The Wife Wants a Dining Room Table

[Chris Friesen]

I really like this design (Chris Schwarz's trestle table from Woodworking magazine):

http://d2amilv9vi9flo.cloudfront.net...tle_Table1.pdf

http://blog.lostartpress.com/2009/01...-five-lessons/

trestle_cs.jpg

[Kent A Bathurst]

At my point on the space-time continuum, $12/BF for a focal piece, heirloom quality, dining room table is very cheap. I am usually in the $18 - $20 range, at least for the "show" surfaces.

Cry once. You will be using it forever, and hopefully so will your grandkids' grandkids.

[John Goodin]

differentthanotherhouses.com

They post adds on craigslist list with some nice pics. Some of the material comes in pretty large sizes too.

[John Goodin]

I am by far the witty of the two of us and this was the best she burned me in quite awhile. I was kind of proud of her.

[glenn bradley]

I'm with Andrew on wanting the material to match well as I don't often use colorants. The hayrake table Harold shows is a classic design and a real looker. If you are going to stain the wood a specific color, you can be more lenient with the material match if you are good with toning things to match. A harder wood with a nice varnish would get my vote versus a softer material with a layer of plastic (polyurethane) over it for protection but, this will vary with use. If you have teenagers in the house or young children, poly makes good sense for its resiliency; I just don't like the "look" of it most times. JMHO.

[Tom Scott]

John,
In Texas, reclaimed Southern Yellow Pine is not too hard to come by. I recently finished a 9' long dining table made of reclaimed pine...not formal, kind of on the rustic side, but clean lines.

[Harold Burrell]

John,
In Texas, reclaimed Southern Yellow Pine is not too hard to come by. I recently finished a 9' long dining table made of reclaimed pine...not formal, kind of on the rustic side, but clean lines.

Wow! Nice job!

How thick is that top? How wide are your breadboard ends?

[Jim Becker]

Yes, choose a species that makes you smile. If "rustic without looking rustic" is the idea, straight-grained doug fir can be really beautiful in that kind of setting where you build something "beefy" and simple. It also oils up beautifully prior to final finish.

I know that you have concerns about the board foot cost of material...and it must be of consideration...but as I've paraphrased many times, finishing starts with material selection; choose well for grain and color up front and the end result will be extraordinarily more pleasing as well as easier to achieve.

[Tom Scott]

Wow! Nice job!

How thick is that top? How wide are your breadboard ends?

The top finished out about 1-1/4" and the breadboard ends were 5" wide. It's a heavy one.

[Danny Hamsley]

Tom,

I would love to see a pic of the underside of your table.

[Tom Scott]

Tom,

I would love to see a pic of the underside of your table.

Is this what you're looking for? Again, very simple...

[Scott T Smith]

Hi John. I think that you will find that cypress is definitely too soft for a dining room table. I milled some 600 - 1000 year old cypress logs last year, and the wood - although gorgeous - would be too soft for writing on. A photo of the wood is shown in reply #15 in this thread:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...common-project

SYP is ok, but also a bit soft - especially when compared with oak, hickory/pecan, mesquite, etc.

If you're budget can swing the cost of a slab, there is an outstanding miller located just outside of Austin towards Bastrop. His name is Brandon Berdoll and he specializes in milling and drying large slabs. He also may have some rustic 8/4 pecan, mesquite or oak that would be suitable for a table top. He is a super nice guy and produces an excellent product.

Here is a link to Brandon's web site: http://berdollsawmill.com/

Best of success to you with your project!

Scott