ART
BEAUTY & WELLNESS
CRAFT
CULTURE & HISTORY
ENTERTAINMENT
ENVIRONMENT
FOOD & DRINKS
REVERSE ENGINEERING
SCIENCES
SPORTS
TECHNOLOGY
WEARABLES
Sorting Table: Oak Plank Top on Two Trestles
The trestle table, boards laid over two trestles, was the commonest Western table until the 16th century. It makes a plain sorting table: a wide, flat top to spread samples on, that comes apart for storage. Batten oak planks into a top, and make two four-legged trestles with splayed legs.
The picture: a plank table on four-legged trestles in the kitchen of the Château de Beynac.
Beginner
Two days
Instructions
1
1
Make the top
Make the top
Plane oak planks straight on their edges, lay them side by side to about 180 × 80 cm (our size), and nail battens across underneath near each end, set in so they sit just inside the trestles.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Plank4 pieces
Iron Nails24 piecesTools needed:
Hand Saw
Hand Plane
Straightedge
Cross Peen Hammer2
2
Trestle beams
Trestle beams
Cut two beams as long as the top is wide. Mark and chop four splayed mortises in the underside of each, near the ends.
Materials for this step:
Timber Beams1 pieceTools needed:
Hand Saw
Marking Gauge
Mortise Chisel
Carving Mallet3
3
Legs
Legs
Shave eight legs, tenon their tops to the mortises, and drive them in with glue-free wedges so they splay outward (step 5).
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Plank1 pieceTools needed:
DrawknifeHand SawCarving Mallet
Hand Drill4
4
Set it up
Set it up
Stand the trestles apart, lay the top on them with the battens inside the beams, and saw the leg ends so it stands level.
Tools needed:
Hand SawStraightedge5
5
Leg splay
Leg splay
Loading Jupyter Notebook...
Materials
3- 5 piecesPlaceholder
- 24 piecesPlaceholder
- 1 piecePlaceholder
This blueprint makes
Related Blueprints
These blueprints share knowledge with this one — techniques, materials, or principles that connect them in the learning graph.
CC0 Public Domain
This blueprint is released under CC0. You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use this work for any purpose, without asking permission.
Support the Maker by purchasing products through their Blueprint where they earn a Maker Commission set by Vendors, or create a new iteration of this Blueprint and include it as a connection in your own Blueprint to share revenue.