Make a dining table

Here's another great project by Liz at lazy liz on less. I am so impressed with some of the projects that she has done, and asked for permission to share them with you. Obviously a few modifications and alterations had to be made here and there, to allow for sizing and materials.

 

This DIY dining table project is designed to comfortably seat 6, but you can modify the size to seat 4 or 8, or even more if you want to. The dining table in this project is 2 metres long x 920mm wide.

Making a dining room table is probably one of the easiest projects you can tackle. With some basic DIY skills and the right tools, you can easily knock up a dining room table in under an hour. There are no measurements included with this project, but a dining table should allow at least 500mm space per person.

Start off by laying your top material face down on a flat, level surface. The apron is mounted underneath the table top and is placed 50mm in from the edge. Use wood glue and steel angle braces on the inside of the apron sections to attach the apron. You also need to cut and mount 3 cross braces as shown.

The average height for a dining table is about 760mm. To make the legs, cut 4 legs to 760mm height, and 4 legs to 760mm less the width of timber used for the apron. For example: If the timber used for the apron is 94mm wide: 760 - 94 = 666mm. Glue two sections together as shown left. Sand once finished.

Cut 4 corner braces for the table. To cut these braces you can use a mitre saw, circular saw or jigsaw to cut an angle at each end of the brace. Have a triangle protractor on hand to accurately determine the angle to cut the 4 braces. If any pieces still need to be sanded - do this now. Before assembling all the sections it's a good idea to apply the finish for the dining table parts.

Finishing options

Stain and Seal
To stain and seal the dining table, use Woodoc 5 or 10 interior sealer, either pre-tinted or add the stain concentrate colour of your choice. Woodoc offer a comprehensive selection of stain colours that can be added to the sealer.
If you are planning to place the dining table outdoors on a patio, use Woodoc 30 or 50 exterior sealer.

Paint
If you want to add some colour to your new dining table, there is the option to paint it. Choose from Rust-Oleum 2X spray paint, use a paintbrush and roller to apply acrylic paint, or get yourself a Bosch PFS spray system for the best possible finish.

Attach the legs to the table by screwing the long edge to the inside of the apron. The legs were designed in this way so as to be removable. Attach the corner braces either by using a pockethole jig or by placing and driving in the screws at an angle. Don't forget to add wood glue to the brace ends before screwing in place.