by Daniel Diehl
Stretcher Pins
The stretcher pins are simple ¾-by-1-inch rectangles of wood that are 3½ inches long. The pins on the original table are square on both ends, but they will fit more easily into the mortise holes on the stretchers if one end is tapered slightly. The pins should be tight enough that they have to be tapped into the mortises on the stretchers with a few light taps of a mallet.
Top Supports
The two top supports are 2 inches high, 11⁄8 inches wide, and 29¾ inches long. These supports will rest in the 11⁄8-inch-wide notches behind the tenons on the upper stretchers and help support the edges of the top. The ends of the top supports are cut on a tapering curve, as shown in the top support drawing. The bottom edges of this shaped area are chamfered to a width of about ½ inch. The chamfering has been done with a drawknife and is fairly crude and irregular.
Notches 7⁄8 inch deep and 11⁄8 inches wide are cut 5⁄8 inch behind the bottom edge of the shaped ends of the top supports. These allow the top supports to nest into the top stretchers. To make certain the positioning of these notches is correct we recommend assembling the leg and stretcher units, complete with stretcher pins, and laying the top supports in place before marking and cutting the notches. You may want to leave the leg and stretcher units assembled for reference while building the top.
Building the Top
The finished top is made from two boards of different widths. The finished top is 30 inches wide, with one board being 14 inches and the other 16 inches wide. These boards are held together by four braces, each of which is 1 inch thick, 2 inches wide, and 14 inches long. When cutting these boards to length, make certain that they fit easily between the top stretchers. Place the top boards facedown on a level work surface and mark the locations of the braces, as shown in the top underside drawing. Note that the braces do not extend equally on either side of the point where the top boards meet but are located an equal distance from the outer edges of the top. Lay out the braces in their proper positions and mark their locations in pencil.
The top braces on the original table are each held in place with four forged nails. The relative positions of these nails are shown in the drawing of the underside of the top. Before nailing the braces to the top, drill pilot holes through the top braces. Run a bead of glue along the inner edge of one of the top boards, lay the top boards facedown on a level work surface, and clamp the boards together with bar clamps. Working with one top brace at a time, run a bead of glue on the underside of the brace, place it in position, and nail it to the top.
Assembling the Table
When the top is dry, remove the clamps and, making sure the top supports are in place, set the top on the leg assembly. The top braces should fit easily between the upper stretchers. The weight of the top should keep it from moving from end to end. The table can be assembled and disassembled as often as necessary. Be careful when removing and replacing the top; it is very heavy, and the braces that hold it together are only 1 inch thick and could crack if the top is dropped.
Finish
Over centuries of use, polishing, and being treated with oil, this table has aged to a rich honey-gold color. We suggest staining the table to a rich golden tone and using an oiled finish, following the instructions on page 7.
PROJECT 11
High Table
High Table, English, fourteenth century. Elm and oak, 34 inches x 16 feet and 6 inches x 29 inches. Collection of Haddon Hall, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. Photo by D. Tyler Huff.
The great hall in a medieval castle served a variety of functions. It is best known as the site of magnificent feasts and entertainments. It also frequently served as the lord’s office, a meeting hall where courts and other functions were held, and a bedroom for many of the castle’s inhabitants. Because the great hall served such a broad variety of functions, the long banqueting tables on which meals were eaten were disassembled, moved out of the hall, and stored when not in use. One table that stayed in the great hall at all times, however, was the high table, which was used by the lord of the castle, his family, and honored guests. It served as the noble’s dining table at meals, his office, and the bench from which justice was dispensed in local courts. To prevent important legal documents from winding up covered with gravy spots, one side of the top was used as a dining surface, the other as a desk; from this practice came the expression “turning the tables.”
The designation high table came not only from the eminence of its owner, but also from the fact that it usually rested on a slightly raised dais. In this way, those seated at the table were kept physically, as well as socially, elevated above everyone else in the room. This high table, dating from the fourteenth century, is located in the banqueting hall at Haddon Hall, Bakewell, Derbyshire.
Construction Notes
The number of components in this massive table are few, but their sheer bulk should present all the challenge any cabinetmaker could want. Under the table are three pedestal columns, one at the center and the others about 5 feet to either side. The drawing shows only two, supporting a shortened top, so that it would fit on one page, but this also indicates how such a table might be scaled down for use by those who do not have a great hall. The top board on the materials list is the full length of the original table, but it can be shortened to fit the space available. The table could even be redesigned as a single-column game table.
