help dining table

[BTR]

I have got some oak and want to make a 5ft x 30" dining table with 4" chunky legs i have read chems posts on hollow legs but what about jointing the pieces with biscuits ,glue and pocket screws internally to form the leg.
Also which pieces in the pics below would you say i should use to make the top i was thinking the short square peices cut them to 15" x 13" and mix the grain like a patchwork style i have ten off these at this size.
I want a 2" thick top the oak i have is 1.25" thick i was thinking of glueing the assembled top onto some 3/4 thick MR mdf or ply then biscuit and glue 1" x 2" oak edging on to give a nice clean finish.
Any advice much appreciated thanks in advance

 

[ByronBlack]

If you glue the oak boards onto an MDF substrate, you'll have to make provision for wood movement, otherwise there could be some splitting or warping.

If you want a chunky top, I'd go with just the edge lipping - people won't be looking underneath the top, and as long as the edge looks thick, then so will the whole top

Something like this:

 

[OPJ]

I like Byron's idea of lipping the edges of the top. Which way will the grain run on the top? Along the length (5ft) or across the width (30in)? Whichever way, you'll need to allow for expansion across the width of these boards. Depending on the length of your boards, you may find it more economical to cut them in to shorter lengths with the grain running across the top. This is also easier than trying to straighten 5ft long boards!

If you're also creating hollow legs then, yes, you could biscuit joint the edges. Not sure how you would be intending to use pocket screws, though?

 

[BTR]

Thanks BB for the pic that is a very good idea and it will give me the chunky look and save on the extra weight and work with adding the extra mdf to the top.
OPJ i have put the 5ft boards through the planer and they have come out really good and straight i have been told timber has been kiln dried to 9% would you suggest i use the smaller boards 15" x 13" and alternate the grain on each board or stick with the longer planks they are 5' x 4" thanks .

 

[OPJ]

If you're happy with them then, I'd leave them 5ft long and glue them up like that (at least you only need 3ft long sash cramps that way as well! ). As long as the top will be secured to the frame well with either wooden turnbuttons or shrinkage plates (to allow for the cross-grain expansion) then, it should be fine.

If you tried to piece lots of shorter boards together, I'd fear it may end up looking a little too "manufactured"; almost like a wooden kitchen worktop... It could be much trickier trying to get all those short pieces aligned inside the clamps as the glue's going off.