Domino and trestle table

[Aerie in Bath]

My wife has requested a trestle table with a 40" wide top x 6' made with cherry that I cut on our property. There is lots of nice wood that has been air dried. I also have a Domino. Does anyone have experience trying to use the Domino to attach trestle center board(s) to the foot and top brace instead of using through-tenons, especially for a top that wide? I've  considered using two center pieces side by side, but that would also require two rails between the trestles with the extra work of making more bull-nosed wedged tenons for them. Input would be appreciated.

 

[lumbajac]

Page 22 of 79 in this document might be of help - http://www.festoolusa.com/Web_files/Getting_the_most_from_the_Festool_Domino_Machine.pdf

 

[mouppe]

The Wood Whisperer recently built a trestle table using dominos. You can watch his videos here.

http://thewoodwhisperer.com/

 

[Tezzer]

This is actually a dining table, but minus the toughened glass top. Twin 10mm through Dominos 90mm in length were used (red lines) but before I put the end “fake through tenons” on,  I screwed a 100mm coach bolt (yellow line) in the middle. Rock solid and no complaints so far.

(Ps, I didn’t make the boat  )

 

[jonny round boy]

Cool table Tezzer! [thumbs up]

Any pics with the top on?

 

[Chris Hughes]

At his point I don't I would use any other means to cut mortises for such an application.  Just yesterday I was in a friends shop and he was making a set of maple chairs for a customer.  He had a little over a dozen floating tenons on each chair.  He insist on cutting the mortise the "hard way" by setting up a jig and using a plunge router.  IMHO the purpose of each new generation of advancement of tools is to allow the user the ability to lock down a segment of joinery so that we can advance the "craft" in other directions like design or production/repeatability.

Anyhow, here is my first trestle table.  I built this table two years ago as a prototype for a job that required a breakfast nook.  The job it's self was in alder.  I built a full sized model of the table to work out the joinery and to get approval of the design and sizing.

 

[lambeater]

This is actually a dining table, but minus the toughened glass top. Twin 10mm through Dominos 90mm in length were used (red lines) but before I put the end “fake through tenons” on,  I screwed a 100mm coach bolt (yellow line) in the middle. Rock solid and no complaints so far.

(Ps, I didn’t make the boat  )

Tezzer, I would suggest that you leave the glass top off for now, after looking at the World news its only a matter of time before Austrailia is underwater!!! and you may need it! [eek] [scared] [eek]
Lambeater

 

[Tezzer]

Cool table Tezzer! [thumbs up]

Any pics with the top on?

Jonny, unfortunately repeated requests to the owner after the top went on has fallen on deaf ears

Tezzer, I would suggest that you leave the glass top off for now, after looking at the World news its only a matter of time before Austrailia is underwater!!! and you may need it! [eek] [scared] [eek]
Lambeater

Yes the floods here are the biggest in over 40 years. Over 200 cities and towns are now under water. If its not flooding, its burning down. I feel sorry for those poor buggers whose workshops and tools have flooded.

 

[Aerie in Bath]

Chris, Thanks for the response and photos of your prototype. It looks nice! What are the dimensions - top and center boards. What is the pattern and size of the dominos you used at the top and bottom of the trestle? Were the mortises tight or oversize? I presume all were glued. I would love to use some nice wide boards for the center of the trestle, but am worried about the effect of changes in MC across the year if they are glued in. Your use of narrower boards is probably smarter.
Tezza - that is quite a table!