I don’t know how to go about this, but I’d like to explore the options. How do you go about submitting plans for a potential publication? I’m a fairly novice woodworker (about 3 years now), but maybe the idea can inspire some other novices out there. The point is that you don’t have to be a seasoned professional to build some nice pieces and that we all learn as we undertake new projects and challenges to build our skill set. My project was undertaken without any plans; just my thoughts about the general dimensions and overall appearance. I did do some internet searching on the topic of trestle tables in order to get a head start on the “guiding” principles. Maybe some of you folks and/or the editors can offer some guidance. My plans are not SketchUp, just hand drawn on the back of some sheets of freezer paper and then executed with mid-course corrections as necessary. Many thanks to all for your input and suggestions.
Replies
j,
looks good. solid construction. did you intend it to be knock-down? its the carriage bolts, why i ask. i cannot tell from the pictures how the stretchers are secured through the legs. wedges are common here. also did you allow for movement in that massive top so that the bb ends won't make trouble? thank you for posting.
eef
jscharver,very nice table,I lkie the finish color and grain.With construction like that it should last a long time,and brimg much joy. As you said,you don't need to be a pro to get good results. garyowen
Good looking solid table - color shows the grain well.
Don't know about publication of plans but you sure have an opportunity for one of a kind custom made tables.
I saw this site on the news the other nite for selling handmade one of a kind items - http://www.etsy.com Worth checking out -
SA
J,
You ain't asked for any
J,
You ain't asked for any design-critique so I won't give any, but......
Eef asks some pertinent questions; and I have a few more that relate to the construction and function of the table. In other words, is it ready to be offered as a fully-fledged design for publication?
Maybe it is. But a prior discussion of those design questions might reveal some aspects to be incorporated in a refined design..........? Are you interested in such a discussion? It's OK if you're not, by the way.
Lataxe
Yes, I welcome critique, comments, and suggestions. A discussion of the design questions will be helpful since this is my first undertaking of this size so I've learned/experimented with quite a few things in the process.
Not intended to be a knockdown, but as is it could be. The stretchers are not glued and the locking pins are simply 1/2" oak dowels tapped in horizontally. Vertically tapered locking pins are beyond my current expertise.
Bolts. Maybe ugly stainless steel, but functional and sturdy. The table overhang is 10.5" at each end so they're hardly noticeable in the 3" wide apron. You've got to get on your hands and knees to see them from the outside ends from a distance. The long ends are within and under the apron (so why hacksaw them off?).
The table top is 72"x42"x1.5". The 3"w breadboard ends are secured with 5 haunched tenons (2.5"w x 1.5"l x 0.5"t), but the mortises are oversized by 3/8" on each end to allow for contraction/expansion (that sizing was a pure guess on my part).
Finished plans ready for publication? Maybe and maybe not. It seems that we see plans and adapt the dimensions/joinery/aesthetics to meet our individual style and expertise level. That's part of the fun and challenge.
Again, thanks to all of you folks for your feedback. Let's have a good discussion about it. I continue to learn and we all know that there is more than one way to skin a cat.
Yes, I welcome critique, comments, and suggestions. A discussion of the design questions will be helpful since this is my first undertaking of this size so I've learned/experimented with quite a few things in the process.
Not intended to be a knockdown, but as is it could be. The stretchers are not glued and the locking pins are simply 1/2" oak dowels tapped in horizontally. Vertically tapered locking pins are beyond my current expertise.
Bolts. Maybe ugly stainless steel, but functional and sturdy. The table overhang is 10.5" at each end so they're hardly noticeable in the 3" wide apron. You've got to get on your hands and knees to see them from the outside ends from a distance. The long ends are within and under the apron (so why hacksaw them off?).
The table top is 72"x42"x1.5". The 3"w breadboard ends are secured with 5 haunched tenons (2.5"w x 1.5"l x 0.5"t), but the mortises are oversized by 3/8" on each end to allow for contraction/expansion (that sizing was a pure guess on my part).
Finished plans ready for publication? Maybe and maybe not. It seems that we see plans and adapt the dimensions/joinery/aesthetics to meet our individual style and expertise level. That's part of the fun and challenge.
Again, thanks to all of you folks for your feedback. Let's have a good discussion about it. I continue to learn and we all know that there is more than one way to skin a cat.
J,
Here are some comments and questions, hopefully constructive.
First, an observation about the functionality.
What is the prime purpose of the table? Does it have to serve as a desk, dining table or other surface under which folk will insert their legs in a sitting position? If so you may have made the tabletop a little short, at 10.5" end-overhangs, to allow knee-clearance of the trestles at the ends....?
Did you check also that the long central stretchers are inboard the table top sufficient to prevent shin-bang on their edges when someone is sat at the table?
I can tell you from bitter experience that it is easy to underestimate the necessary clearances. The ladywife has a 33" inside leg and her father's was 35"!
Secondly, some construction alternatives:
Are not the long top aprons redundant? It is usual to have either no, or one long central, stretcher at the top end of the trestles. This makes for quite a strudy construction with significantly less timber. You wouldn't need the central cross brace either.
