# Cedar dining room table material and finish



## jasonbutler42 (Mar 21, 2011)

Hey! I'm new to the forums here and hoping you can help me out.

I'm considering a dining room table very similar to the one detailed here: http://makeprojects.com/Project/Wooden-Table/509/1

They suggest cedar as the wood, which I'm okay with because of the relatively low cost, but I'm open to other suggestions.

Most of the techniques I'm also familiar with, although I haven't used them all together for one project.

But I could really use some advise on how to finish a table like this.

1. This will be a replacement for my aging dining room table; what kind of finish would you recommend?
2. Since the breadboard is there to allow the wood to naturally expand and contract, what kind of finish will expand and contract with it? Wouldn't sealing all the surfaces be counter productive? Or is that not a concern?


----------



## dryhter (Jul 14, 2008)

Welcome Jason, 
Any finish made these days should work just fine, water based Poly urethane is probably at the top of the list.
The thing that spins my head though is using cedar for the build, it is just too soft from a durability standpoint. Poplar would be a better choice.


----------



## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

Agreed that the cedar is too soft. Is alder available in your area? It's harder than poplar.

The plan claims to be a table/desk, but he built it more like a workbench for dismantling flathead v-8s. There's really no purpose in leg and top thickness dimensions like that and certainly no grace at all.

If you're gong to use WB poly, I'd further suggest the spar variety-it's a little more flexible, designed to give when dimensions change.

Be prepared for multiple coats-five is a minimum for me, 6 or 7 is better. And you can sand pretty aggressively the first two coats.

Strain the material before each coat.

Kindly,

Lee


----------



## superstretch (Jan 10, 2011)

To comment on the wood used- 2"x cedar looks rather unattractive to me.. I suppose if there was a striking contrast between heart/sapwood, that would be one thing, but between the knots and the ho-hum grain, I'd go with walnut, maple, cherry, or oak. As for a finish, since it's something people will be spilling liquids on, I'd figure something like poly or shellac to really get nice water resistant protection. Maybe a top coat of food-safe wax to really give it a smooth finish. Just from what I'm comfortable with using and have used in the past-Danish Oil, Poly, then wax. Perhaps this isn't the best, but I'm fairly sure it would work.


----------



## jasonbutler42 (Mar 21, 2011)

Thanks for the great advice! The softness of the wood was already one of my concerns, so thanks for reinforcing that! I'll have to check around for the availability of wood, but cedar is pretty cheap…

I'm kind of looking at this as a starter project for me that is also functional - at least for now. I need a dining room table and I need a way to build some skills and this seems like a way to to both, right?

If you have other suggestions of good starter projects, please let me know!


----------

