Design & Materials 2 cont...

Well, I encountered a slight problem, no one has 4x4 Douglas Fir untreated in my area. So plan "b" is to make my own 4x4's, but the dimensions of the lumber is 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" square. I can't quite recreate this since the dimensions of 2x8's are 1-1/2" x 7-1/2", so if I sandwich two of them together I will have a thickness of 3" x 7-1/2". This is good because I can rip them in half to make 2 each 3" x 3" stock that I can use to provide the same look.

Design & Materials 2

Well I started developing a few design ideas off of Pintrest and the internet. The Ana White blog had some good ideas to go cheap and fast but I want to take it up just a notch. A little bit about myself, I do have carpentry experience but not a furniture maker by any means. So I am looking to improve my skills on this project. I do have resources that have greater carpentry and furniture making experience to call on if I need to figure out the best way to do something.
With that said, here are some of the drawings that I found:

I am going to keep the original dimensions that where on the Pottery Barn Table (86" L x 40" W x 30" T). Also I like the look of the 4" x 4"'s as the table legs and base material. So some slight modifications you see here.
For selection of the wood type, I used my hand little pocket reference book (highly recommend this if you don't have one already. I have 2, one in the garage and one at my office desk.), to look up lumber strength, density, hardness, grain, and split resistance. I would love to use something as beautiful as cherry or maple but not for a beginner project, cost, and availability. (I would probably use redwood if this was going outside.) I could go to the cheap end by using pine  or even hearty pine like the original table but I know it is too soft for the abuse it would see.
So, I think for my situation I will go with Douglas Fir. It is ready available in my area, has greater density than pine, has nice characteristics like pine, more split resistance, and is able to take staining well.

Now for a material list so I can go shopping.

I want a symmetrical look for the table top and want it to look custom and not like I slapped some boards together. So for a 40" wide top I will need 5 each 8" wide boards. Plus I would like to have them at least 1-1/2" thick. (Really I would like 2" but that would require finding custom cut lumber and I don't have the equipment for that.) On each end to the original table are boards that go perpendicular to the five across the center of the table. These also extend to add a 16" leaf to each side to increase the total length to 118". Let's keep this in mind for our shopping list.

In order to get 8" wide boards I will need to purchase 2x10's and rip them down. This is good because I can achieve several things here: 1) I can get the width and thickness desired 2) I can eliminate the rounded edges on the lumber 3) I can square up the side for a nice tight joint.
So for the table top we need 2x10's for the 5 center pieces (70" long), 2 for each end (40" long), and 4 for the leafs (40" long). That comes to 6 each 10 foot 2x10's.

Also I want to add some extra strength to the joints so I will add  two packages of 3/8" dowels to my list.

For the base, I will need 6 each of the 4x4's for the legs and cross members.

I also want to mention that I will be looking for lumber that is straight, is quarter sawn if possible to find or close to it,  has few knots, and has good characteristics.

Well now its off the to lumber yard to get started!

Design & Material

My wife and I have been looking for a rustic / clean / country / massive table to go in our large dining room. And while shopping this weekend we found this table at Pottery Barn. Unfortunately it is $1,700 just for the table! We like that it is extendable for more seating (6-10 people) and the size is just right (86"L x 40"W x 30"H - 118" Extended). However the the pictures do not show it extended. It also has a matching bench seat,, shown below.

I have convinced my wife that I can make this same table for 1/2 the cost. And she took that bet. 

So a few things that I wanted to change are: the cross bar at the bottom and would like to flip that around to have open foot space; I like the 4"x4" base and single pillar leg but it could be spruced up a bit with maybe a mortise and tenon joint.

My observation of the construction of the table are:

The table top is made from dimensional lumber (hence the high cost) 2"x8"

The leg pillars are made from dimensional lumber also 4"x4"
The cross piece is the same 4"x4" with 2"x4" to cover the sliders for the extensions

The good news is that it is made from pine, which is cheap and available anywhere.

Well now it's time to hit the drawing board.