Jmc0319 Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I am in the early planning stages for a large dining room table. Would like advice on what types of wood people have used for tables like this. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Pretty much any hard wood will do. Ultimately, it depends on what you want it to look like finished and your budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmc0319 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Thanks very much. So when you say hard woods you mean things like walnut, oak, mahogany etc all of which are pretty pricey. This will be a smooth finished table, stained and have some type of poly like protectant on it. What wood would you choose? Won't hold you to it just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Maple is affordable, smooth & close grained but it doesn't stain dark easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Thanks very much. So when you say hard woods you mean things like walnut, oak, mahogany etc all of which are pretty pricey. This will be a smooth finished table, stained and have some type of poly like protectant on it. What wood would you choose? Won't hold you to it just curious. Again, would depend on the look I wanted and my budget. I personally don't like to stain beautiful wood, I prefer to spend a little extra and buy wood that's the color I want. So, if I wanted a dark table, I would probably look at Walnut or Mahogany. If I wanted a lighter table, I would look at Maple or Cherry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmc0319 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Makes total sense and by the way I agree. Don't like stain or poly much at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I love poly! Poly is a wonderful finish to put on projects that need good protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I've had great luck with maple. I find it takes dye better than stain. BTW - I love Poly for Dining room tables. Call me old school, but give it 3 days to "really" harden and it's very robust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendallstrand Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Depending upon your budget you may give oak a fair shake in your decision. If you are wanting a high gloss top it will be a bit more work when you figure in the pore filling process. If you desire a "closer to the wood" feel you can skip the pore fill process and achieve some pretty impressive results with a dye/shellac/top coat finish. If you want to skip dyes/stains altogether heed the above options and go for the walnut/maple/cherry etc. Either way have fun with your build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmc0319 Posted July 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Bear in mind that lumber prices vary by region. A species that may be hard to come by where I am may be dirt cheap where you are. Here in the mid south, red oak is everywhere. Walnut is not too hard to find, but cherry and maple are like hen's teeth. Go to the Northeast, cherry is a lot more common. Seems like maple is cheaper the closer you get to Michigan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdie Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Currently working on a dining table with hard maple. Had some small issues with tear out when machine planing it but that will be easily remedied. Otherwise it's really nice to work with and seems to accept all the other processes involved nicely. I've also had a fair amount of success with oak and will probably involve walnut in a future project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedarhorseworkshop Posted July 29, 2014 Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 We made a 10 X 4 ft farmhouse table out of pine that turned out pretty nice. It's all the budget could really handle at that time. It cost about $250 in supplies to build. It's really nice and I hope it stands the test of time...we'll see. If I were building a nice dining room table for a house where the youngest kid is at least in his teens, I would build it out of walnut or cherry. However, kids can be pretty hard on that stuff, so we went a different route for now. Huge, cheap, and not to worried about dings and such. Just depends on what you want! Good luck! P.S. I followed two different DYI plans online to build the tabletop of one plan and the pedestal supports from another. Here are the two sites: http://tommyandellie.com/?p=2582 http://ana-white.com/2012/11/plans/triple-pedestal-farmhouse-table Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 29, 2014 Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 I like Ana! Put her and Martha together and a guy won't stand a chance Luke, I hunt pheasant in Kimball S.D. and they aren't many trees except around houses for a wind break. Do you have trouble getting wood at a reasonable price where you're located Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmc0319 Posted July 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 Thanks Luke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedarhorseworkshop Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 No problem Jmc. K Cooper, I'm not too far from the Black Hills, so pine is cheap and easy to find. Hardwoods like walnut, mahogany, and cherry are harder to find and they are more expensive. I guess I haven't done much comparing since I don't have a reference, but it's at least affordable. I know building that farmhouse table out of something like oak or walnut would cost an arm and a leg. About the only thing that's affordable to build with the other woods are coffee tables, end tables, small crafts, etc. Yeah, we definitely don't have many trees up here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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