Table top construction

[transatlantic]

One of these days, I'd really like to build a farmhouse table like the one below.

I was wondering though, lets say you didn't have wood of the length required for the top, could it be built using shorter lengths, with a kind of midway 'double ended bread board "end"'?

I guess you could also stagger the shorter pieces too, but I'm thinking the above might look nicer?

 

[deema]

Yes, Absolutely no reason not to do it technically.

 

[dzj]

Faced with the same problem a while ago, I made the tabletop with the breadboards lengthwise.
(2 main parts and one insert when necessary)

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

That doesn't look 'farmhouse' to me. If it is your taste, then fine, but that is heavily influenced by Gothick (Victorian Gothic revival) ecclesiastical furniture. Something that you'd find in church as an altar, say. IMHO it is a bloody lousy design for a dining table and would need altering ( see what I did there?) to make it usable. No one has enough legrjoom at the ends without painful clashes with the crossed trestles. And I doubt there is enough room for 2 sitters along the long sides, without chair leg clashes with the big cross member 'feet'. It is a design that could be improved for the purpose, but it would definitely need it. Once you made the design amendments, I would steer clear of using short lengths to save a bit of money. The effort involved making the thing to the standard it should, would be diminished greatly by the small saving in wood and the extra risk of making a top from 'bits'. In any case, that design requires a big slab top to be effective, anything else would be incongruous. In fact, breadboard ends are not necessary, the massive rails on the trestles would be more effective than BB ends to keep the top flat.

Mike.

 

[AndyT]

I agree with Mike.

 

[memzey]

When you say farmhouse style table I instinctively think big chunky legs on the corners.