On the morning of Sunday, April 15th, Morton and I exchanged ideas about trestle tables, spurred on by a recent sketch of a table on which he was working. That got me yearning to build a trestle table.
I documented my progress live on Twitter which was useful because each update had a time stamp so followers could see the rate at which I progressed. Here is a list of the previous Sessions:
Session 1 – Flat Boards are Boring;
Session 2 – Playing with Slabs;
Session 3 – From Two Slabs to One Table Top;
Session 4 – Clamping Odd Shapes and Sketching on Wood;
Session 5 – Routing Pockets for Battens;
Session 6 – Making Battens and Installing Countertop Connectors;
Session 7 – Installing Battens and Flattening the Underside;
Session 8 – Make Your Tools Work for You and Flattening the Top;
Session 9 – Mortises the Slow Way (or Why I’m Buying a Domino XL);
Session 10 – Curvy Legs are Always Good;
Session 11 – Straight Lines on Wonky Surfaces;
Session 12 – Fitting the Mother of all Mortise & Tenon Joints;
Session 13 – Making Things Better, Worse, then Better; and
Session 14 – Battens and Complicated Tenons, Again.
(If you are not familiar with the format used on Twitter, every update, or “tweet” below starts with a username, being the author of that tweet. Sometimes, you see two or more usernames in a tweet. The second (and third, etc) usernames are preceded by a @ symbol and are people to whom the author is talking. The other symbol you see is #, which serves as a category. I try to remember to categorize all my tweets pertaining to this project under #flairww.) 
FlairWoodworks My first step is to drill out most of the waste. #flairww -7:29 PM May 11th, 2012
HalfInchShy Sounds like RotoRooter :) a plumbing theme tonight! RT @FlairWoodworks: My first step is to drill out most of the waste. #flairww -7:32 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I’ve drilled out the waste. Now I’ll chop the mortise square. #flairww -7:35 PM May 11th, 2012
BCcraftmaster@FlairWoodworks go for it! (#connect4) -7:37 PM May 11, 2012
FlairWoodworks I removed most of the waste before carefully working up to my knife lines around the perimeter. #flairww -7:43 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I’ve squared up one side of the mortise. I’m going to try a different technique to finish. #flairww -7:49 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks @HalfInchShy I do have a sink to repair later. Seriously. #flairww -7:49 PM May 11, 2012
FlairWoodworks @BCcraftmaster I love that game! #connect4 -7:49 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I installed a flush-trim bit in my router and set it so the bearing rides on the bottom of the workpiece. #flairww -7:55 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks The flush-trim bit will follow the shape of the mortise I carefully cut on the other side. #flairww -7:55 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks Routing the rest guaranteed straight walls and avoided some tricky layout. #flairww -7:59 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I cleaned up the round corners left by the router with chisels. Now for a test fit! #flairww -8:05 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks The fit looks good so far! #flairww -8:07 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks If I can’t tell if the joint is bound, I draw a line in the tenon and watch to see if it disappears. #flairww -8:13 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks To prevent denting the leg, I use a scrap of wood. #flairww -8:16 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks The joint fit tightly with no adjustments required! #flairww -8:21 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks And the assembly doesn’t even rock! #flairww -8:26 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks That tenon is a perfect fit! Sometimes I impress (and surprise) myself. #flairww -8:29 PM May 11th, 2012
DyamiPlotke @FlairWoodworks well done, Chris. -8:33 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks Thanks, Dyami! #flairww RT @DyamiPlotke: @FlairWoodworks well done, Chris. -8:33 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks Another picture of the assembled trestle, inverted on the table top. #flairww -8:39 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks The tenons are still proud at both ends. I may leave them that way. #flairww -8:41 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks This distance is 1/2″ longer on this side but that doesn’t really matter. #flairww -8:43 PM May 11th, 2012
bltww @FlairWoodworks relative dimensioning FTW [for the win]! -8:45 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks That’s right! Adjust to fit! #flairww RT @bltww: @FlairWoodworks relative dimensioning FTW! -8:45 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks Right now, I’m mostly just standing here admiring my progress. #flairww -8:46 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks The slight angle of the legs does mean that they don’t sit centred on the battens. #flairww -8:47 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks But I can fix that. #flairww -8:48 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I used a tape measure and level to mark the bottom of the legs where they will be cut. #flairww -8:52 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks Just playing around with clamps. #flairww -9:01 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks While the clamps pulled all the tenon shoulders tight, they also pulled one leg off the batten. #flairww -9:04 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I don’t think it would be easy to glue up these tenons the traditional way. #flairww -9:06 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I’m thinking of applying a thin glue like Chair Doctor to the assembled joint. I can put a pin through the tenon too. #flairww -9:06 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I stood the trestle assembly up on end so the gravity will help the glue penetrate the joint. #flairww -9:18 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I ensured the shoulder was as tight as possible before applying glue. #flairww -9:19 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks Take a deep breath and let the glue flow! #flairww -9:22 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I applied glue to all the seams and let it penetrate. This joint is tighter than most so not as much glue is penetrating. #flairww -9:29 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks There is glue here. #flairww -9:31 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks And more glue here. #flairww -9:32 PM May 11th, 2012
Tumblewood PERFECT!! Looks great, Chris! RT @FlairWoodworks: It fit tightly with no adjustments! #flairww -9:34 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks For critical glue-ups, I leave them overnight and longer if feasible. I just need to ensure that all the glue doesn’t get absorbed. #flairww -9:35 PM May 11th, 2012
TheWoodBug @FlairWoodworks Wow I thought I liked a challenge ;) -9:35 PM May 11th, 2012 FlairWoodworks Thanks, Vic! I can’t wait to start sculpting the base! (I think that’s what I’ll do. ) RT @Tumblewood: PERFECT!! Looks great, Chris! -9:36 PM May 11th, 2012
Tumblewood How will it sit? Where is the 3rd point? RT @FlairWoodworks: And it doesn’t even rock! #flairww -9:36 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks I still need to add the wide feet. RT @Tumblewood: How will it sit? Where is the 3rd point? #flairww -9:37 PM May 11th, 2012
FlairWoodworks Watching this come together is so much fun! #flairww RT @TheWoodBug: @FlairWoodworks Wow – I thought I liked a challenge ;) -9:37 PM May 11th, 2012
Tumblewood @FlairWoodworks It’s going to be a magnificent table! RT @FlairWoodworks: I still need to add the wide feet. -9:39 PM May 11, 2012
TheWoodBug @FlairWoodworks Yes you seem very excited! and rightly so. like a kid in a candy store or is it bull in china shop( batten oops) -9:40 PM May 11, 2012
TheWoodBug @FlairWoodworks Looking great! can not wait to see it once you start carving!!! -9:41 PM May 11, 2012
Do you like what you see? Leave a comment!
In the next session, I’ll cut the mortise and tenon joinery for the feet.
Discover more from Sculptural Woodwork by Chris Wong
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Nice trick with the Chair Doctor. I had no idea that glue was just a very low viscosity glue that can penetrate. Always assumed it was a form of cyanoacrylate. Coming along nicely.
I meant to add that I like that trick with the router for a deep hole. Used it once before thinking “maybe this will work” and loved the result, but it wasn’t for something this complex to re-layout!
Paul-Marcel,
The flush-trim bit worked great – it avoided layout and guaranteed that the mortise walls were square to the face.
Chris