How To Make A Trestle Table Base – A client comes to me with a simple but complex problem… if that’s possible. “I want a dining table for 12 people.” wow! This is a big table!
You can see that this customer has a lot of family and friends that they keep in touch with. In their current arrangement, they use two dining tables, but then create two different groups and move one group away from the other. They wanted to have a table big enough for everyone to sit.
How To Make A Trestle Table Base
Following my design guidelines and working with the client, we decided that a pedestal style table would work best. This will allow the maximum number of people at the table without having to worry about legs or table legs getting in the way if it is placed in a corner of the table.
Mittback Trestle, Birch, 227/8×271/2/365/8
I should mention that this is of course a large room with two dining tables in the past, so there is plenty of space.
After much collaboration and planning, we settled on a table that was 11 feet long and 5 feet wide. This is a big table! At 11 feet long, it will easily seat 4 on each side and has the ability to add another chair if needed. The 5-foot width allows for two seats at either end. This configuration comfortably accommodates 12 people and can be expanded to 14 if needed.
Since this table was going to be very large, I had to come up with a design that would allow me to disassemble the base of the table if needed. My design, as you will see below, consists of six main components; two main leg structures at each end, a main support stretcher between the legs, two support stretchers below the top, and then a wedge connecting the main support stretcher to the main base leg.
Trestle Style Dining Table
Since this table is going to be very large, my main concern was that the base would be strong enough to support the top. So far I have not said that this table will be made of solid red oak; hard thing!
The top will be 1 inch thick and a little over 11 x 5 feet, so it will be very heavy. The base should not only be strong enough to support it, but also visually large enough so that it does not look out of proportion when you place it on top.
But first I had to dig through this rough pile of wood to find the right boards.
T 4078xb Sonoma Table Base
The first step for the base is to glue two pieces of 8/4 (2″ thick) lumber together to get the thickness you want. The two base legs will be 4″ square. Too big!
After the legs are dry, it’s time to set up the carpentry. This leg will carry a lot of weight, so I want a very strong, durable joint. I decided to use a double punch and punch joint with support pins at the joints. Below is the layout of the buttons I cut first.
My poles will be 1.75″ long with an extra ½” taper on one end. I used a double nail because I didn’t want to remove too much material from the edges of the groove, which would weaken the joint. I think it will make more and more sense. Here I cut the double button by hand and used hand tools to remove material in the middle…it made a big mess!
Trestle Table Done
Once the nails are cut, I can focus on the accompanying grooves. I like to use the posts themselves as a guide for staple placement. I numbered each punch and die combination to make sure they always fit and match as well as possible. Once the sander is in place, it’s just a matter of removing the material, my hollow chisel does this very well!
After doing all of this, I used a few hand tools to make sure each joint fit well. I then cut a joint halfway through the center of each cross member to create an “X”, then I could dry assemble the entire leg joint.
As you can see in the pictures, the rods are still large, they will go into the profile before the final assembly and gluing. Better to do this before gluing everything together! The bottom of the legs will have a rounded bull nose type, and the top bars will have a shallower indentation. This shallow rounding moves the legs further away from the kneeling person, as you will see later.
French Farmhouse Solid Wood Trestle Dining Table 84
With the leg dry cut and the overalls rounded, it’s time to work on the main stretcher that will connect the two main leg structures. This stretcher will provide lateral support to the table so that the table mat does not twist or tip over. To do this, I had to cut a spike at each end of the stretcher and then cut a matching slot in the leg where they went through.
Since this base will be a hinged base, the punch and punch joints will not be glued together, but will be held in place by removable pins. To do this I had to drill a slot in the outside of the main stretcher pin. Then I made a pin that could be screwed into the punch but removable if needed to secure the base.
Below is another picture of the entire dry table mat assembled with the main stretcher. You can also see the details of the pins in the punch and punch joints. The pins go through the center of the shaft in the joint, giving the joint more strength and a nice little design detail.
Crescent Trestle Table Legs
One of the things about woodworking is that even if you have a well thought out plan, you have to adapt to the changes that can happen. One thing I was struggling with up to this point in the build was, “How do I attach this top to the base? I thought about using a large screw drilled from the main leg of the trestle, but never got around to it. So I decided to make a pair of secondary stretchers and close the top. I couldn’t glue the stretcher to the base because I wanted the bottom of the table to come off. So I used a sliding dovetail joint to connect the two secondary stretchers to the base.
It seemed like an obvious solution when I did it, but it took a lot of thinking to get there. In the end, it actually serves two useful purposes. First I found a way to install the top. I just drilled a big hole in this secondary tensioner and screwed it in from the top to the bottom. Second, this pigeon stretcher adds more strength and rigidity to the base of the table. This prevents the top from rolling back and forth and locks the base very tightly.
In part 2 of this series, we’ll talk about building really big tops and some of the challenges of building really big tops. Then we will see the final result of this table and then the final result!
Exploring The Versatile Trestle Table
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Welcome to my blog. My name is Derick VanVleet and I am the owner/builder of VanVleet Woodworking llc. I hope you find this blog useful and informative. Feel free to leave a comment below. Ok thank you!
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Dining table, trestle table, red oak, custom table, home decor, custom furniture, handmade, handmade furniture, large dining table, wood dining table Trestle table design is a great way to comfortably bring many people to the dining table. One of the reasons I like the design of a pedestal table is that it doesn’t restrict people from getting in and out of the table like a traditional corner table. This particular pedestal table design differs from my other, larger designs, but the principle remains the same; no more sitting.
Since this pedestal table is a client commission, I work with the client on design specifications to ensure we match the pattern and color of the house as well as their own style.
This pedestal table will not fit
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