Table Design with Walnut

1. If you’ve got enough long boards to get your 40” width, I think I’d run the grain the long way, especially if you are headed for a trestle type construction. Now if you plan to put leaves in it, you should go the other way. Leaves allow changing the size of the table, convenient later if not now. You can legitimately use wooden or metal table extension slides.
2. You could easily use hollow legs, but I would fill the places where joints occur. You could also laminate enough layers together to get the desired thickness (think weighty).
3. A 4” apron should be adequate. You could, and perhaps should, run 2 or 3 stringers the length between your end aprons, parallel to the side aprons to help with supporting the span. Sure as anything you’re gonna find a 400 lb gorilla on it someday! Consider how much food and china can fit on there, not counting elbows.

A good hand plane will be necessary for all this. Consider carefully how you are going to clamp this together. 3/4” doesn’t give you much to work with, so you’ll have to be extra accurate on that big of a top. I wouldn’t use anything less than a 1/2” x 2” x 3 1/2” tenon on the leg-apron joints, assuming apron is placed outside the center of leg, say faces offset by 1/2”. Any stretchers to help with rigidity? Then you need to carefully consider how to strongly attach the top so it can move without warping.

An ambitious project! Keep us posted using this topic or a blog. Pictures help a lot. Oh, and just which wall were you going to take out to get this into the dining room?
DanK

-- Dan Krager, Olney IL http://www.kragerwoodworking.weebly.com

jb, I’d introduce the idea of a jointer. 6” width with the longest bed you can find. You’ll never look back.

Also some good pipe clamps.

I think you’ll end up with a skirted design, rather than trestle. the 3/4 thickness just won’t look proportional to that much real estate.

Four pieces will go together nicely to give you 3” square legs, solid.

The leg to apron joints will be the only real joinery challenge, the rest is about straightlining your material and getting good, matching joints.

I, too, will be excited to learn of your progress.

Kindly,

Lee

-- "...in his brain, which is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd with observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." --Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

jb
Welcome to the fray.. +1 on the jointer, as it will help you prep the boards for the top. Also, i found an article from Gary Rigowski a while ago giving good technique for jointing the board edges prior to glue up.
I’m looking forward to see your progress, and if I can help, don’t hesitate to email.

Gerry

-- -Gerry, Hereford, AZ ” A really good woodworker knows how the hide his / her mistakes.”