There are too many brands for CR to be able to sort through. Anyways, most brands don't even make their own furniture. They each contract with dozens of Asian factories, and regularly change suppliers.

Veneers are sometimes used to cut costs, but on dining tables its more often for decorative effect.

Calligaris makes a quality veneered table. Very modern.

Jofran makes both veneered and solid wood tables. Wide range of inexpensive looks.

Saloom makes very good solid maple tables. For a few bucks less you can get Shermag, which is solid birch (they also make some veneered product, ask your dealer what you're looking at).

Veneer is glued over MDF or particleboard, so you really can't make it tough. Laminates like Formica have the toughness built in, so even though their glued to MDF they are very tough. Veneer just doesn't have that kind of strength.

But, if you find that a veneered set otherwise meets your needs, just get a table pad for it. Even with a solid wood table its a good idea for a family of six.

HOW TO TELL WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT

1) Solid wood tables will always be made of strips of wood glued together. These strips will be typically 2-4" wide, although you will sometimes find narrower or wider pieces used. When the table looks like its one block of wood then its veneer. Very wide strips (wider than 8" but perhaps as narrow as 6") usually mean veneer.

2) Look where the top meets the edge. On a solid wood table grain lines will ALWAYS continue onto the edge. Some dark finishes make this hard to see. Some fancy shaped edges make it hard to see. Some grainings make it hard to see. But someone who knows how to tell will see right away.

** You probably don't have the eye for this unless the graining is obvious. I can find a seam in corian but even I have trouble being sure on occasion. So when in doubt, ask the salesperson.

3) Do NOT look under the table to make a determination. Some tables are veneered or laminated on the bottom. Seeing wood grain on the bottom doesn't necessarily mean solid wood.

4) The above guide is for table tops ONLY. Cabinetry can be made from products such as thermofoil, that can appear to be solid wood if you follow the above criteria.

Mogator - Thank you so much for all the information.

A table pad may be a very good idea regardless of what we get. We're going to do some more searching for solid wood. We've seen very few.

The only solid wood sets I've found locally are:
An oak table by Intercon at Oak Express
A couple sets by Douglas at a Futon store
Cochrane - Wish they had a formica(?) top table that was the right size. Those look tough.

What are table pads made out of? Could a person make their own? Lowe's sells big sheets of laminate for counter tops.