Trestle Dining Table

[Jim Becker]

You clearly are the master of "reconfiguration of the shop" to make things work!!! I got tired just thinking about the heft of those boards and the level of effort to process them. LOL This is going to be a stunning table for sure.

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks Jim ... just call me Muscles!

As the top rails are rounded and I want to preserve their sleekness, I have decided not to use button blocks to attach the table top, but slotted holes (for movement) through the rails, and screwing into the top.

Thoughts?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Becker]

I see no issue with that as long as your aprons can support the slots in the direction they need to be. I believe you should be able to calculate the max anticipated movement for the maple and as long as the combination of slot lengths on both sides is enough to cover that, you're good. Alternatively you could still use button blocks or z-clips if you mount some hidden blocks behind the curved aprons so the slots are perpendicular to the movement. Those blocks could be separate elements or if you want to really pull your hair out, carved integral to the rails. LOL

[Prashun Patel]

If you don't wish to mar the curved face of your supports, you could also do this.

I embedded these little blocks into the bottom of the table top (this one is not yet screwed to the top). A recess with elongated slots (forstner + domino 5mm) gets screwed to the top of the support.

BTW, I really love your pinned mortises. The angle, the muted color. It's very elegant, IMHO. The whole table is elegant.

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[Derek Cohen]

That's interesting, Prashun. I will give it some consideration.

What I had in mind was to use a forstner bit to create a mortise and then drill a slot inside this for the screw - perhaps even sink a metal insert. It would only be visible when looking up at the rails from underneath.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Clint Baxter]

If you do end up slotting the screw holes, I found the D500 Domino machine makes a very nice looking slot when using the 4mm bit. The 4mm bit limits your depth of cut a bit, but leave plenty meat for the screws through a table apron. However, if the top of your apron isn't a flat face it could get a little more interesting cutting the slot.

[Derek Cohen]

I planned the mortises for the bolts at the start of the build, but backed off making them until the table top was done. My concern was that a bolt hole would end up over a join, and wanted to ensure it went into solid wood.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

This is a large post, with many photos, and it takes up to the conclusion of this build. There have been many small details in the design and execution which, when added together, create the final piece. My wife just loves it, and I'm quite pleased myself, so I am happy to share the details for those who are interested in building something similar and with the techniques I used.

With the top glued up, the next step was to mark the outline, which was done by making templates ...



Block plane making shavings of 6mm MDF ...



One quarter used four times ...



Marked out with blue tape for visibility ...



No, I cannot lug this over to the bandsaw. I am not that strong. A jigsaw is used, like a regular person does, cutting close to the line ...





The templates then are used for pattern routing ...



The end grain is smoothed with a block plane. The question is, which works better, a skew block plane or a straight-bladed block plane. Answer: they do the same as one simply holds the straight-bladed plane at an angle



The top is pretty flat. The use of biscuits to level the joints worked well. Now the surface is planed with a smoother. This is the finished surface. No sanding was done ...



The side edge is 30mm thick. The plan is to chamfer the edges leaving a 10mm face. This is marked in blue tape ...



The base is positioned on the underside to determine how far in the chamfer will be made ...



A nice, even if rather old, Festool power planer takes away most of the waste in no time at all ...



This is finished to the lines with hand planes ...



The two ends of the underside are given a long taper, first using the power planer to remove most of the waste ...

[Derek Cohen]

.. and then finished with a LA Jack ...



Top done. Time to attach the top to the base.



The plan here is to use bolts into metal inserts, as I do not like the idea of inserting wood screws which might cause splitting and also be vulnerable to being pulled out.



A pilot hole is drilled through the base into the table top to position the bolt holes and inserts.

The holes in the base are made with a 3/4" forstner bit, then drilled for the 6mm bolts using a 7mm twist bit (for a little wiggle room). The hole closest to the leg is fixed while the other two are elongated 2mm each side of the hole for expansion.



Note that the bolt holes go through the base, rather than using wooden buttons as the holes essentially make the attachment invisible from the sides ...



With all attached, the table is done! And two coats of Whittle hard wax oil are rubbed on.

So are we all ready for the unveiling? Drum role ...





The aim of the design was to unite the table with two DC 09 chairs I built. In common are elliptical sections in the table and chairs. The other chairs are vintage bentwood, and the use of curves allows them to be included. The reason for a trestle table, rather than a traditional four-legged table, was to reduce the number of legs with different angles. This is aided by using dark Jarrah for the base, as the base disappears and the Rock Maple top is left as a line connecting the DC 09 chairs.



The curves of the top ...





And a final picture from the kitchen area ...



Thanks all for following along with this adventure.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Stunning! Incredible design details and coordination.

[Mike King]

Very nice! Now, you just need 4 more chairs...

[Jim Becker]

That totally obliterates your goal to have a nice symbiosis between the chairs and the table by several levels! Stunning!

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks Lloyd. Thanks Mike. Thanks Jim.

Some feedbck on the strength and rigidity of the table. This follows a dinner party last night, where guests danced on the table top, used the edges to do push ups, and then proceeded to lean on their elbows while eating.

Okay, so only the last bit is true.

My aim was to build a table with slender proportions. In part, the elliptical shaping created the illusion of slimless, but the dimensions were not over-generous to begin: in the main, mortise-and-tenon joinery 13mm (1/2") thick and 35mm (1 3/8") deep x 70mm (2 3/4") wide in 100mm (4") x 30mm (1 3/16") posts. Most of the (especially USA-made trestle tables) use sections about double these dimensions! I was clearly asking for trouble.

The wood used is in the base is Jarrah and Rock Maple for the top. Jarrah is hard and stiff, but enough? The Maple top looks slim in the photos, but is 30mm thick with edges chamfered to a 10mm edge. That 10mm edge is a repeated theme (also present at the ends of the elliptical stretchers), and comes up again in a short while.



Now there is a part of the build which I have not mentioned. After assembly, there was a slight amount of movement which may be described as the top twisting. It was slight, far less than the trestle table on the patio which I built 25 years ago (which often seats 10-12), dismissed by my wife, but unacceptible to me in my hyper-sensitive state. What I realised was that the width of the uprights was sufficient to prevent downward movement when pressing on the table top edge between the two uprights, but pressing down at the corners forced a slight rotation, and this was experienced as the top twisting. Consequently, I decided to reinforce the top with bracing.

Now here's the dilemma - I did not want to ruin the slimless of the construction with braces which contrasted with the existing lines. I registered what many have done, such as adding angled sections or a rail between the two uprights. I could have added a second elliptical cross rail. I wanted none of that - the cracing needed to be invisible.

Cross bracing: this is in common use in building construction and is strong as it utilises triangulation in its design. Here is what I did ...

The sections are 10mm thick and 50mm (2") wide. The 10mm thickness was chosen to align with the edge of the upper cross supports.



The ends were dovetailed and glued ...





The cross centre is a lapped joint.

The final construction sits neatly under the table top, and is also screwed at the centre ...



The result is completely invisible from the front of the table. The top of the table is now very rigid and without any appreciable movement at all. Not the slightest!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Cameron Wood]

Wow. The tapered edges & especially the end taper is brilliant.

[Jim Becker]

Brilliant use of that integrated cross-brace to solve the twisting. And yea, the broad taper on the table top really accomplished the "look of lightness" while retaining the strength of the 30mm thickness for the "meat" of the table.