Expanding Kitchen Table

[Mike Henderson]

Here are some pictures of an expanding kitchen table that I built about six months ago. Style-wise, it’s fairly straightforward. The aspect I think is interesting is the design for the expansion.

I wanted a table that would be small enough to fit comfortably in our kitchen but be able to expand into a table for six when we needed it. The interesting part of the design is that the table is completely self contained – that is, everything needed to expand the table is part of the table – no leaves to store in a closet.

I’ve included a fairly complete description of the design of the table on my web site at http://members.cox.net/h-h.woodworks/ExpandingTable.htm (http://members.cox.net/h-h.woodworks/ExpandingTable.htm) so I’m going to ask you to look there rather than attempting to duplicate that description in this message.

Mike Henderson
Tustin, CA

[Jim Becker]

Now that's really kewel, Mike! Great versatility. Beautiful workmanship, too.

[Richard Wolf]

Great looking table. Also like the other projects.

Richard

[Roy Wall]

Mike,

very nice - great idea; it looks terrific!! The thought process and execution are very well done!

Thanks!

[Vaughn McMillan]

Another beautiful job. Mike. I also read through the narrative on your Townsend style bureau (I saw the pics you posted a while back). You do some incredible work indeed. Thanks for sharing the pics.

- Vaughn

[Alan Turner]

Very clever design. May I borrow it should the need arise? I see that you gain lathe design approval in the same manner as do I.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Mike, that is a wonderful job! You not only build great looking peices, you design a wonderful way to make them adaptable. Great job!!

[Michael Fross]

Oh my goodness. That rocking chair is beautiful. I've never done anything with bending, but I'll need to add it to my "one of these days" lists. Absoutely stunning.

[Mark Singer]

Great design! You have put a lot of thought into the details and it really shows. Working out these kinds of solutions to problems is satisfying....great imagination and problem solving...not to mention the crafstmanship! I see the mind of a designer and invetor here.....wonderful!

[Mike Henderson]

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words. Alan, you certainly may use the ideas in the table - practically everything we do has its origins in the ideas of others. In fact, the field of woodworking design has been plowed so much already that I'm beginning to wonder what new ideas are possible.

Mike Henderson
Tustin, CA

[Lee DeRaud]

What kind of hinge did you use on that tabletop? It looks like piano hinge in the partially-open picture, but it doesn't show up in the full-open picture.:confused: Or my eyes are just going bad...:eek:

[Mike Henderson]

What kind of hinge did you use on that tabletop? It looks like piano hinge in the partially-open picture, but it doesn't show up in the full-open picture.:confused: Or my eyes are just going bad...:eek:
I used three 1/2 inch Soss hidden hinges in bright brass. You could probably get by with two but I chose to use three to keep the open top "flat" across the joint - just in case the tops were to warp in some fashion.

Mounting the hinges was difficult. I waited until I had the tops completed so I had to make a jig to hold the tops upright in my drill press so that I could drill the holes to insert the hinges. Soss says that you can use a router but I was afraid that I'd mess things up with a router. An alternative approach is to drill for the hinges in the edge board before gluing the board to the core - but that has it's problems also.

The best approach would have been to use a slot mortiser to create the mounting holes.

Mike Henderson
Tustin, CA

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mike a totally great job! Excellent!