Trestle Table – Project Info

Trestle Table – Project Info

This trestle dining table is a design that Paul first came up with when making a dining table as a wedding present for one of his sons. It features houndstooth dovetails on the corners of the apron and three vertical columns at each end, as well as a waney edge on the table top. Paul makes a table that can seat up to 8 people, but this design can be adjusted to whatever you may want to make, such as a coffee table or side table.

Trestle Table – Episode 2

Trestle Table – Episode 2

After using the dovetails to mark out the pin recesses, Paul saw and chisels out the waste, taking particular care with the shorter central recess and the fitting of the joint. After having cut all four dovetailed corners, he assembles the apron and lays out the mortice and tenon for the cross bearer.

Trestle Table – Episode 4

Trestle Table – Episode 4

Paul rounds the protruding tenons on the cross braces using a few different techniques, firstly with the chisel, rasp and file and then using the block plane. The next step in the project is the laying out and cutting of the mortices in the feet and apron that will receive the tenons on the end of the columns as shown in the next episode.

Trestle Table – Episode 5

Trestle Table – Episode 5

We’re now ready to work on the tenons on the end of the columns. First comes the layout where Paul make makes sure to get all the shoulders aligned then runs the gauge lines. He then shows a couple of methods for cutting the shoulders as well as splitting and sawing the faces of the tenon before fitting the tenon to the mortice using the router to keep the faces parallel.

Trestle Table – Episode 7

Trestle Table – Episode 7

To complete the end frames, Paul cuts the mortices in the central column which will receive the stretcher tenon. Then we are ready to glue up the end frame. Paul uses optional drawbore pins in his. With the end frames completed, he assembles the base frame to mark the shoulders accurately on the stretcher and cuts the turnbutton mortices.