Need help with my dining table plan

akhilsingh

Hi Guys, 
I am planning to build a dining table. I am very new to wood working and this is my first project ever. I have done some research and have planned building the table as follows.

- I am planning to build the dining table using pine boards and pine shorts from Bunnings. 

- The plan is to glue together the wood board to create the table top as shown in picture below. I have an electric planer which I am planning to plane off the gluing surface to have a straight edges.

- To create the base and legs for the table I will be using the pine shots as shown below.

I need advice with the following issues:

- I have some clamps which I am planning to use to glue together the boards, but the clamps are a bit shorter than the gluing length. Is there a way I can still use the clamp without buying new ones? Or if there is an alternative way to join the boards to create the table top?

- Some of the boards are not very straight, below is the side view of the boards side by side, you can see the spacing because of the curved board. I would like to know if this will be problem when gluing the boards together? Will this curve the table top? What is the best way I can handle it? Can I some how straighten the boards.

- I am planning to use screws to join the bottom frame together, but will need some advice on how I can join the table top with bottom frame. I do not want to glue to top onto the frame, because I would like to dismantle it in future.

- I also need some advice on how I can paint the table and options for table top. I was thinking of painting the table legs and put something like a stain (not sure if this is possible or will look good) or have a veneer top. I could not find anything like a veneer top at Bunnings. I am flexible with options and looking for alternatives which will look good. Also will it be possible to achieve a shiny top some coating which can help with easy cleaning. I can also consider vinyl which will make the table look good. 

Thanks a lot in advance for the advice.

MitchellMc

Congratulations on embarking on your first woodworking project, @akhilsingh. I trust there will be many more to come.

The simplest approach to glueing up the table top would be to use sash clamps. It would be quite difficult to use shorter clamps and any distortion in the wood will become more noticeable and potentially cause the top to warp. The sash clamps allow you a long, straight surface for gluing, helping to avoid twisting. Once the boards are glued and positioned in the clamps, your other clamps can be used to hold them down to flatten out any twists. You can also use heavy weights for this. However, it's always best to start with the straightest boards possible, so you might like to consider swapping the most twisted over for straighter boards.

Attaching the top to the frame without drilling through it can be done using angle brackets from beneath. Ensure you screw are short enough that they don't penetrate the top.

If you would like to keep the timber-look top, you can stain it and then coat it with a varnish for protection. That way, you can darken the timber and get an easy-to-clean surface.

I look forward to following along with your project. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell