Bracing for dining table top?

[Harrison Maddox]

I've been lurking on the forums for a while, but this is my first post. I'm building a dining table to go in my kitchen. Dimensions will be 30"x50" and the ash top will be about 1" thick when I finish flattening it. I'm planning on hairpin legs at the moment but may go with a different metal leg treatment (such as flat stock bent into a square). I was wondering whether or not you would recommend any kind of bracing on the underside of the top. And if so, what would that look like? This won't be a heavy-duty table--just somewhere to eat meals and play board games with friends. Thanks for any insight you can provide!

[Dave Richards]

One option would be to use a couple of cleats about 3/4 in. thick and wide enough to take the legs. Attach them across the grain with screws (no glue) and elongate the holes toward the ends of the cleats so the top can expand and contract seasonally.

[Prashun Patel]

Battens under the bottom are good. If you don't want them visible (they have to be reasonable thick to do their job), then you can route channels in the bottom and screw in angle iron. I have done this on a recent table top. However, my thickness was about 1.5", so I could get a good 5/8" piece in there.

[Wayne Lomman]

Both Dave and Prashun have good ideas here. Choose the method you think looks best. Cheers