I'm preparing to embark on my first dining room table project. What I want
is a table top about 42 x 60 that can extend with 2 12" leaves out to 84". I
want it to be a double pedestal trestle type with space to store the extra
leaves between the table top and pedestals. I've found the extension slides
at Lee Valley, so all I need now is as plan. There are numerous table plans
on the internet, but I haven't found anything even close to what I'm looking
for. There are also a number of books which claim they provide general
knowledge of table building, but I can't identify any that have data for
this type of table. I would appreciate any suggestions/places to look.

On Mon, 9 Mar 2009 14:23:11 -0500, "John B"
wrote:

I'm preparing to embark on my first dining room table project. What I want
is a table top about 42 x 60 that can extend with 2 12" leaves out to 84". I
want it to be a double pedestal trestle type with space to store the extra
leaves between the table top and pedestals. I've found the extension slides
at Lee Valley, so all I need now is as plan. There are numerous table plans
on the internet, but I haven't found anything even close to what I'm looking
for. There are also a number of books which claim they provide general
knowledge of table building, but I can't identify any that have data for
this type of table. I would appreciate any suggestions/places to look.


Take a look at a few books published by Taunton Press. I have this
one:

http://tinyurl.com/b43amw

You can always re-size or redimension any plan to suit your own. You
may need to beef up supporting rails with a lot of leaves. It is
quite a challenge to get leaves and table ends to match up perfectly.
I have seen "bullet" pegs in some tables using leaves. Keep in mind
the wood movement, especially in larger projects.

If you are just looking for inspiration, ie a design that you like, I
find eBay to be a wonderful resource of great pictures. I am always
building a library of images of Stickley pieces that catch my eye and
I probably have over 100 pieces documented from that source. Of course
you are only going to get over all dimensions like height a width but
I often estimate other dims right off the photos using what know or
assumed dims I can see to index the size.

On Mar 9, 12:23*pm, "John B" wrote:
I'm preparing to embark on my first dining room table project. What I want
is a table top about 42 x 60 that can extend with 2 12" leaves out to 84".. I
want it to be a double pedestal trestle type with space to store the extra
leaves between the table top and pedestals. I've found the extension slides
at Lee Valley, so all I need now is as plan. *There are numerous table plans
on the internet, but I haven't found anything even close to what I'm looking
for. There are also a number of books which claim they provide general
knowledge of table building, but I can't identify any that have data for
this type of table. I would appreciate any suggestions/places to look.

John,

Extension tables can be a little intimidating - The toughest part of your
project is going to be the storage for the leaves. The good news is you
already have your overall dimensions figured out, and you've already sourced
your hardware. I would outfit yourself with a few books showing dining
table design, and work backwards off of your overall dimensions. Also, try
to break the project down into smaller components - In other words, focus on
the top as one part of the design, then focus on the pedestals, then how
you're going to incorporate the leaves into the design.

I know it's not much to work on, but the details are going to be so
dependant on the style, construction methods, and hardware that you choose
to use - Hope this helps


--
Gregory Paolini Design
www.GregoryPaolini.com
Handmade Custom Furniture, Cabinetry & Built-Ins
Plus a new knowledge base with tips and tricks for woodworking enthusiasts!



"John B" wrote in message
...
I'm preparing to embark on my first dining room table project. What I want
is a table top about 42 x 60 that can extend with 2 12" leaves out to 84".
I want it to be a double pedestal trestle type with space to store the
extra leaves between the table top and pedestals. I've found the extension
slides at Lee Valley, so all I need now is as plan. There are numerous
table plans on the internet, but I haven't found anything even close to
what I'm looking for. There are also a number of books which claim they
provide general knowledge of table building, but I can't identify any that
have data for this type of table. I would appreciate any
suggestions/places to look.