At a glance
Finished dimensions
Overall sizes
- Overall
- 60 × 30 × 30 in high
- Trestle centres
- 9 in in from each end of the top
- Between the posts
- 40-1/4 in
- Foot and cleat length
- 26 in
Materials
| Item | Quantity | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Hardwood, surfaced | About 21 board feet of finished parts | Buy more for waste and defects |
| Bolts with barrel nuts | 2 sets | Hole sizes and positions from the hardware's instructions |
| Wood glue | — | Trestle joints only |
| Screws | 6 | Top to cleats |
Cut list
| Part | Qty | Dimensions | Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | 1 | 1 × 30 × 60 in | Hardwood, glued up from boards |
| Foot | 2 | 1-3/4 × 3 × 26 in | Hardwood |
| Cleat | 2 | 1-3/4 × 2-1/2 × 26 in | Hardwood |
| Post | 2 | 1-3/4 × 5 × 26-1/2 in | Hardwood; includes two 1-1/2 in tenons |
| Stretcher | 1 | 1-3/4 × 4 × 42-1/4 in | Hardwood; includes two 1 in stub tenons |
Tools
- Jointer and planer, or stock bought surfaced
- Mortising chisel or router
- Drill with a guide for straight bolt holes
- Clamps
The design
Each trestle is a foot and a cleat, both 26 in long, joined by a post. Heights add up to 30 in: a 3 in foot, 23-1/2 in of post between the joints, a 2-1/2 in cleat and the 1 in top. The trestles' centres are 9 in in from the ends of the top, so their posts are 40-1/4 in apart; a 1-3/4 × 4 in stretcher between them, its centre 10 in above the floor, keeps them upright along the table's length. Where a leg-and-apron table like the dining table is rigid because of its four glued joints, a trestle table depends on its trestle joints and that one stretcher.
Joinery and movement
- Trestle joints. Each post has a tenon 5/8 in thick, 4 in wide and 1-1/2 in long at each end, glued into 1-9/16 in deep mortises in the foot and the cleat. See mortise and tenon joints.
- Knock-down stretcher. The stretcher's 1 in stub tenons, 5/8 × 3 in, sit in 1-1/16 in mortises in the posts to locate it; a bolt through each post into a barrel nut in the stretcher pulls it tight. Unbolt them and the table comes apart. Drill the bolt and barrel nut holes as the hardware's instructions give them.
- Feet. Relieve the underside of each foot 1/8 in deep over its middle 18 in, so it stands on its ends.
- Top. The top moves across its 30 in width, along the cleats. Screw it through three holes in each cleat — the middle one round, the outer two slotted — and estimate the movement with the wood movement calculator.
Building it
Trestles, stretcher and top
Mill the parts
Bring feet, cleats, posts and stretcher to final size; glue up and flatten the top. Check stock with choosing lumber.
Cut the trestle joints
Mortise the centre of each foot and cleat; cut the post tenons to fit. Relieve the feet's undersides. Shape the ends of feet and cleats if you like, keeping the joints' material.
Glue the trestles
Glue each post into its foot and cleat and check the post is square to both; see how to use wood glue.
Fit the stretcher
Cut the stub mortises in the posts and the stub tenons on the stretcher, then drill for the bolts and barrel nuts as the hardware maker's instructions say. Bolt it up dry and check the trestles stand square to the floor.
Attach the top
Sand and finish everything, including the underside of the top — applying a wood finish — then screw the top down through the cleats: middle hole round, outer holes slotted.
Safety— In the shop and in use
Cutting the joints and the long top follows woodworking safety rules and table saw safety. Check the bolts are tight before use and after moving it. No load rating is claimed; the table is not for standing on.
Before final assembly
- Posts square to feet and cleats
- Stub tenons seat fully in the posts
- Bolt holes drilled straight, as the hardware specifies
- Slotted holes in the cleats' outer positions
- Top finished on both faces
All the furniture plans are listed in the coffee table plan.
More project plans
Looking for a larger collection of woodworking project plans?
Ted’s Woodworking is a digital plan library sold by a third party. BenchRoot did not create it and has not reviewed every plan in it, so check what it includes before you buy.
Paid link — BenchRoot may earn a commission if you purchase through this link.
Sources
A BenchRoot design; every dimension is on the drawing and in the cut list as final sizes. Table height is a design choice. Bolt and barrel nut hole sizes come from the hardware's instructions. The design was not built or tested for this page, and no load rating is claimed.
- 1.
Chapter 4: Moisture Relations and Physical Properties of Wood. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282, 2021.
Used for: Wood moving across the grain and very little along it: the top moves across its 30 in width, along the cleats, which is why it is screwed through slotted holes.
About this project
Written by BenchRoot Editorial. How BenchRoot sources, checks and corrects its pages is set out in the Editorial Policy. If something here is wrong or unclear, the contact page explains how to tell us.