Thread: Ryan's trestle table

Originally Posted by ryanarcher

-Ryan

G'day ryanarcher,

May I ask where you obtained the Yew wood, and was it English Yew?

I had at one time a dining table and 12 chairs made out of English Yew and it was really beautiful.

Regards from Melbourne
Steve B

Terrific Ryan. I especially love those dovetails!

The background is definitely not Perth, not with all the fir trees (not a jarrah or karri or gum to be seen).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Bloody hell Ryan, If you keep posting the pictures of your work I'm going to end up selling all my tools and taking up golf.

Very nice work. (again ) .

OK Ryan, I love it of course in my own childlike way, but thought I'd ask some really challenging questions anyway

1) Why did you call it a trestle table when there aren't any trestles to be seen? (Don't answer that.... I re-read your post and got it!)

2) Have you thought about movement in the horizontal "feet" members? I'm concerned that if there is slight movement (warp or bow) then the table will play rock-a-byes. I have built two pieces with feet like that: A table in pine 25 years ago, which developed a 6mm (1/4in) bow in one of the members, and the stand for the 2ft Skiff which also gets a bout of the wobbles every so often.

Just wondering what you plan to do??

3) How far in does the dovetail go, 'cause there appears to be precious little top left above it :eek: ?? I know you said they were too close for comfort, tell me they don't go all the way across!! I guess the top is saved by the fact that it is resting on the "haunchy" bit, so won't just crack off??

Just curious, please don't let my questions detract from my admiration for it, and your work!

cheers,

P

Thanks very much for all the kind works everyone! Truth is that you guys are the ones who taught me how to work wood .

Originally Posted by bitingmidge

2) Have you thought about movement in the horizontal "feet" members? I'm concerned that if there is slight movement (warp or bow) then the table will play rock-a-byes. I have built two pieces with feet like that: A table in pine 25 years ago, which developed a 6mm (1/4in) bow in one of the members, and the stand for the 2ft Skiff which also gets a bout of the wobbles every so often.

Just wondering what you plan to do??

3) How far in does the dovetail go, 'cause there appears to be precious little top left above it :eek: ?? I know you said they were too close for comfort, tell me they don't go all the way across!! I guess the top is saved by the fact that it is resting on the "haunchy" bit, so won't just crack off??

They go all the way through Peter . it would have been sweet if the top had just stayed the 2" thickness as planed, but wood has a mind of it's own (especially when worked outside because one's shop is too small). as it is now it's still strong enough because (as you say) it's resting on the haunchy bit. it just looks perioulously thin.

as for the base warping, i cut the timber to rough dimentions and let it season in the shop for two weeks, then jointed and thicknessed it to 2/100ths oversize before the joinery was cut, then handplaned it flat before the finish went on. it should stay stable, but i was worried about the same thing. maybe screw type leveling feet on one side? whaddya think? thanks for asking the tough questions P. that's how i learn!

May I ask where you obtained the Yew wood, and was it English Yew?

I don't know if english yew is a type of yew, but it definately wasn't cut in England. It was cut just down the street, and i got the bole straight from the logger and milled it up myself on the bandsaw. you're right, it's gorgeous wood, and loves to be hand planed .

Looks heavy ... what would it weigh?

Actually not that much Judi (especially after planing away 1/3rd of the top ) I would estimate about 50kg. :confused:



And thanks again for the compliments. you make me blush
-Ryan

Wow ! That's an architectural masterpiece Ryan . A terrific piece and I'm sure it will be a great talking point for your client.

Peter

Fantastic work Ryan - you inspire me to take the extra time and effort to do trad. joints.

Beautiful timber, too!

Jill

Oh my …… :eek:


No let’s try again. Yeah, it is very average.

Nice work mate. You can (once again) be proud. I like the bold treatment of the split.

A beatiful and inspirational piece. I love the braced undercarriage. The design would suit a glass-topped coffee table, so you could see it all from above. The top of this table is spectacular too, with all the figure, dutchmen, etc.

Originally Posted by ryanarcher

The top is attached with sliding dovetails and there is an 1/8th inch gap in the middle to allow for expansion and contraction.

I wonder why you didn't join the top together with no gap, and let the sliding dovetails allow for expansion and contraction at the edges? Was it a design decision, to fit in with the theme of doubled-up members? Wouldn't the dutchmen limit the expansion/contraction movement across that gap? Just curious.

Thanks for the post.

Originally Posted by zenwood

I wonder why you didn't join the top together with no gap, and let the sliding dovetails allow for expansion and contraction at the edges? Was it a design decision, to fit in with the theme of doubled-up members? Wouldn't the dutchmen limit the expansion/contraction movement across that gap? Just curious.

I thought about this too and only time will tell how much the gap opens and closes. I suspect though that it will be imperceptible. George Nakashima used this on his tables, and since he was a much smarter man than I, I just stole the idea. if he thought it was a functional idea, it's good enough for me. looks cool too, and accentuates the joinery.

-Ryan

Originally Posted by ryanarcher

as for the base warping,...snip.... jointed and thicknessed it to 2/100ths oversize ...snip..... it should stay stable, but i was worried about the same thing. maybe screw type leveling feet on one side? whaddya think?

Now there's your problem 2/100ths !!! :eek: :eek: What if there's a spec of dust under the thing??? :eek:

I'd suck it and see..... although your customer may not be happy with that approach! Perhaps you could recess the levelling feet completely, so that they are invisible normally but can screw out when/if required??

I know Radiata isn't the world's most stable timber, and I know that it wasn't straight grained, but it still moves heaps more than 2/100ths!

I look forward to a one year report!

Cheers,

P

Originally Posted by linelefty

Ryan, you still havent answered the question that was asked in your trestle table post. Jsut where do you find the time to make all these fantastic things? Do you not have a job?

Luckily i have a job that only requires me to work 8 shifts a month (24 hour shifts though). I still work 50 hours a week, but some of that is sleeping. I just take my time on my projects and refuse to compromise the details for the sake of speed.

Now there's your problem 2/100ths !!! What if there's a spec of dust under the thing???

2/100ths of an inch Midge, not a mm . Just a bit more than 1/64th of an inch. it works out to be about 2-3 hand plane passes on each side .

Originally Posted by ryanarcher

I just take my time on my projects and refuse to compromise the details for the sake of speed.

We can tell.