Thread: BBQ Table

Originally Posted by Damienol

... Intent is to joint these in groups of three and then pocket hole jig join 4 of these together to make a 1080 wide table top

Just wondering why you would use pocket holes when glue will provide a much stronger joint. If you are after help with alignment then biscuits or dowels may be a better option. That shouldn't be necessary for strength though if the edges fit well and you just glue them together. If you don't have clamps that are long enough you can use ratchet straps or even just wedges against a solid surface (could be just some 2x4 with stops screwed on at each end), here is an example of another method (http://lumberjocks.com/daddymunster/blog/21535) I think the american call them poorboy clamps.

Good luck with your design, looks like it could be interesting. Do post some pictures as you go, we all love a good Work In Progress series.

Mat

The top is going to be very heavy.

If this is going to be exposed to rain then it might be worth while leaving gaps between boards where the edges are rounded or chamfer. The gap allows the water to drain. The glue that you are using would also need to be water resistant.

I see in your design that you have three legs which is what I would also do. As I have not made a table this width of length I am only guessing.

The treatment of the legs is very nice indeed ... are you using sliding dovetails with the "wings" or a half lap approach?

Perhaps you could consider breadboard ends as they do add a nice finish and hide the end grain.

I guess you have selected the 90mm width to avoid cupping ... that can be helped too by alternating the grain so that you have smiles and frowns in the end grains.

The trough tenons means a large hole in the legs.... try ripping the leg in three parts ... with the middle part the width of the rail, then cut the middle section to leave the required gap ... and glue them back together ... sure beats carving a mortice ... and the Titebond 3 is waterproof. If you do it the ripping way you can always make a half lap type joint to add strength too when you do the glue ups Or just use a H type approach with an outer styles on each side of the centre rails ... lightens the look also.

What also looks very good is to use dowel plugs for any screw holes ... just line up the grain though ... or use contrasting colour wood.

I do assume you are not using treated pine for the top ...

Good luck

Can you post pics of the finished product please

Regards

Rob

That is definately going to be a heavy lump!

Another alternative way to build the top is to drill holes through the pieces and bolt the lot together using all-thread. The nuts can either be hidden inside counter bored holes that are the plugged, or covered by extra capping pieces running the full length front and back. The advantages here are absolute maximum strength and the ability to dismantle the whole thing again in the future if required. Many people have built their workbench tops using this method.

Originally Posted by Lplates

Just wondering why you would use pocket holes when glue will provide a much stronger joint. If you are after help with alignment then biscuits or dowels may be a better option. That shouldn't be necessary for strength though if the edges fit well and you just glue them together. If you don't have clamps that are long enough you can use ratchet straps or even just wedges against a solid surface (could be just some 2x4 with stops screwed on at each end), here is an example of another method (http://lumberjocks.com/daddymunster/blog/21535) I think the american call them poorboy clamps.

Good luck with your design, looks like it could be interesting. Do post some pictures as you go, we all love a good Work In Progress series.

Mat

Hi Matt, the main reason is weight. Top will weigh around a 100kg which is too heavy to get from garage to house. Also, the wife doesnt want a perfectly flat top

Originally Posted by Christos

The top is going to be very heavy.

If this is going to be exposed to rain then it might be worth while leaving gaps between boards where the edges are rounded or chamfer. The gap allows the water to drain. The glue that you are using would also need to be water resistant.

I see in your design that you have three legs which is what I would also do. As I have not made a table this width of length I am only guessing.

Hi Christos

No chance of the table getting wet so all good on that front.
Had a builder mate over on Friday night and he said 2 legs will be more than enough so will give 2 a go to start

Thanks for your reply Rob

Originally Posted by Tahlee

The treatment of the legs is very nice indeed ... are you using sliding dovetails with the "wings" or a half lap approach?

I assume it is half lapped however I am not familiar with the above. The table is inspired by these Farmhouse table plans. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/506232814341728615/

I am making a couple of modifications however for the most part the legs will be the same - except I will only have 2.

I guess you have selected the 90mm width to avoid cupping ... that can be helped too by alternating the grain so that you have smiles and frowns in the end grains.

Thanks for the tip. I have to laminate three more sections for the table top so will make sure I follow this advice for the remainder

The trough tenons means a large hole in the legs.... try ripping the leg in three parts ... with the middle part the width of the rail, then cut the middle section to leave the required gap ... and glue them back together ... sure beats carving a mortice ... and the Titebond 3 is waterproof. If you do it the ripping way you can always make a half lap type joint to add strength too when you do the glue ups Or just use a H type approach with an outer styles on each side of the centre rails ... lightens the look also.

