Mid-Century Modern Dining Table

Video - June 14, 2019

I sat down to design a new dining table for my brother-in-law Jason and before I was done I realized it was totally inspired by my time with Jory Brigham. The table has splayed legs, a large overhanging top, and bevels and tapers galore.

Jory’s Hank Chair Build

Tools/Products Used:

Download the FREE plans:

Gallery

Discussion

Fred McIntyre June 15, 2019 11:18 am

Great looking table, thanks for the plans!

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A. Mehta June 18, 2019 7:31 am

Hi, Mark. You are amazing! Excellent quality build for a mid-century modern dining table. I love the wood color and look of the table. Thank you so much for sharing the plans and detailed video. I am looking forward to making this table and hank chairs this summer. The only slight modification I would like to make is for the table top length to be 92″ so I can seat more folks at the table. Do you recommend changing the size of the aprons to accommodate the length? Thanks!

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- Marc Spagnuolo June 20, 2019 5:43 am
  
  I don’t think so. There’s a point where the aprons get so wide that they become problematic for the legs of the diners. We’re just about at the tipping point as is.
  
  Reply
louis nemick June 23, 2019 3:12 pm

I thank you for the table plans very much Mark

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Neil E Brauer June 28, 2019 11:19 am

Hi Marc-

For once I may be able to offer you a tip! For cutting long, wide, shallow bevels like the edges of the table, I find the router to be the best tool. Simply temporarily attach a strip of wood parallel to the edge of your table somewhere inside the starting point of the bevel (close to where the bevel starts is good but the actual location is not critical) attach a second strip of wood to your work surface. Adjust the thickness of the strips and/or the location of the strips relative to the table top such that a straight edge placed between the two strips forms the angle of the bevel you are trying to achieve. Attach an auxiliary base to your router that is twice the width of the distance between the two strips. Use the biggest straight cut bit you have and set the depth (at least of the last pass) such that the bottom of the bit cuts exactly on the line marking your desired thickness.

What I described sounds like a lot of work, but using double stick tape, hot glue, pin nails etc. to set up your strips, it takes just a few minutes. It also doesn’t take nearly as many passes with the router as you might think because you’re only removing a lot of material at the very outside. You can use Pythagoras to determine the distance between your strips but trial, error and eyeballs will get you there quickly just make sure to note the strip positions and repeat on the other three sides.

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edward mason July 5, 2019 12:44 pm

Nice table but 200+ dollars for the finish has to go. Us poor people need a Minwax alternative.

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 5, 2019 3:40 pm
  
  OK. Here you go. https://amzn.to/2FTAl7O
  
  Reply
Jeff G. August 22, 2019 9:56 am

Marc – Great job on the table, I love the design. I’m currently trying to convince my lovely wife that this base would be great for our upcoming dining table project…

I’m curious if you or Jason have any feedback on how you like the Rubio Monocoat finish on the table after it has been in use for few weeks?

I have a house full of boys (6,10,14,18) and am looking for a finish that is durable and repairable as I know it is going to see some abuse. Right now I am leaning toward Rubio or Arm-R-Seal. The table top will be 42″x8′ live edge walnut. I don’t have any experience with finishing a flat surface this large so ease of application is also an important factor.

Appreciate any feedback you can offer. Thanks.

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- Marc Spagnuolo August 22, 2019 3:00 pm
  
  You really can’t beat finishes like Rubio and Osmo when it comes to ease of application and repairability. The finish repels moisture and stains and the wood itself (assuming you use something fairly strong) resists scratches and dents. When the finish needs a refresher, it’s easy enough to do with these products. Arm R Seal will provide more initial protection but will also be a finish that’s harder to repair or refresh when the time comes. It will also have a dramatically different appearance being a film finish. Not better or worse, just different.
  
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Karen Winkler September 12, 2019 1:23 pm

Love the table. Getting ready to add a new 48” x 96” top and skirt to our current mid-century table legs. I can’t find the washers you used to connect the top to the skirt. Can you please post a link?

Enjoyed seeing you at the IWF expo in Atlanta 2018!

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- Marc Spagnuolo September 13, 2019 5:54 am
  
  Sure thing. https://www.fastcap.com/product/izzy-skirt-washer
  
  Reply
Jorge October 15, 2019 7:42 pm

Hi Marc
I’m a new woodworker and been following your videos for sometime now. Must say I’ve learned a lot from you so thank you. I even got me a FESTOOL domino jointer after seeing how it worked at an angle while my Mortise jig its only at a straight angle.
I want to build this table, do you have more info around which domino size you use? How to use the festool? (Never used it before and I’m still waiting to be delivered).
Being my first time making furniture this size, I’m planning on building it with pine as it’ll be cheaper and if I make mistakes well I’m learning.
Any thoughts, any extra advise it’s always helpful. Thanks

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Joseph Huthsing December 5, 2019 10:37 pm

Hey Marc,
Excellent video and awesome plans. On your video it says the long aprons are cut on 20 degrees to account for the 15 degree legs with a 5 degree taper on them. However, your plans show that the long aprons are cut on 18 degrees. It seems like it should be 20 degrees, but just wanted to double check. Can you provide some clarification here?