Another alternative is to replace the two long top aprons with one central-top and another central-bottom stretcher, making four stretchers in all and therefore very strong even without the tabletop attached. The top-central stretcher provides tabletop anti-sag support but also a more rigid trestle as the legs are joined top and bottom as well as at both sides. It also distributes the weight better (less top heavy) and resists racking forces better if the table is dragged across a floor. Finally, a bottom central stretcher offers a foot rest.
Here is one I made just to demonstrate for you. :-)
View Image
View Image
View Image
The bolts are a bit of overengineering, really, as are the double short aprons. If you took the more traditional route of single short aprons M&T'd to the tops of the legs, you would use half the timber and no bolts. An alternative, which is easier to make with power tools, is to make half lap tenons on the legtops and let them into matching housings on the short apron insides. They can be glued and pinned with a dowel or two (or even small bolts or screws) as a belt and braces to the glue.
I presume you only glued the central few inches of the breadboards to the tabletop, so the top can expand and contract differentially to the aprons? But did you also pin the central (glued) top-tenon to the apron through the top with a dowel or two? ALso, did you make the apron inside edges (those abutting the top) slightly concave then clamp them up tight whilst the glue dried? This stops any slight gap opening atween the aprons and the top at the extemities should the timber warp a little as it goes through humidity changes (a bit like spring-jointing the planks glued up to make a tabletop).
Lataxe
Ataxe, that's a nice looking
Ataxe, that's a nice looking table. I also enjoyed the snow-capped mountain scenery as well.
First, I'd like to thank all of you respondents for your helpful critique, comments, and suggestions.
My design criteria were guided by the attached Taunton publications. Mr. Durfee suggested the twin trestle design for tabletops wider than about 34-36" (see sidebar on design options) and James Dunlap incorporated an apron assembly in his design. I've got kind of a hybrid.
That being said the 42" width is intended to accommodate a large turkey or centerpiece with side dishes while still leaving room for the plates, glasses, etc.
The inset from the b-board ends is 12" to the foot/legs (see Dunlap design), but 10.5" to the top of the apron (1.5" t stock). At the sides of the table the horizontal inset from the tabletop edge to the stretchers is about 14". However, I may have the bottoms of the stretchers on the low side at 15" from the floor (Durfee recommends about 2/3 x 30"= 20"). That could be a shin knocker for a taller person who's inclined to stretch their legs.
Overbuilding the apron/base subassembly is true, but that's just me. Here in NC we could serve up a 200# barbecued pig without the table collapsing. Yes, this is a knock-down design as it evolved and ended up because the stretchers are not glued into the mortises; remove the knock-out dowel pins and remove the bolts from the apron.
Apron assembly. The double short apron pieces at each end are probably redundant, but I like the added strength and stability that they impart to the overall structure (the bolts are 3/8"x5" SS going through a total thickness of 4.5"). No wobble or racking.
Apron to tabletop fastening is oak cabinetmaker buttons made from some leftover T&G oak flooring. No glue whatsoever. Yes, if your a bit curious you'll see a few gaps around the top and apron contact points.
Breadboards. Center tenon glued and pinned with a dowel from the underside (not through the top itself). The remaining 4 tenons are free-floating, pinned with a dowel in an elongated slot cut in the tenon.
Thanks again and your thoughts, opinions, and critique are welcomed.
My opinion only..
Not a wood that I usually use, but I DO like it, EXCEPT for the bolts!
I, for one, would have at least hidden the bold heads and purchased the correct length of the bolts used. Or at least hack-saw them off! If you wanted a tear-down bench, a cover strip that is removabe to hide the bold heads may be in order.
Just my opinion. I think Lataxe said in some other words?
Join the discussion.
I used SPF because the budget required it and this is my first undertaking of this type so a little kindling wood wouldn't be a second mortgage.
Okay, lets eliminate the bolts and start over. How would you have done the apron/leg assembly? The apron is fastened to the table top with cabinetmaker buttons (can barely see them in the pics).
Thanks for your feedback.
Listen - the bolts are fine - it's how you designed it.
Heavy duty construction. Nothing wrong with that.
So many other forms of joinery - i.e. mortise + tenon - screws - biscuits - pocket screws - dowels - lap joint - etc.
You could also have counter sunk the bolt heads and hidden them with a wood button -
Keep up the good work - keep learning !
SA
j,
early on, and for quite sometime, i was completely enamored, and solely used, butt joints. then along came mr. frid's joinery book. some claim that the pictures are unclear in that book. now days all is well lit and in living color. that book took me far and will take me still yet further and to answer your question regarding apron to leg joinery...
in 1994 a design for a desk came to me and i built it. when i was 90% finished with the thing the technique of dovetailing the
apron into the leg came into my ken. but only after i had already attached the legs to the inside corner of the apron by way of, you guessed it--butt joints. i get to stare at that thing regularly and bemoan and mutter. i intend to correct this as soon as i can wrestle the beast to my shop, maybe this summer. the point is, we go looking for better ways to do things and they have a way of finding us. it is a process i enjoy cooperating with.
eef
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