DIY Pine Dining Table

DIY Pine Dining Table

Hi there! Before making this table we had a dark, poorly stained, chewed up dining table that was passed down 3x over. Needless to say, I've been on the hunt for a new table but couldn't find any that I liked for under $500. To Pinterest I went! I found this table as a DIY project from Woodbrew and fell in love! It was the perfect amount of modern while still holding a beautiful charm. I knew that this project would be one of the more difficult ones I've done, so I called in the big guns.... my dad. He was quick to jump onboard and get this table going for me. I'm going to explain to you all how we ended up making our table, but I will admit that we simplified Woodbrew's instructions and theirs might be better to follow if you are a skilled woodworker! Their plans are linked above and go into great detail. But please, keep reading if you'd like to hear how we made it :)

Supplies

7 - 2 x 6 x 8 pine planks for the table top

4 - 2 x 4 x 8 pine planks for the legs

Wood Glue - we used Gorilla

2 1/4" Wood Screws

Polyurethane Finish

Equipment

Table Saw

Compound Miter Saw (or miter box)

Belt Sander - 36 grit 80 grit

Random Orbital Sander 100 grit 120 grit 220 grit

Cordless Drill and wood bits

Wood Clamp

Instructions

Tabletop:

1. Using your tables, cut the 2 x 6 x 8 pine planks longways to sit together evenly

2. Rough sand the edges you cut with your belt sander

3. Glue pieces together to make tabletop and then clamp together with wood clamp. Let glue dry overnight

4. Cut down to desired length (we did ours to be 68")

5. Rough sand table top to remove excess glue with belt sander, first with a 36 grit, then once more with an 80 grit

6. Sand top and bottom of tabletop with Random Orbital Sander. First with 100 grit, then with 120 grit, and last with a 220 grit

Legs:

1. Using your compound miter saw, cut the 2 x 4 x 8 pine planks at 10 degree angles. 4 pieces at 28.5" for each vertical leg, 2 pieces at 25" for the floor support, and then 2 at 34" for the top part that will later be screwed into the tabletop. (photo below)

2. Rough sand the edges you cut with your belt sander

3. Glue pieces together and let dry as long as possible

4. Once dry, place legs at desired area on tabletop and mark it out evenly

5. Screw 2 1/4" Wood Screws into each plank of table top - 14 screws per leg

Finishing Touches:

1. Stir, don't shake your polyurethane and use a brush to paint all over the table

2. Use a 220 grit piece of sand paper to gently sand the table with your hands

3. Once first coat of polyurethane is dry, do one more coat all over

4. Let table settle for 1-2 days before gently using it, 7-10 days for full use

If you've read another DIY post of mine, you already know what I am about to say.. take. your. time. picking. your. wood. Especially for a project of this caliber! You would've thought we worked at Home Depot with how much we were digging into the wood piles. Even though you will be cutting your wood down to fit together, still lay the pieces you choose down and make sure none of them have a huge bend to them. This brings us to our first step, and maybe the most tedious one, use a table saw to cut the individual pieces of the tabletop wood to fit together. You will be cutting these longways, rough sanding them down, and then gluing them all together to make your tabletop! After cutting the sides of each plank, the width of the table ended up being around 38". Once placed together and glued, clamp the tabletop together and then let the glue sit overnight to harden and really attach. Now time for the legs! The process isn't all that different, and you don't need to cut those longways to fit together which is a plus! For these we followed Woodbrews lead and cut the legs at 10 degree angles for a slight, but not overwhelming overall lean. We wanted a taller table so we decided to go 28.5"tall for the vertical pieces making the bottom piece around 25". As far as the top piece of the leg, we wanted it almost as long as the width of the table top for added support. This piece ended up around 34" long so we could screw the legs into each piece of plank that makes up the table top.

Once you have your desired length height and width of each leg, go ahead and glue those as well. Again, allow to dry as long as possible. We had glued the table top the day prior so we started working on that while the legs were drying. First, cut the tabletop to your desired length, we did ours at 68". After cutting that you're off to removing excess glue and sanding! We did a rough sand with our belt sander to remove the glue drippings first with a 36 grit and then over it once more with an 80 grit. After this you'll want to grab your random orbital sander for extra smoothness. While sanding with this, you really want to take your time and make sure to sand as evenly as possible. Start with a 100 grit, then do a second sand with a 120 grit and then finish with a 220 grit. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but it's absolutely worth it for the finished product! Repeat this process on the legs once the glued has dried on those. I mean... look at this difference!

Once the top and legs are sanded to perfection, it's time to screw the legs in and finish your project. I went 3 inches in from the edge of the table for my leg placement. My dad and I both agreed that placing the legs more towards the middle gives it a little bit of a picnic table feel which I didn't like. We placed 2 screws in each plank of the table top and voila! We're almost there! Here comes the fun part - putting on the polyurethane. Go ahead and put on your first layer, not to thick but definitely not too thin. Make your brush strokes as straight and as even as you can. After that dries, lightly sand down with a 220 grit paper and then apply once more. The finish continues to settle over the next 10 days so be extra careful with water glasses and spillage during that time.

And that's it folks! It seems intimidating at first but if you have the tools (and a helpful dad), it's actually super easy! As always, please tag or DM me if you make this table @oliviapugmire I hope you guys love this table as much as I do!! It turned out BEAUTIFUL!

Thanks for reading!

- Liv

One last note - I want to give a HUGE thank you to my dad. He is without a doubt the handiest guy I know and made this dream table of mine come true. Love you pops!