Dining table design

[bkaragoz]

Hi , I’ve got some furniture leftover delivered to me and I found that piece I thought I could make a dining table out of it as we need one . I need your help to give me some ideas and how can i paint it or another way to protect it from wear out . I’m thinking to build X shape legs from 4x4 or buy metal x shape legs online . I believe it’s chipboard with laminate on top and there is no hole other side ,What do you think about it ? ,

 

[Mike G]

It will need a support underneath, such as an apron, otherwise it will sag. The legs will need bracing, otherwise a bump on the end could "rack" the table and break the connection to the top. And the sort of leg design you are showing would mean no-one could sit at either end. That type of support is very wasteful of space, and has to be positioned extremely carefully.

Here's your table:



The place settings, shown by the dashed lines, are also about the minimum, 600x300. You can see from this that the only place you can put legs on this table and still be able to use the ends, is at the corners. If you use any form of pedestal, there would be no room for diners' knees under the table at the ends, nor for the end chairs to be pushed under when not in use. You would end up with this situation:



The other point I would make is aesthetics. Pedestal tables can look a bit odd with aprons. It's do-able, but you need to be aware of the look you are creating. But without an apron you are going to need some sort of strong framing underneath to support that thin top. It would be a shame to put the effort into making a table only to discover that it doesn't really work well for you. Personally, on such a small table, I would put a leg in each corner with an apron. A small table and a pedestal is also an aesthetic that would need careful thought.......and pedestals just can't go right at the end. There needs to be an overhang or they'd look ridiculous. You really don't have much room for that. That isn't bias, either, because I am going to be building this pedestal table in the next few months (probably next winter now). The place settings are 625 x 300:

 

[Cabinetman]

Very little to add to such a comprehensive answer, except that the thickness of the top could be beefed up a bit with a square section with a rebate glued all round the edge, but that would only work if you were to paint the top as you suggested, it would be almost impossible to match the existing top of course.
This reminds me of a false 8x4 Christmas top I add to my Ercol everyday table, covered with a cloth so the ply and pine edge isn’t seen, that Ercol base gives amazing support to such a large top.
As Mike has done it’s interesting to work out the place settings/ room needed, one or two at each end or 3 or 4 on each side. Ian

 

[AJB Temple]

May I just chip in and say: making a table is a quite long term thing (for long tern use I mean). Veneered chipboard with a lot of face damage and holes in it, is possibly not a good starting point and I would not be spending much money or time on making nice legs and supports for that unless it is exactly what I wanted.

There are a lot of pedestal tables that can be had in junk shops and eBay and auctions, very cheaply. with solid, much thicker tops. Refinishing projects that will be both practical and sturdy. We have one in our temporary kitchen in fact, which has a solid mahogany top, 44mm thick and is 2m by 1m, which cost £40 including six chairs. I actually bought this to cut up to sell for electric guitar bodies, but it is doing service as a kitchen table for now. I just stripped the top down with a ROS and finished it with Fiddes or similar.

Maybe just have a look round for other options, including any local charity furniture shops.

 

[bkaragoz]

Sorry for late reply it was hard to truly understand what you actually meant .

First , leg placement was not something I thought to be honest and I didn’t quite imagine end of table chairs wouldn’t go in or no space for legs because i saw couple of videos and pictures It’ll be attached , so you can see and my wife loves the look of them.

Second, I wanted to buy those legs online and they are metal as they claim it could support 1000 kg that’s why it wouldn’t be time consuming for me and did not make me think I would need extra supporting.

Third, money and time is not a problem for projects around the house for me as I’ve recently started working and trying to find projects and things to do i was planning to make a table and legs similar to ones you’ve suggested but I wanted to use that top and learn how i can finish and protect painted surfaces from wear out . ( any help would be appreciated) Also my wife does not like wood finishes and look of it so I don’t think i can make a dining table the way she wanted.

Been looking online and places to buy a dining table and looking around £1200 to £2500 and I’m not willing to pay that much money for a table at the moment.


And after reading your replies i do understand it is not a good idea and not worth either time or money to put in this project, but I still would like to try to see how far i can go and improve myself because legs are metal and i can still use them in other ways , projects , in garden or something else , for table top i paid about £10 and i don’t mind that . I would love to hear your opinions.


Many thanks.Baris

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