Woodnet Forums

Making a full size dining table to seat eight. How thick for the top? Thinking 1 3/4.

I think that's over kill.  One inch should be more than enough with a spine down the middle.  I made a dining room table for my daughter-in-law that seats 10. I used 3/4"oak plywood for the bulk of the top surrounded by red oak sides and ends, which are 1-1/2" thick giving the illusion that the entire top is that thick.  It has about a 1" x 3 or 4 " spine down the middle and you could easily dance on it. Good luck.

Building new stuff is not really my forte.  It really depends on the style of table you are making.  The only reason for a 13/4 top is if you are making a farm house/ tressle table style.  The vast majority of the antique old extention tables, are 3/4" thick.  This includes tables that have several leaves and even fold down legs on the end and open 10 to 12 plus feet.    It is rare to find a table with a top thickness of more than 3/4", unless moving into the conference or farm house looking tables.  Even those a good many are still only 3/4" thick with built up edges and under top supports. The good news is use a 13/4 top if you want, since you are  making it you can construct it anyway  anyhow you want.

You can go thick if you want--nothing wrong with 1 3/4 at all. The table will be VERY heavy, and that slab won't be easy to move around. On the plus side, once it's set up, it won't move if somebody bumps it. I think over-built tables are great. If you want to make it look lighter, you can plane a shallow chamfer around the underside.

I built a trestle table with a 1" thick top. It works fine, but it's definitely on the light side. If I could have made it thicker, I would have.

Your title says "farmhouse" Just with that as a guide I would think something starting with 6/4 stock, and after taking off the minimum amount of wood to get it S4S I would go from there.

I started off with 6/4 rough sawn wood and I think I ended up about 5/4.  I wasn't too concerned with the thickness as long as I achieved 5/4....ish.

What's more important, IMO, is the balance between the size of the legs and the top.  I have a 5" turned leg and the top blends well with this size leg and the look I wanted.  My table is 76" long with the breadboard ends.  Width is 43" I believe.  36-42" is what most recommend.  I wanted to have plenty of room for food and a vase of flowers or similar.  I also had a very accommodating space for the size.  The top weighed 125 lbs. by itself and it was a bear to move around and flip over while working on it.  I built my top first and then the base.  

I used Tauton's book "Tables" by Anthony "Guidice" for reference.  There's a good amount to preplan for when building a table and not using a dedicated plan.  I would also consider knowing what chairs you are going to use or at least the seat height so you can plan the apron size and leg clearance between the two.

I can probably speak for the entire class when I say that we are seriously interested in pictures.

How did you do the bread board ends?

mortises over sized for movement, tenons with lengthened slots for blind pins from underneath, and a full length stub tenon between the long tenons to seal the joint 







This may give you some idea about how heavy your top will be using 1 3/4"

Joe

When I built the 96"×42" table for our cabin, I used 12/4 boards harvested from our family farm in the early 1900's.  The white pine boards were over 16" wide and we're originally used as flooring in the mow of the barn.  By the time the boards were trued and dressed, the finished thickness was 1 7/8", we love the table, but it's something you don't want to move around a lot.