The original table seems to have been built incorrectly and repaired shortly thereafter. The block that rests on top of each column and holds the brace that supports the tabletop was obviously added after the table was built. Likely the table had been built too low for comfortable dining and thus a riser was added to the top of each column, raising the table by 3 inches. The original top braces were set in the tops of the columns. The rectangular scars of the original braces are shown in the first drawing, directly under the riser blocks. The original braces were pegged through the columns. The ends of the pegs can be seen in the side view of the pedestal on the first page of drawings.
Materials
The top and columns of the table are said to be of elm, but it would have required an elm of magnificent proportions to produce a slab of wood large enough to form the top of this table. Either birch or pine would make a perfectly acceptable substitute. Because of the dimensions of the lumber required to make this table, it is necessary to glue up stock for the top and columns. The column feet are made of oak.
Tools
Much of the work on the columns relies on carving away excess wood; you will need rasps, files, chisels, carving gouges, and a good, sharp drawknife. To keep from resting the end of the column directly against your stomach while you are working on it, you need a bench dog, or stop, against which you can seat the column. A bench dog is simply a heavy block of wood that has been clamped or bolted along one edge of the workbench. In this case, a 1-foot length of 4-by-4 should be adequate to prevent the column from shifting. To work the drawknife with ease and efficiency, stand at the bench with the bench stop directly in front of you, your stomach resting against the back of the bench stop. Lay the column on the workbench with the base firmly planted against the stop. Pull the drawknife toward you, across the top of the column, taking a thin shaving of wood off the surface with each pass. This work could be done with broad-bladed chisels, but it is easiest with a drawknife.
Top
The massive tabletop, 2 inches thick, 29 inches wide, and 16¼ feet long, might best be constructed by gluing up several boards. To prevent warping and make the strongest possible top, use two layers of 1-inch boards and stagger the joints. If you are making a shorter table, it may be possible to locate a single plank of sufficient width. Plank doors and old workbench tops can make fine tabletops. Once the top has been glued up or cut to the desired size, set it aside until the columns are built.
Columns
Because all the columns are identical, construction directions are given here for a single column. Repeat the process as often as necessary. Once again
, because of the massive dimensions of the column, you will probably have to glue together several boards to obtain an adequate-size base block. These boards should be the full width of the column—10¾ inches—and not less than 1½ inches thick.
The combination molding built up around the base of the column is not applied work but is carved directly from the full-size column base. On all four sides of the column base, strike a line at the height of the central foot, at each of the three elements in the group of combination moldings above the foot, the 2¼-inch-wide collar above the main group of moldings, and the single, topmost band of half-round molding. Then sketch the profile of each section of the column base in the appropriate area, ensuring that the outlines are clean and the dimensions accurate.
Now begin to remove excess wood from the column. Start work on the largest area at the top of the column, above the top of the half-round molding. With a handsaw or table saw, cut to the depth of the finished dimensions of the base of this area, 6½ inches. Then use chisels and a drawknife to carefully remove excess wood and begin to shape the large top section of the column. When working with a drawknife, it is easiest to remove material from the corners of the block first. Work slowly and carefully, bearing in mind the gently curving lines of the column. Do not, however, lose sight of the fact that the column has four flat sides; it is not round. Be careful not to split the lower portion of the block with chisels or drawknife.
A more time-efficient approach to removing such a large amount of wood is to use a circular saw to cut multiple kerfs into each face of the column. The depth of the kerfs must be adjusted to follow the outline of the column and should stop at least 1⁄8 inch short of the finished dimensions. The kerfs should be spaced approximately 1⁄8 inch apart. The shims left from the cutting of the kerfs can be removed with chisels. An additional aid to shaping the upper portion of the column is a handheld belt sander. A coarse-grit belt will remove large amounts of wood from the rough column. When the column has been roughed into shape, it can be smoothed with a rasp and medium-grit sandpaper.
Do not yet work the inward curve at the uppermost end of the column. Leave it the full dimensions of the rough block. This will allow the block to sit level on the workbench while you shape the complex moldings around the base. Next, make saw cuts beneath the single band of half-round molding and at the base of the 2¼-inch-wide collar. This collar is just slightly smaller than the bottom of the column. Remove the excess wood around the halfround molding before you remove excess wood around the collar. Much of this work can be made easier by the use of a radial arm saw fitted with a dadohead saw blade. Use a circular saw to cut another series of kerfs to remove unwanted areas of wood quickly and without danger of chipping the main block. If you are approaching this with authentic period technology, just chisel carefully. When you have the collar area roughed in, smooth it with a rasp and shape the half-round molding with a combination of carving knives and a rasp. Be careful when shaping the halfround molding; you will be working across the grain, and the end grain can break easily.
