Shaker Trestle Table
&
Bench Seat
12/19/08
This is a commission piece. The table is sized to fit a
particular spot and
the bench seat is designed to mimic the chairs bought by the customer.
The bench seat back has been lowered to hide a knee wall it will sit in front
of.
The table top size is 30" x 72" x 1".
The project is made of soft maple and stained black.
Below are construction pictures.
Here is a picture of the basic design of the table we started
from.
Here is a picture of one of the chairs I will be designing the
bench from.
Here is the table top. I glued up two 3 board sets.
I will run each through the drum sander and then glue the two groups together.
The whole top won't fit in my sander, but this way I will only have one glue
joint to hand sand.
11/13/08
Here are the rough cut outs for the front and back bench seat
legs.
Here is the blanks that will make up the top and bottom of the trestle legs.
Here is the glue up for the bench seat.
11/14/08
Here are the legs spread out and clamped together. I routed each half of mortise
in each foot half.
Then I glued up the pairs.
I made a small temporary tenon to use as a spacer to make sure the feet pairs
glued up square.
The last thing I did before calling it a night was machine the vertical leg pieces and start to cut the tenons on the ends.
11/15/08
Tonight I cut out the shape on the legs and cut the tenons on the leg
uprights.
11/16/08
I did a quick mock up to check the table height and stretcher
position.
The stretcher will be much larger than the scrap piece I used.
I measured out and cut the stretcher to length and made the
cheek cut for the tenons.
Here are the vertical leg pieces with the through mortise cut out to receive the stretcher.
The holes will be cleaned with a sharp chisel.
11/17/08
Well here is the table top sanded. I need to glue the 2 halves together next.
11/18/08
Here is the first dry fit up of the table. Even though it is upside
down it is still fun to see for the first time.
The top has been glued together now.
I am trying to decide which angle I like best for the wedge tenon.
11/20/08
Here is the wedge for the stretcher that goes between the 2
legs.
I went with the 10 degrees.
The table legs are sanded and glued up.
I used the template I made to route the chair legs. It worked very well.
11/22/08
Well more sanding and I also got the table support pieces made
and mounted.
I will use a dowel with a knob on it to put in the holes to hold the table
top on.
Well here it is the first time put together and the last time you will see it this color.
Black is the color of choice and black it is.
These pictures are while the stain is still wet.
I have started on the bench seat.
Here is a dry fit (no glue yet) of half the bench seat.
Here are the three leg sets glued up.
I sanded them to 180 grit first (much easier to sand unassemblied)
12/14/08
I made good progress today. I can call it a seat as I have sat
on it.
I glued up one half first let it dry an hour and then glued the other half to
it.
I then mounted the corner blocks and added the small vertical pieces.
The top of the seat back and the seat it self are not mounted yet,
they are just there to see how it is looking so far.
12/16/08
It took a little thought to figure out the angles and design
of the "X" design.
The middle part is a very nice tight fitting half lap.
Next up is the final shaping and sanding of the seat bottom then off to
finishing.
