Building square farmhouse table

DIY Farmhouse Dining Table | Free Plans | Rogue Engineer

I am going to follow these instructions to build a square 60.5" farmhouse table. Several friends have built a table using these plans but I don't want the slight gaps between the top 2x6s that are a magnet for crumbs. Any ideas on a way to fill the cracks? I thought about wood filler and then sand, stain, and poly. The wood filler I used to fill nail holes in a door threshold didn't stain the same color as the wood, so that has me worried. Thanks for any suggestions for this project!

 

Little late now, boards should have been run through a jointer before building.

 

The boards need to have the edges planed so they fit tightly together. More than likely any filler would look worse than the gaps/grooves.

 

Thanks. After a little research, I found a local lumber company that has a good selection of lumber and also offers S-2-S Planing "We use a Newman 382 planer for most of our truckload customers and a Powermatic for retail." Here is their stock list and I really don't know about the sizes but it seems that 8/4 is what a 2x6 starts out as?
Stocklist

Any suggestions on the type of wood that would be good for the table top? It just seems that if I could get them to plane the wood it would be a lot easier because I don't have any of the tools needed. Thanks for any advice/insight to you can provide!

 

A planner gets the boards flat and the same thickness.
A joiner squares up the edges to the face of the board.

 

IMO the lines give it visual interest. Put a tablecloth or placemats on it to catch crumbs and spills.

Nice project. Pocket screws make it do-able without a shop full of tools but I wouldn't count on them alone holding the legs to the apron. *Something* is needed to reinforce that critical joint--whether it's mortise & tenon, dowels, or corner blocks. There is a LOT of force at the top of those long legs and a couple 1/8" screws won't hold.

 

Depends on the look you want, how much you want to spend and what is available. Hardwoods are generally preferred because they can take more abuse [won't dent as easy] but most any wood will work.

 

I wouldn't use pine - I've seen handwriting indentations left behind in a pine table from someone using a ball point pen on it; just not hard enough for my taste.

 

The lumber company only sells hardwood by the truckload, and I couldn't find any good hardwood anywhere nearby so I just got the stock lumber at Lowes. I picked through all their boards until I found enough that were usable. Got the base put together and I just have to screw the top together and cut the end boards. Then lots of sanding and painting/staining tomorrow. Going with black satin on the bottom and english chestnut with satin poly on the top. Enjoyed this project so far. This big table is really cheap, especially compared to what a 60" square table sells for retail. I couldn't find any thick table legs, so I just got 4x4s to add to the farmhouse look.

 

Just need to screw the top on after finishing all the stain and paint ...

 

That's looking pretty good. Do your leg attachments seem to provide enough stability to the table?

 

They seem ok, but I am going to look at Lowes for some type of bracket or reinforcement for the inside corners of the posts.
I couldn't find any thick table legs that didn't cost a fortune, so I just got some 4x4 posts cheap. Really like the look of the thick post with the big square table.

 

Yeah, I agree - it doesn't quite look like a strong enough attachment. In addition to brackets, I was also thinking you could add more wood on the inside of your frame and screw it to both the frames and legs. Might have to go a bit narrower than what you have since your 2x4 frame doesn't attach to the outside edge of the 4x4 legs, maybe a 1x3 instead.

 

Google Is Your Friend

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Table turned out good, my wife is happy. It is big, pretty, and cheap. I added 4 brackets to each table leg and it seems much stronger now. There are slight imperfections and little gaps around a few edges but overall it looks great. It ended up 60.5 L x59 W x 31 H. I had to make it a little higher than I wanted, but I am 6'8 and I had to get it high enough where my legs would fit under the sides.

 

Looks sharp, but I would like to know how you put it together. How are the aprons attached to the legs? For the top, did you glue all the boards together? What about the two that go across the ends? How are they attached? How is the top attached to the base of the table?

 

Aprons have 2 pocket screws going into each leg, also added 2 corner brackets into each spot where the aprons meet the legs. The top 2x6s (eleven) have 4 pocket screws at each seam, 2 on each side so they pull even and won't cup or twist. No glue. The two 2x6s on the end have a pocket screw in each spot where the meet the other 2x6s (eleven). The top is attached by a 4 pocket screws on each 2x4 (seven) that makes the frame. All pocket screws are under the table where they can't be seen.

 

If those brackets don't keep the legs steady over time, try this: http://hostedmedia.reimanpub.com/FRH...able_Step6.jpg

I have some concerns about the expansion and contraction of your table top. It's really wide and will change in size quite a bit because of that. The breadboard ends will restrict movement and can lead to cracking. The table top should have been attached to the base in a way that allows it to expand and contract freely. Screwing it to the base can lead to a problem. When the top expands, it will want to push your table base apart. If you are able to maintain the same level of humidity in your home year round, you may not have much of a problem.

 

Thanks, I have some leftover 2x4 scraps so those braces will be easy with my miter saw and some screws.

 

Now my wife wants a matching kitchen island using the same colors as our dining table. It will look similar to this, I will update after I finish.

 

It appears that whoever built the island used construction lumber and didn't remove the radius edges.

 

Love this table and have been looking for plans to make a similar one for our odd dining/breakfast room. Any chance you have a cut list, or could you provide the lengths of the top boards? Are they all 2x6's? thanks!

 

The top boards on my big square table are 2x6x8's. I just cut them in half to make eleven 2x6x4's. The two long end pieces are 60.5 inches long. It was a fun and easy project, I made it in 2 days and it cost my just over $100.
My new kitchen island table top will be 32x22 using 2x6's and I will make it counter height.

 

Finished, it turned out great

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/fu...ml#post2521050

 

Nice work. You need to post your projects in Did IT Myself:

Create a Project Page | DoItYourself.com

 

Thanks for the info, I didn't know about that page. I created one for the kitchen island table. DIY Kitchen Farmhouse Island Table | DoItYourself.com

I also took my left over 2x6's and stained them to make a few shelves to match. Just picked up a couple of brackets and screwed them in the wall.