Project Information
Finally complete is this Hickory Dining Trestle Table. It is counter height, 6' long and 40" across. This past year we moved into a new home that had a dining room and an eat in kitchen. After much planning, and "encouragement" from the wife I started and finished this table.
The entire piece is made from 8/4 Hickory. The top is 4 pieces pulled from 2 boards and grain matched as close as possible. There are some butterfly keys on the underside to prevent checking, but the wood was so stable I would be surprised if it was necessary. I flattened the top with a 43" wide planer belt sander my local hardwood dealer allowed me to use, saved hours! There was a tiny amount of cup after that the lag screws pulled out.
The trestle base is put together with drawbore mortise and tenons, with walnut dowel. The two identical stretchers come through the trestle legs with through tenons and walnut wedges. This allows for easy disassembly and moving in the future. (Not counting the ungodly heavy top). I encountered some obstacles on the way to completing this project, including making a new foot for one of the trestles, but luckily enough wood was left over to make a nice color match.
The project was finished with 1 coat of amber shellac for color, sanded even, the Enduro-Var. I wasn't thrilled with the endurovar as a product and think I will stick to oil based finished in the future. In the end I am glad I put the coat of shellac on first, as my test pieces indicated would be a good idea.
Hickory was a difficult wood to work with. Even with tools straight off the strop it doesn't like handplanes/chisels. I recommend a card scraper, and lots of sanding. Grain direction is critical with the router when using this dense hardwood. In the end the wood is beautiful and sands super smooth. I also had a ton of difficulty with my mortiser on this project, including a new piece of keystock that was required after some tough going in the hickory.
Now onto the benches!
The entire piece is made from 8/4 Hickory. The top is 4 pieces pulled from 2 boards and grain matched as close as possible. There are some butterfly keys on the underside to prevent checking, but the wood was so stable I would be surprised if it was necessary. I flattened the top with a 43" wide planer belt sander my local hardwood dealer allowed me to use, saved hours! There was a tiny amount of cup after that the lag screws pulled out.
The trestle base is put together with drawbore mortise and tenons, with walnut dowel. The two identical stretchers come through the trestle legs with through tenons and walnut wedges. This allows for easy disassembly and moving in the future. (Not counting the ungodly heavy top). I encountered some obstacles on the way to completing this project, including making a new foot for one of the trestles, but luckily enough wood was left over to make a nice color match.
The project was finished with 1 coat of amber shellac for color, sanded even, the Enduro-Var. I wasn't thrilled with the endurovar as a product and think I will stick to oil based finished in the future. In the end I am glad I put the coat of shellac on first, as my test pieces indicated would be a good idea.
Hickory was a difficult wood to work with. Even with tools straight off the strop it doesn't like handplanes/chisels. I recommend a card scraper, and lots of sanding. Grain direction is critical with the router when using this dense hardwood. In the end the wood is beautiful and sands super smooth. I also had a ton of difficulty with my mortiser on this project, including a new piece of keystock that was required after some tough going in the hickory.
Now onto the benches!