Dining room table - COMPLETE

[Chet]

42 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

Also in a more piratical thought if they are tucked up under the table the might be difficult to get out.

Yes, in my design at this point it would be down on hands and knees to store or retrieve them.  Also there is a upper trestle right under the top and so any storage would show.  

[Chestnut]

44 minutes ago, Chet said:

Yes, in my design at this point it would be down on hands and knees to store or retrieve them.  Also there is a upper trestle right under the top and so any storage would show.  

Ahh yeah that would make things tricky. I'm not sure on mine if i want to do a top support or not. I'm not sure what the risks are with getting a large bow in the top when using 1-1/2" thick material. The style I'm going to shoot for will be similar to Marc's knock down trestle except more petite and delicate looking. I've become really attracted to the delicate styles. I'm just playing with stuff in my mind some day I'll put a pen to paper.

[Chet]

The top trestle can from a design I am more or less copying.  I am not to concerned about sag because with the thickness of the legs and the distance between them, there is only about 38 inches.  But after muscling the top around its not going to hurt.  Also if you are going to do an extension set up to your table those tracks are basically hanging from the underside of the table. 

Yea, Marc's doesn't have an upper trestle but did have a center support from the trestle.  I think in Shane's table he had more then one support because it was longer then Marc's

[Chet]

So it has been a while but a couple of weekends ago I was able to get the base glued up.  I decided to put some pegs in the trestles.  I had some 1/4 inch walnut so that is what I used.

First picture is the glue up and just as I started to drive in the peg I figured I should take a snap.

Close up of the peg placement...

Then I drilled a hole just a touch off center in the batten for attaching the table top.  I went off center because I didn't want to put the screw right in a glue seam.  Using my Domino I made some slots for the other screws to allow for movement.

After this I did all the stuff we look forward to in a project.  A lot of final sanding and final detail clean up and some disassembly of parts.  I spent the better part of a day doing this but until I can Tom Sawyer someone into thinking it is fun, I am stuck doing it.  This is when good shop music comes in handy.  After this I cleaned up the shop and got out the drop cloths to convert the shop into a finish booth.  Then laid all of the parts out.  I put two coats of Watco Medium Walnut Danish Oil with a full day between coats.  I am trying to match the finish on some chairs we purchased and was able to find out that this is the finish they used. 

A couple of pictures of the finish.  This was the bottom side of things.  I let it sit for two days before I flipped them over and did the other side.  So all told it took 6 days to get the Danish oil done.  Probably over cautious.

This last picture is one of the chairs sitting in front of the base.  Its not the best and there is some reflection off the chair because it has t estop coat and the base doesn't but I am real happy with how close things came out compare to the chairs.

I figured I would post this today while I am between spraying top coats.

 

[wdwerker]

Table is coming together nicely. 

I use painters pyramids, coat the backside, wait an hour or so then flip & oil the top. Let that dry overnight etc. Any marks from the pyramids end up on the bottom/ inside.  This approach applies to oil, stain, primer & sprayed finishes. Drying or soaking in time before the flip may vary. I tend to do few edges when coating the back/ inside so it's safer to grab there to flip, then do all the edges with the top. 

[Chet]

10 minutes ago, wdwerker said:

Table is coming together nicely. 

Thanks.

I have pyramids too, and usually use them.  One thing on this project, I think the weight of the top and of the base  may have crushed the pyramids. 

[wdwerker]

Nah, it's damn tough plastic. But heavy loads can cause a dimple in the wood. If the dimple might show I use a block of wood for height with a folded cotton bar towel as padding. 

$18 for 25 towels at Costco. Very handy around the shop. I wash them a few times to get rid of any lint before putting them to use. As they get stained I demote them from finish work & padding to shop rags. 

[pkinneb]

Looking good Chet! 

[Chet]

I completed the finish process on the table two weeks ago and then the table just sat in the shop because of other things asking for my time.  This morning I finally got the old table out and the new one into the house.  It came in, in two pieces.  For one it is heavy, and two logistically it was just the easier way.  Down side to this is the tight space and lighting didn't lend itself to good pictures but here it is.  

Any and all comments and constructive criticism are welcome.

 

One of the challenges of the project was to get the finish close to the same as the chairs we had purchased and over all I think I came real close.  I don't think anybody off the street would know that the table was built separate from the chairs, but I will let you be the judge and let me know what you think.

[..Kev]

That turned out awesome Chet!

[Just Bob]

Wow, very well done!

[wdwerker]

I really like it ! Looks like the extension/ leaves will be quite sturdy , yet closed it's not evident that it pulls out.

Definitly sign & date it !  As solidly as you built it several generations should be able to gather around it.

[Woodenskye]

Great job Chet!  Hope the wife gives you a bonus for this!

[mat60]

Its a fine match with the chairs and looks great Chet. .

