Trestle Table

Trestle tables have been around for many many years. They have a great classic look with a stable base which makes them a great choice for a dining table. This Instructable will will go into great detail of each aspect of building the table as well as provide plans and videos so that you can build your own Trestle Table.

Tools:

• Jointer 
• Planer 
• Table Saw 
• Bandsaw 
• Miter Saw 
• Router 
• Track Saw
• Hand Held Power Planer
• Clamps
• Sanders 
• Hollow Chisel Mortiser (Optional)
• Festool Domino (Optional) 
• Oscillating Spindle Sander (Optional) 
• Clamps 
• HVLP (Optional)

Material: 

• 8/4 African Mahogany (Or, lumber of choice) - Top
• 8/4 Poplar (Or, lumber of choice) - Base
• Figure 8 Fasteners (6)
• Dominos (Optional) 
• Potassium Dichromate
• Amber Dewaxed Shellac
• Burnt Umber Glaze
• Rubio Monocaot Pure
• General Finishes Milk Paint (Colors of choice)
• General Finishes Glaze (Colors of Choice)
• General Finishes High Performance

Note: The linked items above are affiliate links that help support me and my sites. Thank you for your support.

The plans and videos that accompany this Instructable were created to assist you in building your own Trestle Table.

Proper milling of lumber is one of the most important parts to just about any woodworking project. I typically use the jigsaw for the cross cuts and the bandsaw for any ripping that needs to be done for safety reasons. A board not sitting completely flat and square in the chop saw can cause kickback and reactionary wood at the table saw can pinch the blade causing kickback as well. This is why I choose to use these tools to get the rough parts from the lumber stock.

Once all of the parts are cut (oversized), I do the initial milling to get them flat and square as well as to a closer size. I start by getting one flat face and one square edge at the jointer. I then plane the opposite face at the planer and square up the final edge at the table saw.

I then sticker/stack the parts and let them sit for a couple of days to allow for the freshly milled lumber to move as it wants. By leaving the material a little oversized, I have the opportunity to correct that wood movement just before using the parts with one more round of milling taking the parts to the final dimension.

Note: The pictures in this step are some of my stock pictures and don't show actual material from this project. The steps are exactly the same for milling the project lumber.

The base is the most important part of any good dining table and it starts with the legs! The legs are comprised of 3 individual pieces that are assembled using Mortise and Tenon joinery. There are a couple templates to make for these parts to maintain consistency from part to part but, I'll talk about those as they're needed.

Note: All base parts for this project use Poplar as the species of choice. Poplar takes paint well and is easy to work with.

This is the most involved section of the legs. It has Mortises, tenons, and curves that all work together to provide the structural support needed as well as the aesthetic look of the leg.

Mill the stock for the center section of the leg to 27" long and 6" wide. It will get final milled after the center mortise is created.

To make the mortise, rip the stock in half lengthwise and glue in 2ea 1" blocks in the middle to create the mortise. The mortise should be 3" long and 1" wide and located 13 1/2" up from the bottom.

Once the glue has cured, cut the center piece to final length of 25" ensuring that the mortise remains at 13 1/2" up from the bottom. Joint and plane to final thickness of 1 1/2" and rip to final width of 6" ensuring that the mortise remains centered on the stock.

Create the 1/2" centered tenons on each end of the leg center. The tenons are 1 1/2" long and 5" wide. Once cut, you should have a 1/2" shoulder all the way around the 1/2" tenon.

Leg Curve Template: Make a template using some thin shop scrap to mark the curves on each side of the center leg part. This will ensure that the curves are consistent on each side as well as each leg.

My template was made by cutting my template material at 22" long and about 3" wide. I measured up 11" and made a mark in from the edge 1/2". I then used a Veritas Drawing Bow to create the arch but, any flexible material can be used to create the arch. I then cut this out at the band saw and sanded for a clean consistent curve.

Edge Treatments: The last thing to do to this part is the edge treatment. I used a 1/8" round over bit in a router to create the edge treatment.

To make the feet, start by final milling the stock to 30" long, 3" wide, and as close to 2" thick as possible. It's important to maintain as much thickness as possible. This extra thickness is what creates the reveal at the connection with the center leg.

Note: When milling this material to final thickness, it's best to mill the upper table supports (Next Instructable Step) at the same time for consistency.

Create a centered 1/2" mortise that is 5" wide by 1 1/2" deep. I created this mortise using a router equipped with dual edge guides and a 1/2" spiral router bit.

Ensure that the tenon from the center section (Previous Instructable Step) fits well into this mortise.

Next, create a template to make the 4 3/16" radius on the upper corners as well as the 1/2" radius for the lower cut out that creates the foot section. Both of these can be adjusted to fit your personal preference. The footpads are approximately 3" long.

With the feet marked, remove the extra material at the bandsaw. Sand and add your preferred edge profile to all edges.

