Wow, I have to be feeling better. The table I needed for work started out just a few short weeks ago as a 2 x 12, and now it’s home in my office, ready for me to conduct meetings, spread out and do some serious work.

This project was definitely a thought exercise for me. Could I build a project out of a simple piece of southern yellow pine construction lumber that I would like to use in my office, and had I accumulated the right tools and skills to build a classic trestle table?

From the first moments of picking out the board at the Lowe’s near my house, I knew I was going to be in for a treat. The 16 foot long 2 x 12 I chose was loaded with quarter sawn, nearly blemish free pieces that would easily become a top. While southern yellow pine is tough stuff, it still cuts great and planes very well as well.

This project gave me some great freedom to design a classic looking piece using some tools – such as my scrub planes and Mortise Pal – that I usually never break out. I think the results look pretty darned decent.

I also was able to convince myself that I could cut the angled through mortise that could hold the wedge to secure the base for this piece. Sure, I had my doubts, but a little patience and some sharp chisels go a long way toward accomplishing goals that seem out of your grasp.

For the finish on the base, I went with some pitch black Old Fashioned Milk Paint to give it a classic look. I topped the paint with a coat of paste wax to prevent too much wear, but I figured now if the paint does start to wear off in strategic locations, it will only make the piece look that much more sweet.

The top took a coat of shellac, followed by a sanding with some 320 grit sandpaper. After that, I hit it with four coats of my wipe on finish blend. After that, I wiped on two coats of thinned poly just to give the table a little bit more protection from spills.

Now, it’s at home in my office, giving me a place to sit and contemplate my next project.

I am really starting to get old. At last weekend’s Woodworking in America, I told someone that I was Apollo era technology, and I had to stop to explain what I meant. Oy.

And, at work, I am the oldest of the public information officers. By a pretty good margin. One of my colleagues was born after I graduated college… grumble grumble grumble…

But, every so often I ‘get’ a modern reference. For instance, I recently heard about this person named Meghan Trainor who wrote a song about my favorite musical instrument, the bass. What that has to do with the way she is dressed (and, she never picks up a bass guitar, which I also find puzzling), I’m not quite sure, but hey, I’ll go with it.

Just as with the music video, a trestle table is all about that base. After all, it’s all about that base, or there’s no table. So, I set out, to get my table base started so I could bring this sucker back to the office.

Unlike many modern iterations of the trestle table, I really wanted this one to be able to be broken down and moved. Sure, I have my corner office now, but you never know when someone might want to move me, and I’ll have to pack up the table to make the shift. So, no permanent joinery on the table base.

To make this happen, I started by attaching a pair of battens to the bottom side of the table. These battens will work together with the breadboard ends to keep the top flat. I spaced them so they would hold the tops of the trestles tightly, eliminating the need to screw the trestles to the table top.

Oh, and how about those trestles?  I cut a pair of pieces for the two tops, some larger pieces for the bottoms and some straight boards for the uprights. Before I did any joinery, I ripped the two uprights in half, then notched for what would be the through mortise to hold the stretcher. With those cut, I just glued the legs back together, and voila, you have a nice, square through mortise.

To attach the tops and bottoms, I finally broke out the Mortise Pal and got to work. I routed twin mortises for the feet and tops of the trestles, then mirrored those on the tops and bottoms of the uprights, then glued them into place. That’s a fast joint that’s just not going to go anywhere.

The stretcher was very easy to cut – I marked out the height of the mortise from the table onto the ends of the stretcher and marked out the length between the inside faces of the two uprights, then just notched those over at the Laguna bandsaw. Easy as pie.

I hogged out for the through mortises on the trestle stretcher ends on the drill press, then chiseled a 10 degree angle on the outside face. I then cut a pair of wedges with an outside slope of 10 degrees. Those babies snug in nicely, and when tapped home, there is absolutely no wiggle on the table base.

Now, just a little bit of sanding and finishing, and I think this one will be ready to go!

A breadboard end, that is. For my trestle table, I wanted to ensure it would stay flat for years to come. Sure, I could have just gone with some battens, but I like the way a breadboard edge just dresses up a table.

To start that process, I was going to have to square up the edges of the table glue up. That was something easily accomplished with a track saw, but an circular saw with a guide would easily knock that out.

I next took the time to cut the tongue that would hold the edge on. Using my dado blade and the table saw fence, I had that sucker cut in no time. With that done, I selected a few pieces of straight grained, warp free boards to use for the edges.

I put that edge board into my vise, and with a straight cutting router bit, I started cutting the groove. Since the widest bit I have is 1/2 inch, and I was shooting to match a centered 3/4 inch tongue, I took a few passes to ensure I had it nailed. The edge guide allowed me to sneak up on the width of the slot, and by flipping the board end for end and routing from each face, I was able to ensure that the groove was centered as well.

The edge took a little tweaking with a shoulder plane to get it right on, and I cut back the edges of the tongue to back it off the side of the table. I wanted this one to be captured within the breadboard edge.

I drilled holes for three pegs into the end through the tongue, and pulled it off to elongate the outer holes to give the edge room to expand. I then reinstalled the edges and drove the three pegs home.

Because the edges were a little thicker than the top, I had to do some hand planing to get things down nice and even. A quick trip to my Tormek to touch up the blades on the strop really helped things go smoothly. Remember, those sharp plane irons shave, they don’t tear.

With the work done, I think the top is looking fairly good. it’s nice and flat, just in need of some final sanding before a finish.

Next up, it’s time to drop the bass – oops – base for this trestle creation.