DIY: Dining Table

I had a great time making our home bar so when Amber asked me to make our dining table, I was pretty excited.

Total table cost: $280.

We enjoy making our furniture because it’s half the cost and we can customize it exactly the way we like. There are three choices to customize this table:

A. The type of wood stain for the top.
B. The style and color of hairpin legs.
C. The type of wood.

A. There are a variety of wood stains to choose from. Use polyurethane to add a protective coat to your table. If you like how ours looks Amber did a great job thinning ebony wood stain to create this light rustic gray and I added one coat, matte polyurethane.

B. We purchased our hairpin legs at hairpinlegsforless.com for $100. We ordered the 28 inch “Raw Steel 3 Rod Hairpin Legs” for $25/leg. In addition to raw steel, Hairpin Legs for Less offer 18 different powder coat options if you want some color.

C. Choose a type of wood that you like best. I choose poplar because it’s easy to work with, is a great price and perfect for the furniture projects we do.

Let’s start building!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Wood.
• Wood filler.
• Wood glue.
• A box of 1 1/4 inch screws.
• 100 grit and 220 grit sand paper.
• A circular saw (optional if you get your wood pieces pre-cut).
• Electric sander (optional but makes the job a lot easier on your arm).
• Steel supports (optional).

Here are the cuts of wood you need:
• Top pieces (qty. four) – 1×10 – 84″ long.
• Main support pieces (qty. five) – 1×6 – 37″ long.
• Hidden support pieces (qty. four) – 1×6 – 28″ long.
• Edging pieces (qty. eight), – 1×2 – 14¹⁄₈” long.

Hint: save yourself some time and have Lowes Hardware cut the pieces for you. This can help you buy the right amount and save time cutting. They deliver too.

1. Framing your table. Lay your top pieces flat, side-by-side and add two main support pieces to each end. Individually align the support pieces with the corners of the top, apply wood glue to the bottom side, and screw them in. When attaching the second support piece, apply inward pressure to the top pieces making sure to bring them snugly together. This will minimize gaps in the top of your table.

2. Main Support. Mark the middle of your table (42″ from the end). Align the middle of your third main support piece to the middle of your table, glue and screw into place. The final two main support pieces are placed between the middle and the end. Mark 22⁷⁄₈” from the end of the table. Align the middle of your main support pieces, glue, and screw into place. If done correctly, you will now have have main supports equally spaced down your table.

3. Hidden Support. Now that the main supports are in place, we’re going to add hidden support pieces to firm it up. Placement of your hidden support pieces doesn’t have to be perfect because they won’t be seen. The inner two you can eye in between the main supports ensuring they span all four top boards, glue and screw in place. The outer two we’re going to use for support and to attach the legs to in step five. Measure one inch from your outer main support boards, glue and screw in place.

4. Edging. Your table’s together, now to make it look pretty. Grab your eight 1×2 pieces and add them to the outside along the edge, in between each main support. I was a little sloppy placing my main support pieces so I individually measured and cut these to custom lengths as needed before hammering, glueing and screwing into place.

5. Attach legs. While upside-down, individually measure 6³⁄4” from the end and 51⁄₂” from the side to place and screw in your legs. These should rest on top of your further most hidden supports.

6. Flip! Now you have some nice legs to hold up your project while you sand and stain it.

7. Sand. Starting with 100 grit sand paper, sand your project. Always move with the grain and focus on where the edges of the boards meet to really smooth them together.

8. Wood filler. Fill the top three cracks with wood filler before you stain. Follow the instructions on the label. Also take a look around the edges to fill in any gaps or holes.

9. Stain. Apply your stain followed by polyurethane. You’re done!

Optional steel supports. If you plan to use your table to hold heavy objects on a pretty regular basis or want to have the option of occasionally walking across your table, you may consider adding additional support. No rush though, this can be done later if you notice bowing. I noticed a slight bow after walking across our table so I found some perforated flat steel strips which support quite nicely. Spread both strips roughly 16″ from each other parallel down the table. Use the perforated holes to screw in round head screws to hold the steel strips in place, two screws for each support board.

Okay, that’s it. Please comment with questions or if anything is unclear. Enjoy your new table!

*The chairs are from World Market and are not included in the price of the table.