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- Marc Spagnuolo December 6, 2019 11:14 am
  
  The inside of the leg is tapered and additional 3 degrees, which accounts for the 18 degree number where the aprons meet the legs.
  
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Jackie July 14, 2020 12:53 pm

Hi Marc! Beautiful table. I am just about ready to stain my version of this. It’s ash and currently it’s put together completely with glue and dowels. The only metal fasteners will be the figure 8 washers.

I’m nervous about the weight of the tabletop on the splayed legs. It’s going to my sister in laws house and I’m afraid that if the glue joint starts to fail under the weight that the legs will “bambi” out and it’ll start to slide towards the floor.

I’m considering adding a second hidden “apron” in behind where I can glue and screw the legs to each other along the long side.

Thoughts?

Thanks for putting this out there. It’s a gorgeous project!

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 14, 2020 1:53 pm
  
  Well I haven’t done any extreme load testing to confirm my educated guesses about what this table will withstand, but as a dining table, I can’t envision a scenario where there’s enough weight to cause catastrophic joint failure.
  
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Alex September 21, 2020 9:01 pm

Marc,

Do you have an alternative method for creating the bevel underneath the tabletop? I supposed a belt sander could work, but is there a different profile perhaps smaller, that could be done with a router to give the top a similar, albeit different look than the profile you created? Also, I plan on creating an 80″ tabletop, so do you think it needs to any wider than 40″?

Thanks in advance!

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- Marc Spagnuolo September 22, 2020 5:12 pm
  
  Not sure it’s possible with a router. It’s just too large. A belt sander certainly sounds reasonable. As for the width of the table you’re making, you should be able to make it any width you want/need.
  
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Evan October 5, 2020 1:45 pm

Hi Marc,

I’m in the midst of building the table and had a question about the tapered chamfers on the legs. Instead of cutting on the band saw, is it possible to cut on the table saw by tilting the blade and using a tapering jig? I don’t trust my band saw skills nearly as much as you do and thought the table saw may be an easy fix.

Thanks!

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- Marc Spagnuolo October 5, 2020 7:27 pm
  
  Yeah that should work. Just get your pencil lines on there, line up the cut, and you should be able to eyeball whether or not the blade will cut correctly on your path. But I think it should be ok.
  
  Reply
Vladimir Kritchko December 30, 2020 3:07 am

Hi Marc,

Thank you so much for creating and sharing this beautiful design, this table looks fantastic. And thanks and for all other videos you have produced over the years – almost everything I know about woodworking I have learned from you.

I am wrapping up building a smaller version of this table out of cherry. Just like Evan, I didn’t feel comfortable free-handing leg tapers on the band saw. My solution: table saw with blade set to 90 degree, shop-made tapering jig with an auxiliary support block (~16″x3″x3″) attached to it using double-sided tape – with one of its sides beveled at 45 degrees. The leg blank gets attached to the slanted side of support block also with double-sided tape. Now, I had to re-adjust position of support block four times for four different tapers, but each of these setups was used for all legs – so all cuts are identical, guaranteed. Takes time, but the end-result is great – all edges are crisp, almost ready to go, only minimal sanding is required to get rid of blade marks.

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Payton Pearson December 30, 2020 8:00 am

Hi Marc,

I don’t have a domino but could I use dowel joinery instead?

Thanks,
Payton

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- Marc Spagnuolo December 31, 2020 3:59 pm
  
  You sure can!
  
  Reply
Chad Blashill December 31, 2020 12:17 pm

Hi Marc!

Just finished this build and moved it into the dining room today – late Christmas gift for the wifey. I went a little bigger overall on the top – 78″ x 42″ – as requested by the boss. The tapered chamfers on the legs were a task (hand planing all of them) but overall I really like the finished product. Thanks for putting the design plans up. I’d love to submit a picture for the gallery if you’d like one.

Thanks again!!

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo December 31, 2020 4:01 pm
  
  Sure. Send us a pic. https://thewoodwhisperer.com/contact/
  
  Reply
Michelle February 9, 2021 9:34 am

Hi Marc,

What type of wood did you use

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- Marc Spagnuolo February 9, 2021 5:08 pm
  
  Walnut.
  
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Jorge Sarmiento July 4, 2021 12:44 pm

Hi Mark,
As always great video and instructions. Thanks for the plans too.
This year we’ve finally decide to build a larger dining table. 110” x 42” x 1 1/2” top. We’ll be using two black walnut slabs and use epoxy to create a river table design to the dimension aforementioned. It will stand at a 36” tall.

We’ll be using your design as a base, however since the table is larger/heavier than the one in the plan/video,
– what changes in term of joinery would you make to accommodate the table top weight? Domino vs traditional mortise/tenon?

