We just moved into our new house and we decided that the dining room would have a rustic theme. The lady wanted a farmhouse style table. I got the plans from Ana White website (http://ana-white.com/2013/09/plans/4x4-truss-beam-... There are detailed instructions on the site, so I'll just list out the variations that I made and the equipment I used.

Tools:

- Miter Saw. I have a 12" Dewalt, came in handy when chopping the 4x4s.

- Orbital Sander

- Drill/Impact driver

- Kreg Jig

- Kreg Jig HD

- Safety glasses, hearing protection, breathing mask

Supplies:

- 2.5" kreg screws

- 2.5" Kreg pocket hole screws (For the 4x4s)

- 6" torq screws

- 4.5" torq screws

- 80, 150, 220 grit sanding sheets

- stain. I used the ash stain from MinWax.

More pictures and instruction at http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2013/09/diy-dining-table.html

DiyPete also has a detailed list of instructions for building this table. He's changed the plans to make the table wider. http://www.diypete.com/how-to-build-a-farmhouse-table/

Step 1: Step 1: Make the Cuts

I generally cut the wood to length per the plans before I start assembling. Once I had all the cuts I needed, I sanded each wood piece, using grits 80, 150 and finally 220.

Step 2: Step 2: Connect the Pieces

For the base, I used the 6" torq screws to connect the 4x4s. I used the Kreg HD kit to connect the 4x4 and 2x4 support beams at the base of the table.

I connected the top boards using the 2 1/2" kreg screws.

Step 3: Variation: Add Bread Board Support

The original plans don't call for bread board support, the bread boards are supported only via the top board.

I cut 4 4x4 sections of length 8", with one end angled at 10 degrees. I then glued and screwed in the supports under the bread boards, as shown in the final picture.

Step 4: Step 3: Place and Stain

The table is extremely heavy and we have a normal sized door to the dining room. So we disassembled the table and moved it inside piece by piece. Once inside, I placed the top board on the floor, and inverted the base onto it. I then screwed in the base to the top board using the 4.5" torq screws.

Flipping it over took a lot of effort because of the weight, but once it was set up, I stained it. For the finish, I went with high gloss oil based polyurethane.