Scavenger Chic

DIY Rustic Farmhouse Table

• By Joan
• September 21, 2022
• 6 Comments

DIY Rustic Farmhouse Table

Welcome back.  Last week I showed you my inspiration for a DIY farmhouse dining room table and chairs.  On last weeks post I tackled the chairs, and while I couldn’t copy the style of the chairs  from my thrift store finds without spending a couple thousand dollars, I was happy enough finding 8 matching chairs for about $65. 

All painted, you would never know they were from 3 separate finds.  I know they are nothing like my inspiration photo but they are black and they are chairs.  🙂

 

As promised, today I’m tackling the farmhouse table.  My desire was to get the table for FREE using all reclaimed wood.  You’ll soon find out how I did.

Please keep in mind, I am not a carpenter but I do enjoy putting wood together.  For this farmhouse table project you almost have to have a table saw, drill, sander and miter saw.

I think I’m a little closer with copying the  table from the inspiration photo,  and mine was built with (almost) totally scavenged wood, so that always makes me happy.  While all the wood is repurposed, I did have to purchase one 2×6 piece.

The majority of the table you can see (there is an under structure) was built with very old 2×4’s and 2×6’s.  The kind of wood that has not been sanded and is truly 2 inches wide.

Start by cutting legs.  I’m using 2, 2×4’s for each leg making a 4″ post.  Cut 8, 29″ tall  pieces of 2×4’s and miter the ends 45°.

 

For the top piece of leg structure, cut 3 pieces of 2×4’s, 38″ in length.

For 2 of those 38″  pieces, miter the ends to fit with the legs you just cut.

For the third piece, cut it in half lengthwise so that you have 2, 2×2’s.  Miter the ends of the 2, 2×2’s as well.

On one of the 2×4’s for each leg you’re going to cut out a notch with a jigsaw that will hold the tabletop structure.

Make sure you’ve differentiated what will be the inside leg and top vs the outside and only cut the inside, the part that won’t be seen.  This notch should be large enough to hold a 2×4, either an old one or new depending on what wood you have available.

I only had a limited amount of the old 2×4’s, so for this part I switched to the newer ones even though these were used as well.

I’m going to give you the measurements I used for my table though you should feel free to modify as you like.  My tabletop is 71″x 38″ and can seat 8.  

For this structure, take the total length of your table (71″) and subtract 4″, the width of 2 of the legs.  Cut 2, 2×4’s, 67″ each.

Cut 4 more 2×4’s, about 26″ each, though I would measure your own table and not go by my measurements since a lot of the old wood is not necessarily true to size.

Attach the under table structure with kreg jig screws and wood glue.

For the leg tops and legs, I’m attaching those with builders adhesive and screws.  I used 3 1/2 inch wood screws  thru the 2×2 piece into the wider piece since these will eventually be covered by the tabletop.

Once the legs and top pieces were attached, I attacked them all with an electric sander.

More builders adhesive and screws attach the legs to the top mitered piece.  A perfect 90° angle piece of wood keeps everything square as I’m attaching.

The 2×4, kreg jigged top structure can now slide into the leg pieces.

I’ve turned the table over and I am using wood screws to attach the insert to the leg pieces, 6 screws per side.

Right now this is the only thing holding the legs to the tabletop piece and I want them removeable so  the table can be moved easily.  I think I will eventually replace the wood screws with more heavy duty lag screws.

Time to start gathering the wood for the top.  I thought I had a nice supply of old wood but I found out quickly that a lot of it was too short.

For the sides I wanted a true 2 inch piece and I found this 2×6 to be the perfect fit.  I just didn’t have a matching one for the other side so I had to buy a matching 2×6 at my local salvage yard for the other side.  So much for my free table 😥 

The inside slats of the table did not have to be 2″ and I could get away with half that width which made my lumber go twice as far.

If you’re not using 2″ width wood, it will have to be propped up to obtain the proper height.

Once all the top pieces are fit, it’s time for their sanding.  I loved these old saw marks and how much you sand off your wood is up to you.  How rustic are you?

I finally had enough wood for the tabletop and it has all been sanded. Two of the inside pieces are old 2×4’s ripped in half to give me four 1×4’s.  Like I said, using  the 1 inch wood allowed my lumber to go twice as far.

Using scrap wood prop up the table slats until they are level with the end pieces.

I used my nail gun and finish nails to go thru all the slats and  props to keep everything together.

Those little finish nails are not enough to hold everything together for the long haul, I still had to use wood screws from the bottom.

While most of the screws holding the table slats were from the bottom, I did attach the 2×6’s on the sides to the underneath structure from the top. 

Not wanting to see those screws, I drilled a 1/2″ hole about 1/2″ in depth, screwed in wood screws then filled the remaining hole with a 1/2 inch wood dowel.  Secure with wood glue.

The dowels are sanded to the level of the table and completely hide the screws.

Attach all the tabletop wood slats from the bottom with wood screws.

Since this is going to be a dining table, I did not want any crevices that could hold any food particles.  

This is what happens when you use lots of wood filler. I like the powdered Durhams wood putty because you only mix as much as you’ll need, it can be tinted and because it’s a powder, it won’t dry out between uses.

After a lot more sanding my tabletop is coming back.

Waxing the Table

I wanted a driftwood color on my finished farmhouse  table and after a little experimenting I settled on a wax finish in 3 stages.

First coat was a clear wax, to seal the wood.  Paint on and rub off any excess.  Let dry.

The second coat was antique wax which did a fairly good job of hiding the wood putty.  Paint on and rub off the excess.

The final coat was a white wax.  Again, paint on and wipe off the excess.  This is the coat that will make it look more like aged graying wood.  

If your wood looks too white, rub off more of the wax until you get the color you want.  

Once the wax is dry, buff with fine steel wool.  You can see the buffed wood in the lower left corner above.

There was still a lot of wobble on the farmhouse table lengthwise so my table really needed extra support to tie the legs into the rest of the table.  These 12″ shelf brackets were perfect for the job.

Did I mention that I’m not a carpenter?  🙂  I’m sure  there are other methods, but this is what worked for me.

I could have painted the screws to match the shelf bracket but since I already had some screw covers from a past project I used those.

**One part I never mentioned, nor took a good picture of, is the skirt around the bottom of the table.  It’s from an old 2×3, cut down to 2, 1×3’s.  If you’re gathering your wood, it’s just under 64″ long.  This skirt hides any hint of the understructure of the table and is nailed (finish nails) to those 2×4’s.

I love how the farmhouse table turned out in all it’s rustic goodness.  With the corner brackets, purchasing one piece of wood and waxes, I probably spent around $70.  Not quite free, but I’m totally happy with that.

You can find the chairs in last weeks post.

Until next time, stay inspired.