Note: I used the 1/8" round over here so that it didn't interfere with the reveal where the center section and the foot attach.

To make the upper table support, start by final milling the stock to 38" long, 2" wide, and as close to 2" thick as possible. It's important to maintain as much thickness as possible. This extra thickness is what creates the reveal at the connection with the center leg. If you milled this material during the previous step, the feet and upper table supports should be the same thickness.

Create a centered 1/2" mortise that is 5" wide by 1 1/2" deep. I created this mortise using a router equipped with dual edge guides and a 1/2" spiral router bit. This mortise could also be done at the hollow chisel mortiser or drilled out at the drill press and cleaned up with chisels.

Ensure that the tenon from the center section fits well into this mortise.

With the upper table supports marked, remove the extra material at the bandsaw. Sand and add your preferred edge profile to the lower edges only. Do not add edge profiles where the top of the leg will meet the table.

Note: I used the 1/8" round over here so that it didn't interfere with the reveal where the center section and the foot attach.

Glue up the leg sections ensuring that there are no gaps and allow the glue to cure.

Start by milling stock to final thickness and width per the plan. Leave the stock extra long until the tusk mortises are cut in a later step.

Next, create the tenons on each end. The tenon must be 1" thick and centered on the thickness of the end. The amount of material to remove is determined by the final thickness of the stock. It's important that the tenon is 1" thick to fit the mortise in the legs created in the previous steps. Remove this material at the table saw using a dado stack for best results.

Next, remove 1/4" from the top of the tenon and 3/4" from the bottom of the tenon to create the 1" by 3" tenon. Again, it's important that the final width of this tenon is 3" to fit the mortise in the legs created in the previous steps.

Note: It's important to leave 44 1/2" in the middle to create the distance between the legs.

Mark for the curve to be cut in a later step on the bottom of the center rail. Find center and measure up 1". Use any flexible material to create the curve. If you wish to use a flush trim bit and a router to clean up this cut later, a template will need to be made.

Note: Do NOT cut this curve yet. Keeping the stock square will aid in cutting the mortises for the tusks in the next step.

To create the mortises, start with a dry fit of the legs with the center rail in place between them. Clamp the legs to the center rail as if doing the glue up. Ensure there are no gaps and the legs are square to the floor as well as the center rail.

Mark the top and bottom of the center rail tenon on the outside of the legs. This will be the starting point of the mortise wall that will go all the way through the center rail tenon.

Layout the top and bottom mortises referencing the lines just added on the tenons. The top opening of the mortise should be 1 1/4" wide and the bottom opening should be 3/8" wide.

Note: The outboard wall of this through mortise will be angled at around 7 degrees. The exact angle isn't important but, be sure to make note of your angle for making the tusks in a future step.

I used the hollow chisel mortiser to cut this mortise but, there are other ways to cut it. Use the method that works best for you.

• Drill a series of 3/8" holes and clean up with chisels
• Mortising chisels working from each side and meeting in the middle

With the mortises complete, the curve on the center rail can now be cut, sanded, and edge profiles added.

Start by milling this material to final dimensions. These are support rails and really not seen. The plan calls for 2" by 2" square and 44 1/2" long. However, you will more than likely be less than 2" thick after your final milling and this is perfectly acceptable. Additionally, it's important that you measure the center rail from shoulder to shoulder to get an actual measurement to cut the upper rails to. Ensuring these rails are cut to the same length as the center rail, this will ensure that the table base will be square when glued up.

I used the Festool Domino to attach these upper rails to the legs. There are several ways to attach these rails if you don't have this tool.

• Traditional mortise and tenon - Just ensure to leave your stock longer to account for the tenons
• Floating Tenon - Route a small mortise in the legs as well as the upper rails and create tenon stock to fit the mortises.
• Dowels
• Pocket Screws - Locate the screws to the inside and they'll never be seen

Regardless of the mounting method you choose, ensure that these fails are mounted just inside of the curves of the upper table support rails of the legs.

Add the edge profile of choice to the lower edges of the upper rails. Do not add edge treatments to the top portion where they will meet the table.

With all the pieces for the base created, it's time for the glue up.

A final dry fit is a good idea to ensure that no edge profiles were missed. These become difficult to add once the glue up is completed. Additionally, it's much easier to complete all finish sanding at this point.

Note: All parts are sanded to 180 grit.

Glue up and clamp the base and allow to cure.

The tusks can be made to just about any shape and size. I created straight forward standard tusks for this project but, you can create them to your desired look.

The only restrictions for them are that they're 3/8" thick and have the taper to fit the mortise created in a previous step.

Mill stock to 3/8" thick, 7 inches long, and 1 3/4" wide. Cut the taper to match the mortise on one edge and shape to your desired look.

Note: I created these in African Mahogany to match the top. These will be finished the same as the table top and not painted.

