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Trestle Table....With A Twist - Printable Version

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Trestle Table....With A Twist - BaileyNo5 - 05-21-2015

No, you silly people, it's not warped like most of my projects (or my thought process). The lines are straight.....uh, well, mostly. It's different - by about two thirds or so. I built it pint-sized for my growing brood of grandchildren. It's based on an article in Popular Woodworking by Chris Schwarz.

By the way, my apologies for being AWOL for a bit; I haven't posted or even read the forum for a while. It's been nice to take this little break, build something, and share it here.

Life has been happening. Three grandchildren in three months makes life interesting, to say the least (plus a 2+ year old). All healthy, although one little (and I mean little) bugger was in baby intensive care for a bit.

The eldest is just over two, and is getting really active. One of his favorite activities is banging all his toys on our coffee table. Sooooo, it was time to make one for the kiddos, that would double as a kid's table at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, etc. And since it's made from Douglas Fir construction lumber, they can bang to their heart's content. Isn't it great when you can get your wood fix and make the family happy?

As mentioned, I started with construction lumber that has been drying in my garage for 7 or 8 months. Which in our climate means it's as dry as a popcorn fart. Definitely ready.




Mostly 2x10s with a pith, so I went about carving them up to eliminate the pith and as many knots as I could. The result was mostly kinda quarter sawn, with all but the smallest knots gone. Nice and easy to work.

Since time has been at a premium, I did use some power tools for the milling. But also a bunch of hand tools, so it belongs on this forum. I tried to use my power jointer to save some time, but I made an awful mess of that. How can I start with a perfectly good rectangle and end up with a rhombohedron????? The results were ghastly, but really easy to fix with a good ol' trusty Stanley #6. The power jointer has been put away, and I'm tempted to put it on the For Sale list.




Breaking down the rough stock with my little panel saw. This and the shooting board gives more square corners (most square? square-er? square-est? Bibliophile, save me!) than my power tools.




I did use a track saw to cut one mortise, then cleaned it up with a chisel. Using this method, the piece (the feet in this case) being mortised consists of two halves that you glue together after the mortise is cut. On the other mortise I used the drill press/chisel approach, which works fine for me.




Here's the mortise in the first foot.




To cut to the chase, here are the feet, legs, and stretcher-to-be. Still some chisel work to do on those leg mortises.




And the dry-assembled base.




Of course it has a top. These two halves have been flattened, but still look a little rough with dried glue on them. I'll run them through the planer, glue 'em up, and finish with a smoother. The idea is to use buttons and screws to attach it.




Re: Trestle Table....With A Twist - Ricky - 05-22-2015

Congrats on the new grandchildren! Looking forward to seeing the finished table.


Re: Trestle Table....With A Twist - Souperchicken - 05-22-2015

Very nice, I've always thought that was a great, simple design and want to make one someday.


Re: Trestle Table....With A Twist - Kansas City Fireslayer - 05-22-2015

Nice work. Projects like these are the most enjoyable. No expensive wood and surely big little smiles to greet you and the final piece.


Re: Trestle Table....With A Twist - BaileyNo5 - 07-13-2015

After some summer traveling, I'm back working on the trestle table. The base is glued up and the cross braces have been cut to fit. They are just dry-fitted in the pic below. Total height of the table will be just over 21".




The top is glued up and flattened. It's finished size will be about 20 1/2" W x 50" L and an inch thick. I have a few little spots of tearout to deal with near those knots, but overall it's in good shape. Ends need to be trimmed as well.




I think I'll use oak buttons to attach the top and a danish oil finish. I was thinking about painting the base, but it should look fine with oil on it.


Re: Trestle Table....With A Twist - Arlin Eastman - 07-14-2015

Congrats on the Grandchildren and I will be following this build.

Also nice to have you posting again.

Arlin


Re: Trestle Table....With A Twist - Wilbur Pan - 07-14-2015

That is looking really good. And if that’s the quality of the construction lumber you have access to, I’d love to see what the real lumber looks like.


Re: Trestle Table....With A Twist - Bibliophile 13 - 07-14-2015

BaileyNo5 said:



Breaking down the rough stock with my little panel saw. This and the shooting board gives more square corners (most square? square-er? square-est? Bibliophile, save me!) than my power tools.






It's either square or it's not.


Re: Trestle Table....With A Twist - hbmcc - 07-14-2015

Sweet! I love seeing humble material look like a million bucks. Congrats. and sweeter thoughts for the babies.


Re: Trestle Table....With A Twist - BaileyNo5 - 07-15-2015

Bibliophile 13 said:


[blockquote]BaileyNo5 said:



Breaking down the rough stock with my little panel saw. This and the shooting board gives more square corners (most square? square-er? square-est? Bibliophile, save me!) than my power tools.






It's either square or it's not.


[/blockquote]

See? I knew you would have the answer!