trestle, flip the table over and attache your two aprons. Each apron is the same length as your trestle which is 51". These will go on each outer corner edge of the pedestals. Once this is complete, spray it down with polyurethane to seal it. 

  
• STEP: 29

  Once your base is put together, coat it with polyurethane and let it dry. 

  
• STEP: 30

  Now we will flip the top on its head and lay the table with the aprons, face down and attach the top using L brackets as seen in the video as long as the screw has room to move within the hole in the bracket. This means making each fastener only hand tight on both sides of the bracket.