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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!

Gallery

Comments

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18,919 Posts
maybe difficult but i gotta say it was worth it,nice design and the top looks awesome.wifes gotta be happy.
 

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4,420 Posts
That is a very clean and elegant looking table, well done!
 

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1,709 Posts
Great job - what was your disappointment with Enduro-Var? Never used it, just curious.
 

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1 Posts
Beautiful project
 

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2,984 Posts
Great looking trestle table-I really like those through tusk tenons + wedges!
 

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134 Posts
Great looking table. Thanks for the details on finishing and working with hickory.
 

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343 Posts
Elegant table, very well done.
 

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5 Posts
I purchased a semi gloss and did not feel like the resulting sheen matched a semi gloss. Additionally I didnt feel I got the depth I would normally get out of my walnut pieces. It is the same walnut board I have finished with Arm R Seal and much prefer the final look of the Arm-R-Seal. I believe the endurvar will perform better throughout the life, with this being a table that will see lots of use.

Great job - what was your disappointment with Enduro-Var? Never used it, just curious.

- ColonelTravis
 

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83 Posts
That is a thing of beauty, I'm amazed. I actually had to look back at the pictures because I would have never guessed the size. great work.
 

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128 Posts
beauty. clean, simple and stunning all in one.
 

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5 Posts
About 15 minutes. My hardwood dealer has a 42" wide planer/drum sander. I glued up the top and removed excess glue then took it to them. A couple passes through that and it is dead flat.

Well done!, just curious how long did it take to sand that tabletop flat?

- WoodwolfAtl
 

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135 Posts
Nicely done. I like the simple but elegant design.
 

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1,185 Posts
I love hickory. Nicely done! Do you think it's stable? The spread on the feet looks kind of small compared to the width of the top… I suppose I'm just a paranoid dad who has kids and worries about tables tipping over and crushing little climbing children…
 

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191 Posts
Very nice.
 
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