This is a Garry Oak trestle table made from recycled oak.  Garry Oak is a white oak, indigenous to South Vancouver Island, where I live.  Oak beams were used as supports in houses and barns in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  I cleaned up the 3 inch thick wood, and repurposed it for this trestle table.  The black stains in the trestle supports are from old blacksmith cut nails.  The holes were square and the nails had rusted out.  I liked the rustic look (pun intended).  Everything is oak, except the wedges which are black walnut waste stock from another project.  All joints are drawbored mortise and tenon.  I used Sean Clark’s finishing schedule with the exception that I used West System’s 507 epoxy for the base coat – I had the epoxy on hand already, and used it to glue the joints also.  I used multiple coats of Epifanes clear varnish as recommended in Sean’s article.  The most difficult part of the table was the 7 degree through mortise in the trestle beam to accept the wedge.  I wanted a knock down table that could be stored in the winter, so I took some extra effort to make the wedges and mortises. 

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