Can I build a ten foot trestle table?

I have just been commissioned by a friend to build a trestle table. The design is Shaker, as per

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that I will adapt so that I don't have to turn anything (no lathe, no experience).

He is putting this table in a rental house/bed and breakfast where he regularly hosts large groups of people. Okay, fine, no problem. The Problem is that the guy wants this table to be ten (10) feet long. Yes, ten. Should I do anything additional to help support the table top? Can I use 4/4 wood for the top, or should I go 5/4 or even 6/4? Also, do I need to beef up the trestles themselves, or can I get away with maybe running an additional stretcher?

I feel pretty proficient with the nuts and bolts of building a table; it's the design of a ten-foot long trestle table that I'm not sure about. The basic look of the aforementioned table is what I'm after, but ten feet? In a week-at-a-time rental?

I poked around Google for a good while, but found nothing in the ten-foot range as far as plans go. Anyhow, if y'all have pearls of wisdom, I'd appreciate it.

-Phil Crow

Reply to
phildcrowNOSPAM
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Ill tell you this. I just got done building a 10' bar out of 6/4 Mahogany. Wheedling(sp?) around 10'x9" wide pieces of wood thru a jointer and planer was a feat in itself. When you buy the wood - spend the extra a get 4 sides surfaced.

(I just happened to have some rough so I used it)

Reply to
Rob V

wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

My vote is for beefing up the stretcher. We have a now 25 year-old 6 ft trestle table from the Shaker Workshops and the stretcher is 5 1/4" wide. The stretcher extends across the legs and strengthens the cantilevered ends. The top is 1 1/4". Looks like they are still making them:

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3 1/2 inch legs in the plans you linked to are pretty hefty. For comparison the Shaker Workshops' design has leg thickness of 1 3/4" although they are wider.

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(see page 20) Shows a real Shaker trestle table that looks like it may be around 10 feet long. Does not look like they beefed up the thickness of the top or the legs. Another example:
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like John Shea has published measured shop drawings, and he calls our table, a Harvard trestle table. Its advantage for you is no turning of the legs:
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Reply to
David Wnsemius

On 2 Jan 2005 19:26:41 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

My gut feeling is that you should run _deeper_ stretchers. Depth gives far greater strength per weight than breadth (adding more). You could also look at steel strapping underneath the stretchers, very strongly glued, and bolted right through under the table top. This will be in tension and make them very stiff. They could be hollow beams. Again my gut says to place the top and bottom faces outside the side walls.

Give thought to a torsion box (door on its side) for the top. You can make this nice and thick, so it sounds good when tapped but will cost a heap less, and be stable in shape more than timber. Weighs less, too. Veneer for looks.

Beef up the trestles accordingly. The table will carry nearly twice as much weight as the example, so they will be under greater strain. Any webbing at corners would be best increased as well.

Or another trestle.

Reply to
Old Nick

Look at it this way, the design shows an 84" table width using a 42" stretcher. Using the same design proportions, you will be going to 120" width, and will be using a 60" stretcher.

IME with trestle tables, I would say you won't have a problem with the extra length, as it is designed, _particularly_ if you use 5/4 wood for the top and middle stretcher.

I wouldn't even change the stretcher stock width, just go with 60" instead of 42". That and the length of the top, sans breadboard ends, will be the only changes you need to the plan.

... and find some help, that will be one heavy top!

Just my tuppence ...

Reply to
Swingman

Wow! You'r lucky, this looks like a great commission.

Checkout

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and I'll bet you could find a turning you could use at a pretty decent price. I've used these guys a few times and other than having to resand some of there stuff they are great and will do custom milling pretty cheap too.

Depending on the material you use for the top, you might consider a little better (more efficient/effective) detail for the breadboard.

BW

Reply to
SonomaProducts.com

Thanks everybody, for the insight. Didn't check the wRECk last night--more on that to follow.

Now, to write a bid... I think I'll see if I can talk him into Time & Materials. Thanks again,

-Phil Crow

Reply to
phildcrowNOSPAM

I've been figgerin' and lookin' and that would mean about 30" of cantilever over the trestle. Is that too much? I have a nasty tendency to overbuild everything, and so that seems like a bit much.

Also, regarding breadboard ends...Do I need them? Do I want them? It seems to me to be another (useless) architectural detail that I could do without.

Thanks.

-Phil Crow

Reply to
phildcrowNOSPAM

Consider kicking the 5/4 stretcher length up to get more into your comfort zone for the overhang. IME, a 5/4 thick stretcher, 4 1/2" wide and 60' long provides a good deal of span support. You may even want to double up on the stretcher and use two, spaced apart, if it makes you feel better.

That's going to be one massive, heavy table, BTW.

I would say that depends a lot upon the type of wood used in your table top, and even the way it is cut. Breadboard ends generally help to keep a table top flat, but are not always necessary. I rarely use them in quarter sawn oak projects for instance ... but that's just me.

I could be wrong, but I am thinking there was a FWW article sometime in the last year of two that had a massive trestle table as a feature article ... I'll see if I can find it and post the issue. Might want to take a stab at googling it down.

In my dim memory, the author had an additional and unique support system that was part of his stretcher assembly. He also used an unusual wood for the table style, IIRC ... if that helps to jog anyone's memory who has all the FWW issues.

I am pretty sure I still have the mag and I'll look for it tonight. It would be a good source for some more ideas if we can track it down for you.

Reply to
Swingman

"Swingman" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

I picked one up off of the 'recycling pile' at a recent woodworking club meeting, with such a feature. #141, April 2000. Pretty certain that design could be sized to work like the OP needs.

Patriarch

Reply to
Patriarch

On 5 Jan 2005 18:06:06 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com calmly ranted:

Since people tend to sit on tables, that's way too much. I'd use a third leg under it for more heft and definitely improved stability.

They'll help keep it flat, but extra cleats could also do that. Just remember to pin the center and use elongated holes for the rest of the holddown points for expansion. Lee Valley has elongated washers.

-- "Menja bé, caga fort!"

Reply to
Larry Jaques

I went through my stack of FWW with no luck. Will look through the _piles_ of other magazines soon as I get a chance.

Reply to
Swingman

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