I have a 10' Slab of wenge that will be our new dining table. My wife and I have looked at endless table bases and I thought she was going to want an iron base. Surprisingly, she came home from restoration hardware with pictures of the exact(wooden) base she wanted me to build for our Slab. I have thick walnut to use for the pieces, so it looks like a great idea! Anyway, I attached pics of the RH table. The wood there is 1 3/4" thick and 4" wide. It is attached with some little brackets with no accommodation for wood movement. I would not be comfortable with that. What's a better way? I had thought of using 3 stretchers directly beneath the Slab vs. The single one in this table. I could then connect the stretchers horizontally, route out slots, and screw into threaded inserts in the table base. Also thought of a metal plate attached to the leg portions and inset into the Slab with slots to allow for movement. I welcome any suggestions. Thanks
(09-02-2017, 01:39 PM)misterstockwell Wrote: I have a 10' Slab of wenge that will be our new dining table. My wife and I have looked at endless table bases and I thought she was going to want an iron base. Surprisingly, she came home from restoration hardware with pictures of the exact(wooden) base she wanted me to build for our Slab. I have thick walnut to use for the pieces, so it looks like a great idea! Anyway, I attached pics of the RH table. The wood there is 1 3/4" thick and 4" wide. It is attached with some little brackets with no accommodation for wood movement. I would not be comfortable with that. What's a better way? I had thought of using 3 stretchers directly beneath the Slab vs. The single one in this table. I could then connect the stretchers horizontally, route out slots, and screw into threaded inserts in the table base. Also thought of a metal plate attached to the leg portions and inset into the Slab with slots to allow for movement. I welcome any suggestions. Thanks
The pics are based on a trestle table design. I made my trestle table knock down for moving, so there are cleats attached to the bottom with elongated screw holes. I essentially made a sliding dovetail with the cleats, so the legs slide into the cleats.
(09-02-2017, 01:39 PM)misterstockwell Wrote: I have a 10' Slab of wenge that will be our new dining table. My wife and I have looked at endless table bases and I thought she was going to want an iron base. Surprisingly, she came home from restoration hardware with pictures of the exact(wooden) base she wanted me to build for our Slab. I have thick walnut to use for the pieces, so it looks like a great idea! Anyway, I attached pics of the RH table. The wood there is 1 3/4" thick and 4" wide. It is attached with some little brackets with no accommodation for wood movement. I would not be comfortable with that. What's a better way? I had thought of using 3 stretchers directly beneath the Slab vs. The single one in this table. I could then connect the stretchers horizontally, route out slots, and screw into threaded inserts in the table base. Also thought of a metal plate attached to the leg portions and inset into the Slab with slots to allow for movement. I welcome any suggestions. Thanks
By the way--this table was priced at over $17,000 originally! Crazy. It wasn't even a slab. It was a faux-slab. There were several pieces glued together and slab edges tacked on the sides. Good work if you can get it. Here are some pics of the brackets
(09-02-2017, 01:49 PM)cvillewood Wrote: The pics are based on a trestle table design. I made my trestle table knock down for moving, so there are cleats attached to the bottom with elongated screw holes. I essentially made a sliding dovetail with the cleats, so the legs slide into the cleats.
09-02-2017, 08:40 PM (This post was last modified: 09-02-2017, 08:42 PM by srv52761.
Edit Reason: clarity issue
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(09-02-2017, 01:39 PM)misterstockwell Wrote: ..... It is attached with some little brackets with no accommodation for wood movement. I would not be comfortable with that. What's a better way? ...
A 10' slab will be quite the weight. The base you show, or the three stretcher one you envision will adequately support the top. You will not have to worry about it tipping. You just need to keep it from sliding. I would be very comfortable with fixed metal brackets along the middle stretcher.
The movement will be along the width of the table, not the length. The short perpendicular stretchers will support the width and allow for the movement. The fixed brackets on only the center stretcher will keep it centered on the base.
My previous workbench had a 150 pound top and was secured with only two pointed dowels on my short stretchers, one each, in the center.
(09-02-2017, 08:40 PM)srv52761 Wrote: A 10' slab will be quite the weight. The base you show, or the three stretcher one you envision will adequately support the top. You will not have to worry about it tipping. You just need to keep it from sliding. I would be very comfortable with fixed metal brackets along the middle stretcher.
The movement will be along the width of the table, not the length. The short perpendicular stretchers will support the width and allow for the movement. The fixed brackets on only the center stretcher will keep it centered on the base.
My previous workbench had a 150 pound top and was secured with only two pointed dowels on my short stretchers, one each, in the center.
Interesting. So I am "over-worrying" about making sure the slab is attached at many points to the base.
BTW--If I remember right, the slab weighs somewhere around 350-400 pounds.
(09-02-2017, 11:39 PM)misterstockwell Wrote: ....
BTW--If I remember right, the slab weighs somewhere around 350-400 pounds.
Mmmmm..... I may have been hasty about the base supporting the top.
Should someone ever try to move the table there would be tremendous force on the joints.
Maybe your thought on a metal base is not far off....
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