– Would you change the legs tapered angle?
– Would you increase the thickness of the aprons?
– anything else you’d recommend to modify?

Thanks in advance for your help on this project.

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- Jorge Sarmiento July 4, 2021 12:46 pm
  
  Sorry but autocorrect changed your name “Marc” to “Mark” and I didn’t realize it until I hit “submit your post”.
  
  Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo July 5, 2021 7:43 am
  
  Hey Jorge. Somethings things things are tricky for me to answer since I’m not a structural engineer and the most I can do is give you an educated guess. I wouldn’t change the angle of the legs as that would fundamentally change the appearance. The thickness of the aprons won’t actually give you strength where you need it. To increase the strength of the aprons you’d want to make them wider so they are more resistant to sag. And that’s probably about all I’d do. You can’t really put more support in the center where it’s needed without doing something really drastic with the design. But wider rails should help. Is it even necessary to go wider? I’m really not sure. I’d have to make some mockups in the shop and make a gut decision on it.
  
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Vincent Ciancarelli July 7, 2021 9:58 am

Hi Marc

Really beautiful, and I love the bevel under the table. What a nice touch!
Can I ask how thick was the table top before the bevel?

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Christopher Lloyd November 27, 2021 8:06 am

Hi Marc,

I hope you and the family had an amazing Thanksgiving. Im looking at scaling this down to a top size of 36×60. Aside from the changes to the top, can you sanity check me on the apron changes? Im thinking -4” on the short aprons and -12” on the long ones. The legs would stay the same. It seems simple enough, but I just wanted a sanity check on any adverse impact on proportions.

Thanks!

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- Marc Spagnuolo November 27, 2021 10:11 am
  
  The match seems to check out! Good luck with the build.
  
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Brian Heckber June 26, 2022 7:44 pm

Great look on this table! I have someone wanting me to build one 60″ wide x 72″ long with leaves to extend to 120″. I thought about increasing the apron width to handle extra weight. What would be best way to add the leaves? I was thinking about using a similar idea to linked website. Would I need to add anything else to support this size? Thanks!

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Shannon Mullins June 28, 2022 3:32 pm

My parents said they would like a table for christmas and I showed them the build video of this table. They love it, and I love that there are plans available. My only concern is that they live 8 hours away. What would be the best way to make this table “knock down” so that I would be able to transport it?

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- Marc Spagnuolo June 29, 2022 10:41 am
  
  I can’t really answer that. It depends on how you plan to transport it. If you don’t have room for the full table, then yes, knockdown would be a good idea.
  
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Kevin December 9, 2022 10:44 am

Is anyone able to identify the wood used in the gallery picture by Daniel Zillmann?

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- Marc Spagnuolo December 9, 2022 11:17 am
  
  My guess would be hickory.
  
  Reply
  - Kevin December 21, 2022 11:46 am
    
    Thanks for the reply Marc!
    
    Reply
Doug Chamberlin August 26, 2023 8:08 pm

Hi Marc, I was looking for coffee table plans and saw yours and thought it would be perfect, until I realized it was a dining table. However, I think the design would be just right (for my purposes) if it were smaller. Do you see any issues with making it half size and calling it a Coffee Table?

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- Marc Spagnuolo August 28, 2023 7:47 am
  
  I dont see why it wouldn’t work out. May have to play with the proportions and angles a bit.
  
  Reply
Mike Hester September 8, 2023 12:03 pm

Do you feel or know that the table is stable given that the table legs are straight and not set at a diagonal

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- Marc Spagnuolo September 11, 2023 9:00 am
  
  Yes, it’s perfectly stable.
  
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  - Mike Hester September 11, 2023 9:57 am
    
    Thanks Marc
    
    Reply
Matt January 24, 2024 10:20 pm

Hey Marc, qq is there a reason the sketchup file is password protected? Am I missing something on this? Thanks for all the content. Really appreciate it.

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- Marc Spagnuolo January 25, 2024 7:14 pm
  
  I didn’t even know it was possible to password protect a sketchup file. Nothing was done on our end to cause that. And I just tested the file and it seems to work normally.
  
  Reply
  - Matthew Herrin February 24, 2025 9:43 am
    
    I didn’t see a password protection for the sketch up file, but once I downloaded the file my Galaxy phone will not open it. Do I need to have sketch up downloaded to be able to open the file ?
    
    Reply
    - Marc Spagnuolo February 27, 2025 11:08 am
      
      Yes, a Sketchup file only works with SketchUp programs or the web-based version of skethup.
Daniel Flanagan July 23, 2024 9:43 am

What am I missing on the math here? The table is 40 inches wide. The legs are attached 5 inches inward on each side. That’s 40-10 = 30. The legs are one and 3/4 inches thick. That’s 3.5 down to 26.5. 1/4” reveal x 2 for another 1/2”. 26” is what I get for the side apron but it’s 25.5. I can’t seem to come up with that other half inch

Reply

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Mid-Century Modern Dining Table

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