[Tom King]

Looks good to me!  I would eat off of it, and I expect many will for centuries to come.

[treeslayer]

Be very proud Chet, you just made an heirloom, I like all of it, you do great work sir!

[Coop]

Very nicely done Chet and the match from the pics, is perfect. How much length do the leafs add to the top?

[wtnhighlander]

Well done, Chet! Those extensions are an especially nice touch!

[Chet]

Thanks everyone for the compliments.

1 hour ago, K Cooper said:

How much length do the leafs add to the top?

So I should have mentioned this some where along the way.  I went a little different route with the leaves.  Traditionally you have something like two leaves at around 12 inches each.  I went with 4 and each is 7 1/2 inches, same as the breadboards.   The table by itself is 66 inches adding between one and four leaves gives me table lengths of 73 1/2 inches, 81 inches, 88.5 inches and 96 inches.

[Coop]

I like your assembly table. If I made room for one, I could see me having to takie out my table saw and drum sander. And my hot water heater is not even in my shop.  Give us a shop tour some day. 

[RichardA]

Ya done good, young man, damn good.

[Chestnut]

Awesome job. Now that I've sen the table extension in action it's even a better idea that i thought before.

When pulled all the way out is the end still stable?

How does the table leg positioning work? It looks like there could be some knee table leg interference if you were seating 6.

[Chet]

Thanks Drew.

5 hours ago, Chestnut said:

When pulled all the way out is the end still stable?

Yes, when I had it in the shop I tested that pretty vigorously and that was with just the top, the base wasn't attached at that time and the base adds quite a bit of mass.

I think as long as we keep the Thanksgiving turkey in the middle of the table we will be fine. 

5 hours ago, Chestnut said:

How does the table leg positioning work? It looks like there could be some knee table leg interference if you were seating 6.

I am 6'2" and if I sit there my knee just misses it.  Not perfect but it works.  I intentionally made the table a little smaller then normal to try and open up the space a little.  Most of the time it is just Kathy and I, in reality six may be a bit crowded with the table as is.  I would probably put in a leaf under those circumstances.  When we were out looking for the chairs I was taking note of the fact that there are very few perfect leg locations on tables that people are seated at.  You are either brushing up against, hitting with your leg/knee or straddling some part of the leg setup, unless the legs are right at the corners and those designs just don't appeal to us.

On another note to anyone interested most tables are somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 inches tall.  In a Fine Woodworking article, the same one were I read about using drawer glides for the extensions, he talks about his thinking that the real ideal height for a table you eat should be closer to 28 inches tall.  I thought I would give this a try knowing that there were ways to raise it if the height turned out to be a disaster.  It has only been a few meals but I am really happy with the decision.

 

[Chestnut]

6 minutes ago, Chet said:

Thanks Drew.

Yes, when I had it in the shop I tested that pretty vigorously and that was with just the top, the base wasn't attached at that time and the base adds quite a bit of mass.

I think as long as we keep the Thanksgiving turkey in the middle of the table we will be fine. 

I am 6'2" and if I sit there my knee just misses it.  Not perfect but it works.  I intentionally made the table a little smaller then normal to try and open up the space a little.  Most of the time it is just Kathy and I, in reality six may be a bit crowded with the table as is.  I would probably put in a leaf under those circumstances.  When we were out looking for the chairs I was taking note of the fact that there are very few perfect leg locations on tables that people are seated at.  You are either brushing up against, hitting with your leg/knee or straddling some part of the leg setup, unless the legs are right at the corners and those designs just don't appeal to us.

On another note to anyone interested most tables are somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 inches tall.  In a Fine Woodworking article, the same one were I read about using drawer glides for the extensions, he talks about his thinking that the real ideal height for a table you eat should be closer to 28 inches tall.  I thought I would give this a try knowing that there were ways t raise it if the height turned out to be a disaster.  It has only been a few meals but I am really happy with the decision.

 

I figured it was just looks. I don't mind straddling from time to time as long as the leg isn't that close to the edge. Your table legs appear to be well inset and wouldn't create a problem there. I just have an improper amount of scar tissue built up on top of my knee cap and bumping it is awfully painful. Thank you ice hockey.

Table height is another one of those tricky ones an inch either way can make it uncomfortable. For me i'd rather the table be shorter than taller. The thing that sucks about a proper dining table height is that folding chairs are always too short. If you get a group of 10 friends together to play cards the 2-3 folding chairs you have to supplement with make you feel like the table is at chin level.

Again good work it appears you thought of everything. Love the table.

[Chet]

44 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

Table height is another one of those tricky ones an inch either way can make it uncomfortable.

Like I said I really like the 28 1/2 inches tall that mine ended up at, but then I had to be paying attention to the extension tracks on the underside.  Doing some mock ups helped in all of this.