Well that didn’t take long. It’s only our second move in this crazy Army life and it happened. We had a nightmarish moving experience. Among a laundry list of other things that went wrong, our movers broke our dining table. When putting it back together, they tightened one of the bolts so tight that they sent it straight through the top of the table! Is it bad that my first thought was, “meh. I could build a new one.” I mean, yeah, the easy solution would have been to just repair the damaged spot and refinish the table, but who wants easy? Pfffft. Besides, I was just waiting for the perfect excuse to start another DIY project, much to my husband’s chagrin.
Just kidding, Honey, you’re super supportive and I love you (just in case he reads this blog).
So I went window shopping for some dining table inspiration and ran across this beauty from ZGallerie:
Yep. She’s pretty hefty, right? And she costs $1299. Womp womp. If I spent a thousand bucks on a table, my husband would kill me (we ain’t fancy peoples, y’all). I mean, I totally understand spending that kind of money on furniture, but not my husband. Nope. He’s the kind of guy who wonders why we need curtains when we have blinds.
Sadly, I can’t just look at a piece of furniture and figure out how to build it. That’s where my friend, Ana White, comes in. She’s a genius at doing just that. So we put our heads together and came up with a plan to make…
This! And guess how much the lumber was. Are you ready for this? $85. Yep. That’s eighty-five bucks. What the duck?!
DOWNLOAD THE FREE BUILDING PLANS HERE.
TOOLS:
- Tape Measure
- Speed Square
- Pencil
- Pocket Hole Jig
- Drill
- Miter Saw
- Table Saw
- Brad Nailer
- Sander
- Drill Bit Set
MATERIALS:
- (9) 2 x 6 x 8 Ft. Boards
- (9) 2 x 4 x 8 Ft. Boards
- (1) 1 x 4 x 8 Ft. Boards
- 2 1/2-inch Pocket Hole Screws
- 2 1/2-inch Wood Screws
- Wood Glue
Building with 2x6s and 2x4s was definitely a workout. I needed my husband’s muscle on more than one occasion to help me manage this behemoth while building. First, Ana recommended running the boards through a table saw to square up the edges. The tabletop is planked, and while I do like ‘rustic,’ I still wanted ‘refined,’ so I shaved less than 1/4″ off each edge so that I could work with perfectly square, straight edges. Ana’s brilliant idea satisfied the perfectionist in me, being that each board sat flush to the next. I like it when wood plays nice. (Hey now! This is a family blog!)
Here’s the tabletop, all screwed and glued together. Those are 2×6 boards. Pretty stout!
Then I cut two different angles on my 2×4 supports. The first angle is at 30 degrees, and the second one is at 45 degrees off square. It made for a pretty beveled detail, much like the ZGallerie table. Ana is so detail-oriented when it comes to sketching up plans; she amazes me.
Then I built the legs out of 2x4s. You know how 2x4s are slightly rounded on the edges? Because I shaved off the edges, they’re nice and square, giving it the illusion of a solid leg. I think this also helps make framing lumber look more like finish-grade lumber. Fake it till you make it, I guess?
Then I added the stretcher bar. The base is flipped over so I could hide the pocket holes underneath when attaching the stretcher.
And here’s the tricky part: adding the X to the legs. The outside angles of the X are at 20 degrees off square and the middle of the X are 50 degrees off square (as noted in the plans). I made sure to measure and mark where the middle was so that everything looked balanced and even.
And we’re done!
I didn’t attach the tabletop to the base just yet (I just laid it on top for the photo op) because I’m going to sand and stain the two parts separately. Then I’ll bring them into the house to assemble because the table won’t fit through the door fully built. Also, since we’ll be moving again in the next couple years, I’ll attach the top to the base with bolts (instead of screws and glue) so that it can easily be disassembled when moving day rolls around. Hopefully by then, we’ll have more careful movers (yeah, right).
I’ll be back with a finishing tutorial as soon as possible! In the meantime, you can build your own ZGallerie-inspired dining table with Ana’s plans! Thank you, Ana! It turned out beautifully!
How about you guys? Care to share any moving day misadventures? Does anyone else (who is not in the military) move around as much as we do? Thanks for reading, see y’all soon!
Update: Here’s the link for the Restoration Hardware-inspired finishing tutorial.
Jen, it’s beautiful! I’ve been running all of my table lumber through the table saw, too, to get rid of the rounded edges. It really helps, right? I came across a few 2x6s last week at Home Depot that still had square edges on one side. I grabbed them quick — I wish they were all like that! I sometimes wonder about working with framing lumber, though…like, how long until it all shrinks up and there are gaps in my tables? I guess I may never know, because I keep building one, living with it for a month, selling it and building another. Now I can add this one to my list!
Thanks, Hillary! We just moved to a place that’s a builder’s community, apparently. There are 3 different lumber stores within a 5 mile radius, and that’s not including Home Depot and Lowes! I’ve been getting my wood from these ‘mom & pop shops’ and not only is their lumber better (poplar, instead of pine), but they’re half the price! Unbelievable. I’m super excited. By the way, I am in love with your latest build, the Dawsen media console. Your finishing job is to die for.
This table is gorgeous! I ran across the picture when it was shared on the Knock Off Wood Facebook page. This helped me discover your blog, and I will be following you from now on! Thanks for sharing and I’m excited to see how you finish this beauty!
Thanks for dropping in! So glad you did. <3
WOW this table is fantastic! Love it! What a smart idea to shave off the edges. It makes all the difference. Love it!