As with many other steps in this Instructable, start with finial milling the material for the top in the species of your choice. I used African Mahogany.

Note: Be sure to mill the stock for the breadboard ends at the same time to ensure they're the same thickness as the rest of the top.

Arrange your boards to make for the most aesthetically pleasing look as you can. Ensure that the edges are jointed and glue up the top. It's important to be a little over the final size of 48" wide by 51" long. Once the top is cured, use the track saw to trim the top to that final size.

To create the 1" thick centered tongue, use a router equipped with a straight bit and an edge guide to remove equal amounts from both the top and bottom. The length of the tenon should be 1 1/2" in length.

Trim 1" off of each end of the tongue and clean up the shoulders. This will allow the tongue to be completely enclosed by the breadboard end.

Note: Be sure not to damage the shoulder as this will result in unwanted gaps in the top.

Start by cutting your previously milled stock to its final length of 48" ensuring that the edged that will meet up with the table top is jointed. Measure in 1" from each side and cut a 1" wide by 1 1/2" deep mortise that fits the tongue created in the previous step.

Once the mortise fits nicely on the tenon, locate the 3/8" dowel pin holes. At the drill press, drill the dowel pin holes. Do not drill the tongue yet.

Note: Be sure to not drill all the way through unless you want the dowels to show on both sides of the bread board ends. I drilled down about 1 3/4" in the breadboard.

With the breadboard placed back on the top and clamped in place, use a 3/8" brad point drill point to mark locations on the tongue with a simple tap. The locations will be moved slightly so, only mark the hole locations.

Remove the breadboard end from the top. At each marked location, drill a 3/8" hole that is between 1/32" and 1/16" closer to the shoulder. This will help draw the breadboard end tighter on the top to prevent gaps in the future.

The last step for these dowel pins is to elongate the outer holes in the tongue. All holes except the center hole need to be elongated side to side by approximately 1/4" to allow for wood movement.

Install the breadboard ends by applying glue to the center section only and drive the draw bore dowels in at each location. Adding clamps prior to driving the dowel pins will make the pins a little easier to drive. The center dowel can be securely glued but, the outer dowels should only get a small dab of glue near the top as it's being driven in to keep them in place.

Note: I used Wenge dowels that I hand made in the shop. These were made by driving appropriate sized stock through a dowel plate to create the 3/8" dowels.

To create the curves, I made a template for both the long side of the table as well as the short. To create the template, I measured in 1" from each end and used flexible material to create the gentile curve.

I removed the bulk of the material with a jig saw and then attached the template to the top using blue painter's table and CA glue. With the template in place, I used a router and a flush trim bit to clean up each side of the table.

Note: Double stick tape would work well for attaching the template to the top as well.

Next, I used a 1/4" round over bit in the router to round over all the edges on the top.

Being a fairly thick top, a large chamfer was added to the bottom to lighten the overall look of the table. Because of the subtle curves of the top, standard methods for creating this chamfer won't work.

After marking the lines to identify the desired amount of chamfer, I used a hand held power planer to remove the bulk of the material. From there, hand planes and sanding were used to finish the chamfers.

Figure 8 fasteners were used to attach the top at 3 locations on each leg.

1" mortises were created using a forstner bit and drilled to the depth of the Figure 8's thickness. Pilot holes were drilled and the figure 8 fasteners were installed.

With the base flipped over and centered on the bottom of the top, pilot holes were drilled into the top and the screws installed securing the base to the top.

Note: The top was removed for all of the finish steps.

Because African Mahogany was used for the top of this table, a slightly unusual finish was used. If you used a different species for your table, the Potassium Dichromate part of this finish most likely will not work.

The following steps were used to finish this top.. Appropriate cure times between each step.

• Potassium Dichromate heavily diluted in water (1 tsp potassium dichromate) to 1 qt of water) applied to the surface
• A coat of dewaxed amber shellac sprayed on
• Burnt Umber glaze applied and quickly wiped back
• 2 coats of dewaxed amber shellac sprayed on
• Lightly sanded with 180 grit to rough up the surface
• Rubio Monocoat Pure applied with a whit scotch brite pad

This finish really did a great job of evening out the color differences between the boards of the top without distorting the beautiful grain patterns. Finishing it off with the Rubio Monocoat Pure gave it that really nice feel that you get with a hard wax oil.

As stated early in this Instructable, the poplar base on this table is painted. The finishing choices are designed to give the base a distressed look to enhance the overall look of the table.

Using all General Finishes products, the following steps were used to apply finish to the base.

• Base coat of Basil milk paint
• Coat of Antique White milk paint - sanded back
• Various colors of glaze applied and wiped back
• light sanding to blend all layers
• 3 coats of water based polyurethane for protection. - General Finishes High Performance

Super fun table to build that should last a lifetime! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the Instructable as well as the video and the plans.

I would love to see yours if you decide to build one!