I like your thinking. As I am making 90% of the table from 90x45's from Masters this is the approach i am taking

What also looks very good is to use dowel plugs for any screw holes ... just line up the grain though ... or use contrasting colour wood.

Will add this tip to the list

I do assume you are not using treated pine for the top ...

Correct. All untreated pine. The table will see very little weather as our deck is over 3 metres wide and fully covered

Hi WWF,

Progress to report with the first set of laminated boards complete. Now just another 3 lots to complete.

In the end it came up alright. A bit too much snipe at both ends so I cut the remaining boards 100mm longer. On to the next lot.

Reminds me of a type I have made plenty of . Trestle tables we know them as.
here is some Ive done
http://www.robertbrown.com.au/tables_trestle/

some suggestions you may like to consider
I would be taking the legs at the ends further in under the top , specially for a table that length .
About 430mm under to the edge or start of the legs, not the center . I do them near that distance even for shorter trestle tables .
300 is good enough to sit at the end though , nothing under 245 is my rule, that's on a different type of table though .
I usually have a stretcher like yours or lower , but also tie the base together with two more at the top of the base , under the table top .
The tops of these I like to let gravity hold them in place with locating pegs.

Your going 755 to 765 with height ? the beauty of a trestle is you can go lower than 755 , because of no rails between the legs from corner to corner. most people who test them agree 730 is nicer than 750 .
Nice to see some pen on paper planning going on as well .

Rob

Hi Rob

Thanks for your time in replying to my post

Originally Posted by auscab

Reminds me of a type I have made plenty of . Trestle tables we know them as.
here is some Ive done
http://www.robertbrown.com.au/tables_trestle/

some suggestions you may like to consider

There are some nice looking tables in there. Well done

I would be taking the legs at the ends further in under the top , specially for a table that length .
About 430mm under to the edge or start of the legs, not the center . I do them near that distance even for shorter trestle tables .
300 is good enough to sit at the end though , nothing under 245 is my rule, that's on a different type of table though .

This is great news. The wife wanted them further in however I was worried that the table may become unstable or perhaps even look odd if I moved the legs further in. She wants to sit 4 people either side on some large comfy chairs so I will redo the maths to work out how far the legs can move in.

I usually have a stretcher like yours or lower , but also tie the base together with two more at the top of the base , under the table top .

I am not quite sure what you mean Rob. Are you suggesting I run another length flush with the underside of the table top connecting the two legs? Surely the table top it self provides the rigidity required?

The tops of these I like to let gravity hold them in place with locating pegs.

Do you have some diagrams that illustrate this?
I was thinking of screw from the underside into the table top or perhaps some dowels.
I have three small and destructive children so I need to make sure everything is extra secure and safe.

Your going 755 to 765 with height ? the beauty of a trestle is you can go lower than 755 , because of no rails between the legs from corner to corner. most people who test them agree 730 is nicer than 750 .

Some good advice here. At the end of the day the table height will be dictated by the chair height. The wife has grand plans for big comfy seats with big fat arms.

For the people sitting on the side of these tables, the base of the table ,( I call them the top and bottom plate , with the column the obvious upright), the bottom plate can work with a chair leg either side and a person sitting over it.

Yeah screw the top , its faster and will tie top's of the base to the top so you can also get away with not doing top stretchers. It will lesson the chance of the top lifting as well . Radiata moves around a bit .

The ones I do break right down into ( with two bases ) 8 pieces , the top , two bases , three stretchers and two wedges. The tenons go through the column and are wedged from the other side ( Tusk tenon) .
It helps with delivery . and as a selling point its always a two person move and not a 4 person if the whole thing is one or two pieces I think.

The chair arms will determine height then , the lower the better though.

Spent the week laminating all the parts needed for table.

Penultimate laminate in the clamps. One lot to go after this and i can start the assemble

image.jpgimage.jpg

10 hour stint today. Made great progress

should be ready to paint tomorrow

Originally Posted by Damienol

10 hour stint today. Made great progress

should be ready to paint tomorrow

Nice legs .... Looking good

Have you considered pads on the bottom of the legs ... only need about 12mm high and 150mm long ... makes the table more steady on uneven floors .

A nice look is to do a rounded bullnose on the feet with the pad about 10mm wider than the cross piece.


Rob