# at last, trestle table done!



## mmwood_1 (Oct 24, 2007)

Way back in March, I asked for any ideas for an interesting trestle table design. Daren posted 2 photos, (see:interesting trestle table design?) one of which I liked, and made some modifications to the design. I got the commission and just delivered the finished table a couple of days ago. So here it is.

It is eastern hard maple with a cherry string inlay around the perimeter of the top. The slightly disproportionate size of the top was dictated by the owners, and it measures 52" wide x 76" long x 1 1/8" thickness. The base arch is 1 1/2" thick x 35" wide; the rest of the pieces are 1 1/4" thickness. The stiles on the ends of the base are tenoned into the arches 1 1/2" deep. Due to the thinner material at the top, I opted for half-lap joints where the stiles meet the top cross braces. 

The arc on the bottom edge of the top stretcher matches the arc on the top edge of the lower stretcher. They both continue their arcs through the mortises. I'd originally envisioned smaller wedges, but when I was fitting them, it became obvious that the longer, beefier wedges really made it work, visually.

The table is for a family and will be put to hard use, so they opted for a satin polyurethane finish. After 4 coats, I gave it its initial 3 day cure, then wet sanded it with 400 grit, then 600 grit, then oil-rubbed it with rottenstone. 

The total time into the project was about 130 hours. My apologies for being such a lousy photographer.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Very nice :thumbsup:


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## joesdad (Nov 1, 2007)

That's a sweeeet looking table there Mark.


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## Juniperlampguy (Nov 11, 2007)

That is a truly a Beautiful piece! :yes::thumbsup:


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## mmwood_1 (Oct 24, 2007)

Thanks. Lousy photos, unfortunately. All I have is this 35mm auto focus camera that belongs to my girlfriend. Years ago, I used to have a good 35mm, with several lenses and a tripod, but it went the way of the divorce.


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## BigHUGE201 (May 14, 2008)

I love the design and the inlays on the top of the table. It really is a fantastic looking table.


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## goats (Jul 9, 2008)

looks nice


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## BobbyfromHouston (Jul 4, 2008)

130 hours! Very beautiful. It is nice to visit with people who appreciate hours and hours of work put into something.


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## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

Nice design. I like it.

Gerry


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