Traditional Round Farmhouse Table

White oak round farmhouse style table made with traditional furniture making technique.

Materials Used:

Rough hewn white oak

Wood glue

Biscuits

Tools Used:

Planer

Table Saw

Random Orbital Sander (80-500 grit)

Band Saw

Lathe

Kreg Jig

wood screws

wood dowels

Biscuit Joiner

Pipe Clamps

Router

Stain

Sealer

Step 1: Purchase Your Lumber

Find a local lumber yard and dig through to find some nice pieces.

Do some math to see how much you need. For this table I got 90 BSF, which gave me a little extra just in case.

Take your lumber home. Feel it, smell it, marvel at it. Soon it will be a beautiful table built by YOU.

Send all the lumber through the planer to desired thickness.

My table top was 1" thick while my diagonal supports were 3" and the center base was 4".

After everything is planed, laminate pieces if needed to get overall thickness. Then, take it to the chop saw and cut it to the right length.

Again, I kept my cuts a little long at first in case I ran into issues or wanted to alter my design.

Now that your pieces are cut to the right dimensions, begin sanding. Start at 80 grit and work your way up to 220 grit, or higher if you desire.

Step 2: Build Your Base

After planing my lumber. I laminated three pieces together to build up my base pieces. Simply apply wood glue to both sides and clamp for two hours.

Next chamfer the edges at a 45 degree angle using the chop saw. It's just a nice finish and allows for more foot room.

I half lapped the bottom and top of the base together. I used the band saw to cut out the half lap. I also added in wooden dowels for extra security.

The vertical post is attached using a mortise and tenon. I cut the tenon using a a jig and the table saw. For the mortise I used a drill and a chisel and hammer.

All of your joints should be as tight as possible. Dry fit all connections first to make sure they fit correctly. Then separate them, apply ample wood glue and re-fit the connection.

Two hours under clamps is enough time for joints to cure under wood glue.

Step 3: Supporting the Base

In order to support the weight of the table, 3"x3" diagonal supports are added to the base.

Along the center post I used internal wooden dowels (and wood glue, where ever there is a joint, there is also wood glue).

For the connection to the bottom and top base I drilled a hole through both the support and the base.

I used from scrap white oak lumber and a lathe to turn a large 1" dowel to secure the support to the base. This, especially if it is a different wood species, will add a nice contrast and become an accent piece.

Using more scrap, I added stringers across the top of the base to help support the table top.

Simply screw them together using the kreg jig.

Now that the base is finished you can begin to work on the table top.

Step 4: Building the Table Top

Now for the creme de la creme.

Here you can play with the design of the table top. I went with four quarters each at 5" wide.

After laying out each quarter of a table and double checking my cuts are correct, I glued and biscuit joined the planks together. Use multiple bar clamps on both the top and bottom side of the piece to keep the section from bowing one way or the other.

A key part in the biscuit joining process is to line up the biscuit slots perfectly in order to get line breaks of the planks to match up with each other.

I repeated this process to get four quarters. Then again to get two halves. and once more time to get the full table as one piece.

Once the full top is joined, use a router and a jig to cut your top into a circle.

Voila! The hardest part is over.

Step 5: Attaching the Table Top to the Base

Since this table was being sent to the East Coast, where humidity is a big factor, I attached the top to the base using a floating table technique.

To do this, pre-drill holes from the stringers in the base to the underside of the table. Pre-drill twice, once with a drill bit the correct size for a screw, the second time use a larger bit but only pre-drill through the base stringers. When you drive the screw in it will snug into the underside of the tabletop while staying loose in the base. When the wood naturally contracts and expands the table will stay together, but allow for the wood to move without popping a screw.

Now you can apply stain of your choosing and sealant. Be sure to follow the directions on the label for best results.

Now build some chairs so you can properly enjoy your new table.