My mom remodeled her kitchen over the winter of 2014-15, and wanted a new table that fit the space better than the huge table she was using then. We talked about the size and usage and decided on a single leaf drop table that could snugly seat 6 when open (when us kids and family visit) but also still have room for a newspaper and coffee when folded down.

She wanted something tough enough for daily use, so we went for hard maple even though she also wanted a darker finish, which isn't usually maple's forte. After some experimentation i found a combination that's a reasonable compromise and works pretty well in the room.

A good friend happened to have some planks of maple and a thickness planer, so we spent a noisy afternoon prepping stock for the panels. I got the leg stock from a local lumber yard and started cutting parts. The legs got a simple 2-sided taper and i used a molding edge on the apron pieces.

I'd never made panels like this before, and i wish i'd been more careful with the alignment from the start, because i spent a lot of time getting the joints as smooth as i wanted.

Finishing also took a lot of time, between sealing and getting the finish dark and even over a light wood. I can see why people like to spray stain on things like this. The top coat is a few coats of Arm-R-Seal poly.

The main table has fixed legs with standard hardware. I don't have a pic of the folding legs, but they're fairly heavy duty hinges with catches to hold them both up and down so storing is more stable.

The finished table in the usual folded-down position:

I'm pretty happy with the design, and it's still holding up well 3 years later.