Spring Harvest Fine Woodworking
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Spring Harvest Fine Woodworking
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Country Trestle Table
This trestle table is inspired by both the Shaker and Country styles. The proportions are inspired by Shaker trestle tables and the scrollwork and turnings are inspired by the Country style. The Shaker millennial laws of 1845 stated that " Beadings, moldings and cornices, which are merely made for fancy, may not be made by believers." Well my admiration for Shaker furniture aside, I was in the mood for some fanciness when I designed this table. This table features striking quarter sawn red oak for the top and pinned bridle joints attaching the turned leg posts to the main beam and to the feet. The base of this table is poplar but the bases for production models will be hard maple. One of the best features of the trestle table is the lack of skirt boards that most four legged dining tables have. If you have ever pinched your fingers when pulling an arm chair up to a dining table you will not soon forget this painful experience. Note the sliding dovetail breadboards shown in the third picture. These are not seen very often because of the accuracy needed when cutting them. In Illustrated guide to Shaker Furniture, Robert F. W. Meader writes, "Breadboard ends seldom were flush with the sides of the top -- indeed, seldom should have been. Wood, even long and thoroughly seasoned wood, always moves, expanding in damp weather and contracting in dry... These ends should never be trimmed flush with the sides of the table, however great the temptation on the part of the tidy-minded." The five boards that comprise the top were joined together using a hand plane. The top was then flattened with a jointer plane, smoothing plane and cabinet scraper. Much of the joinery was cut using hand tools. The table seats six comfortably. Price: $4000 |
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GHuron@springharvestfww.com with
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