Modern Farm House Dining Table

Project design and plan by: Huy Huynh

See more of Huy’s work at alabamawoodworker.com, on Instagram and on YouTube.
Introduction
When my family moved into our new home, we needed a dining table to fill out the larger space. Our house was built in 2020 with a large open concept floor
plan and large windows. We wanted a table with a more modern look to closely match the décor. We also wanted the table to have a substantial amount of
weight. We settled on a trestle table base design made of Soft Maple with 2-1/2” thick splayed legs, an upper and lower stretcher, two diagonal supports, and a
table-top thickness of 1-1/4”.
Parts List Part Dimensions Quantity Notes
Table Top 40" x 84" x 1-1/4" 1 Multiple glued up boards
Upper Cross Support 32" x 2-1/4" x 2-1/4" 2 End cut at 40 degrees (see diagram)
Legs 27-3/32" x 2-1/4" x 2-1/4" 4 Ends cut at 10 degrees (see diagram)
Lower Cross Support 24-13/16" x 2-1/4" x 2-1/4" 2 Ends cut at 10 degrees (see diagram)
Stretcher 55" x 2-1/4" x 2-1/4" 2
Diagonal Stretcher 30-19/32" x 2-1/4"x 2-1/4" 2 Ends cut at 40 degrees (see diagram)

Materials List
Milling: Joinery:
Circular Saw 10" Table Saw
6" or greater Jointer Beadlock Jig
12" or greater Planer 1/2" Beadlock Accessory Kit
12x 12" F-Style Clamps L-Fence
Miter Gauge
Miter Gauge Fence
Assembly: Drill
2x 6' bar, pipe, or parallel clamp Biscuit Joiner
4x 4' bar, pipe, or parallel clamp
Finish:
Wood Glue
5" Orbital Sander
Desk Top Fasteners
120, 180, and 220 grit sanding discs
Tung Oil
Semi-Gloss Polyurethane
Mineral Spirits
Milling the Lumber
The thickest Soft Maple I am able to locally source is 8/4. In order to get the base assembly parts 2-1/2” thick I needed to laminate two 8/4 pieces and then mill
the material down to final thickness. I first identified the grain direction of the material and ripped the flat sawn lumber down the middle. I then flattened the
one face of the mating laminations and glued them together. This allowed me to get at least two edges that produce a straight grain rift sawn look. Once the
pieces are laminated to a workable thickness (between 3” – 4” nominally), the leg parts are then milled square to a final thickness of 2-1/2”.

1. Identify the grain direction of the pieces 2. Rip pieces in half on the bandsaw
3. Flatten the face of the mating laminations on the jointer. 4. Glue up the flattened faces.

5. Square up the laminated base assembly pieces on the jointer.

6. Plane down to the final thickness of 2-1/2”.
Template Layout and Making Angled Cuts
To cut the angled pieces of the leg assembly, I created plywood templates. The templates were used in conjunction with my L-fence and miter gauge. I’m not
concerned with the actual degree angle of the cuts. I attached the templates to my work piece with double-stick tape, and then I ride along my L-fence to get
exact repeatable cuts. I also marked center lines on the templates that I used to transfer onto the workpiece as reference witness marks for the Rockler
Beadlock Jig.

7. Create templates for the angle pieces 8. Use double stick tape to secure the templates to the
workpieces and cut them in conjunction with an L-fence
and miter gauge.
Beadlock Joinery
To join the table base assembly pieces I used the Rockler ½” Beadlock Joinery Jig. This simple jig produces Rockler’s version of loose tenon joinery. Once I set
the depth of the drill bit, I clamp the jig to the workpiece making sure to line up the center line. I drill through the two drill guide holes. I then shift the guide
block to the second position and drill out the center of the Beadlock mortise.

9. Set the depth on the drill bit. 10. Clamp the jig to the center line of the workpiece.
11. Drill out the two holes in the “A” position.
11. Move the drill block to the “B” position.
12. Drill the center hole from the “B” position.
Base Assembly Glue-Up
I glued up the sub-assemblies to the base assembly. The two trestle assemblies were glued up first. I used angled clamping cauls on the splayed legs so that I
could get clamping pressure in-line with the Beadlock tenons. I also used angled clamping cauls to attach the diagonal supports to the upper and lower
stretcher. Once the glue on the sub-assemblies had dried, I then glued the three sub-assemblies together to the complete the base assembly.

13. Sanding the base assembly to 220 grit. 14. Attaching clamping cauls on splayed
legs and diagonal supports with painter’s
tape and CA glue.
15. Glue-up the two trestle leg assemblies.
16. Glue-up the stretcher assembly.

17. Attach the three sub-assemblies.

Mill and Assemble the Table Top
With the base assembly complete, it’s time to start work on the table top. I first flatten the boards for the table top on the jointer. I then
mill the boards to a final thickness of 1-1/4” on the planer. Next, I edge joint the boards and then rip to final width using a glue-line ripping
blade on my table saw. The glue-line ripping blade gives me a glue-ready edge that doesn’t need to be dressed on the jointer. To help with
alignment during glue-up, I used biscuits.

17. Flatten boards on the jointer. 18. Plane to final thickness.

18. Edge joint one edge of the board. 19. Rip on the table saw using a glue-line
ripping blade.
19. Use biscuits to help with alignment 20. Glue up the boards to make the table
during glue-up. top.
Shaping the Table Top
The ends of the table top are cleaned up and cut to final length using a track saw. I wanted to soften the corners of the table top by adding
rounded corners. To do this, I traced a semi-circle at the corners and cut accordingly with a jigsaw. I then cleaned up the corners with a
block plane and random orbital sander. The bottom edge of the table top received a ½” round over, and the top edge received a ¼” round
over. I then blended the two round overs with a random orbital sander.

21. Ends of the table top are cleaned up 22. Cut rounded corners with a jigsaw.
and cut to final length with a track saw.
23. Clean up the edge with a block plane. 24. Further clean up with a random orbital
sander.
23. Apply a ½” round over to the bottom 24. Blend the two round over edges using a
edge and ¼” rounder over to the top edge. random orbit sander.
Table Top Fasteners and Applying Finish
To attach the table top to the base assembly I used Rockler’s Desk Top Fasteners. The “figure 8” washers allow for the table top to expand and contract
with seasonal changes while still securing the table top to the base assembly. I used a Forstener bit to drill the hole within the top brace of the base
assembly and then used a chisel to clean up the corners of the semi-circle created by the Forstener bit. I then drilled a pilot hole for the taper head
screw that will attach the desk top fastener to the base assembly and to the table top. I then sanded the table top to 220 grit prior to applying finish. I
used an equal blend of semi-gloss polyurethane, mineral spirits, and Tung oil as a wiping polyurethane. I flood the surface with the wiping
polyurethane and then wipe off the excess with lint-free paper towels. In-between coats, I’ll scuff sand the dried finish with 0000 steel wool.

25. Drilling out the recess with a Forstener 26. Cleaning out the corners of the
bit for the desk top fasteners on the top semi-circle left by the Forstener bit.
brace of the base assembly.
 28. Flood the surface with a lint-free rag.

27. Making a wiping polyurethane with

equal parts semi-gloss polyurethane,
mineral spirits, and Tung oil.
 30. Scuff sand with 0000 steel wool
in-between coats.

29. Wipe away the excess with lint-free

paper towels.
 32. Attach the base assembly to the table
top.

31. Attach the desk top fastener to the base

assembly.
The completed dining table has found its new home.