I love the table!! The “X” looks a little tricky…like it would cost $105 dollars in my house for having to redo a couple of the cuts :-). Can’t wait to see the finished table!
Thanks! Though, I have to admit, I definitely used a couple pieces of scrap wood to make sure the angles were just right, before I went in for the real thing!
You are brilliant! Love it ^_^
Thanks, Kristle! And thank you for getting covered in sawdust with me when ripping the edges off the boards!
Hey jen ,
Do you have a video and more step by step instructions on this table ? We don’t know how to/when to glue or put the pocket hole screws ?
GAH! You amaze me! Can I hire you? I need this table!!!
THIS is my next project! My husband is in the field next two weeks, fingers crossed I can finish it while he’s gone!
Awesome! Come back and share photos with us!
I hear you about Army moving. Our first move from Hawaii to NC and about 2 big pieces of furniture were broken as well as my bike and other appliances. Grrrr! The worst part was that the military is so slow about paying you back for moving expenses that our only option was to either wait 6-8 months for decent on post housing (No thank you) or quickly move into the only available apartment we could find. So no wood-shop space for moi. No Matter! We are moving again to a rental house with a HUGE yard and a big garage.
I LOVE this table that you have made. Currently our new kitchen is too small for even a square cafe table, BUT with a little outdoor proofing your table will be perfect for our patio!
I totally understand! The movers definitely made it difficult for us to be compensated for the broken furniture. What a headache! Good luck in your new place!
I’m going to give this table a shot. I’m a newby and have only built a few things from Ana’s site. I would love to know how you attached the top with screws and bolts, basically where you drilled the holes. And I also love to know your tricks for staining. The building seems to be the easier part for me…. the staining seems like such and art form. I know it will just take practice but I’ll take any advice or tricks you may offer!
Thank you!!
Hi Shelley,
I’ll have a full finishing tutorial up on the blog next week! I pre-drilled 3 holes each (left, right, and center) under both supports on both legs (the horizontal pieces – aprons?) and attached the top to the base that way. Hope that helps! Good luck!
Hi jen, Im in the middle of building this table and I’m stuck. I want to make this table suitable for outdoor use. My concern is the table top. Ana’s plans uses pocket holes but I think I need to leave space for the water to drain. If I placed a spacer between the boards and then secured the breadboard ends using pocket holes what will keep the long 2×6 ‘s straight. Is that center support enough?
I can’t wait to see how you finish your table. I’m really interested in how you are going to secure the table top to the base using bolts. Since I will be storing this table indoors during the harsh Michigan winters.
Hi Ayisha,
Yay! Can’t wait to see your table once it’s done!
Whitney from Shanty-2-Chic recently made an outdoor table that had a planked tabletop. Ana’s got the plans for that too, which might be helpful. If I were building it with the spacers, I’d opt to put several supports underneath, like in this plan: http://ana-white.com/2013/04/plans/happier-homemaker-farmhouse-table
Alternately, perhaps some aprons would help stabilize everything. Ana includes aprons on this dining table plan as an optional route.
Hope that helps! Good luck!
This is absolutely stunning! You did a fabulous job! I have so many small furniture projects I’d like to tackle, I’m just such a scared-y cat! Thanks for the inspiration!
You just convinced me to spring for that table saw I’ve been lookin’ at! Do you have ideas how one could adapt this to a round ,table?
LOVE, love, love this table! Wish I were better with working with wood, saws, and angles. Alas, no hubby to help. :o) Any way to make this table with a hidden leaf? I have an oblong table where the leaf folds up under the table, and the table pushes together to make a smaller, round table. Not sure this would fit in my DR as is, but don’t want to make it smaller, just like to have a leaf for it, whether hidden or not. Ideas? Thanks!
Im so glad i found you blog… Im about to start on this table… was wondering what you went with for finish…i feel conflicted… im tempted to do like a white wash or a aging stain, then i go back to hum maybe a dark brown wax… would love to see what you picked! thanks!!!
Good luck, Camille! It’s such a great table. You’re going to love how hefty it is. I went with a Restoration Hardware-inspired finish and I love it! It was a 10-step process, so stay tuned for the full tutorial. I’ll be posting it soon!
Hello, I saw this was posted back in 2013. Did you ever post the 10 step tutorial about the finish? I couldn’t find it?
Thanks
Hi Kerry,
Here’s the link to the finishing tutorial: https://jenwoodhouse.com/dining-table-finish
Hope that helps!
What kind of wood did you use and how is it holding up to daily use for eating on and kids?
I used douglas fir and spruce. It’s holding up beautifully so far! I mostly credit that to the Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane that I used to finish the table!
i’m a little confused, do you use the countersink bit with the kreg jig? or is that something else all together.
you also said you predrilled holes to attached the legs to the top? what did you use to attache them? lag bolts?
I used a countersink drill bit to countersink the holes. I used pocket hole screws to attach the legs to the top. Hope that helps!
love the table and the finish. I do woodworking and I’ve discovered the pre-conditioners and clear coats I love as well so I thought I’d share the stuff I learned from my friends at lumberjocks.com
Charles Neil has a bunch of tutorials online and developed this product:
http://shop.charlesneilwoodworking.com/Finishing-Products_c_11.html
My other favorite top coat is a wipe on oil based urethane from Rockler and General Finishes called Arm-r-Seal:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10928
You can used an old sock or tee shirt and get a practically foolproof finish with this stuff. It’s taken all the fear out of ruining a piece I’ve spent a lot of time and money on from becoming a “meh”
Yes! Arm-R-Seal is one of my favorites too, Russ! Thanks!