Now cut out the three areas of compound molding. Starting with the band of molding nearest the collar, rough in the bands one at a time. Begin with a saw cut at the bottom of the first section of the molding, and then remove excess wood with a series of kerf cuts, always being careful to keep the saw blade at least 1⁄8 inch above the finished surface. The 2-inch-high block at the very base of the column remains the full dimension of the unworked block and does not need to be shaped. The three molded areas between the base block and collar are each capped with a different-shaped molding, but each has a flat-sided base on which it rests. Chisel or use the dado head to remove excess wood to the level of the square base on each of these moldings. Then, with carving knives, rasps, and files, carefully work the top of each of these moldings to its proper shape. Start concave moldings with the rounded side of a wood rasp and finish with round files. The flat side of a rasp will easily shape convex moldings.
Next, cut out the pedestal foot at the base of the column. On the sides and bottom of the column, mark the location of the 4-inch- square foot. Make saw cuts on each face of the column around the top of the pedestal foot. You can use a handsaw, radial arm saw, Skilsaw, or chisel to cut out the foot. The difficulty in sawing out the foot is finding a saw with a blade that will make a deep enough cut. If you are chiseling it, do not try to wedge off an entire side at one time; remove the wood a bit at a time to avoid splitting the column or having the chisel follow an irregularity in the grain of the wood into the body of the foot.
When the foot has been roughed into shape, smooth it with a rasp. Because the feet rest against the sides of this central foot, it must be as square as possible. Now work the top end of the column to its final shape. If you so choose, you can cut a channel in the shaped column for the original top brace (called a column plug on the materials list) and peg it into place. Into the top of the column, make two saw cuts to form the sides of a channel, or rabbet, into which the top brace will be fitted. Chisel the excess wood out of the rabbet. Make certain that the plug will tap snugly into place. It should require several gentle taps from a wooden mallet to seat it into place. Drill ¾-inch dowel holes through the column and column plug, tap the dowels into place, and finish the ends of the dowels so that they are flush with the sides of the column. Finishsand the entire column in preparation for attaching the feet.
Feet
Each column has four identical feet, plus a central foot that is part of the column. The feet are not stable enough to support the weight of the table without the aid of the central foot. Cut out the four feet according to the drawings and finish-sand them. When arranged in the rather swastikalike shape shown in the drawing, the feet should fit neatly under the edge of the column base. All the feet must rest evenly on the floor.
Pre-drill two ¾-inch dowel holes from bottom to top in each foot, as shown in the drawings. Position the feet on the bottom of the column and, using the holes in the feet as pilots, continue drilling the dowel holes into the column base. Be careful not to drill the dowel holes too deep into the column, or they might split through the side of the ornamental moldings. Tap the dowels into place through the bottoms of the feet and into the column. Saw off the excess so that the dowels are flush with the feet.
Attaching the feet to the column with vertical dowels may seem like inadequate support, but the original seems to have survived well enough. If this table is intended for daily use, you could insert an additional dowel through the side of each foot and into the central column foot. By being doweled in two directions, the feet will be less likely to work loose.
Riser Blocks
If you are using risers, cut them to size and insert the top brace in the same manner that the column plug was set into the top of the column. Into the top face of the riser, make two saw cuts to form the sides of the rabbet into which the brace will be fitted. The brace should fit snugly into place. Chisel the excess wood out of the rabbet. Tap the top brace into place. Note that the top brace is oriented in the same direction as the grain in the riser block. It is the way the original table is constructed, but it is bad engineering. The riser block would be far less likely to break if the top brace were seated across the grain in the riser block.
Drill two ½-inch-diameter dowel holes through the top brace and on through the riser block, and two additional ¾-inch dowel holes through the surface of the riser block. Set the riser block, with the top brace in place, on top of the column. Center the block on the column. Using the predrilled dowel holes as pilots, drill dowel holes between 1½ and 2 inches in depth into the top of the column. Start with the larger dowels, and drill and dowel one hole at a time to avoid getting the holes out of alignment. Use a mallet to tap the dowels into place. Finish-sand as necessary, and apply an oil finish to the columns and top. Then simply set the tabletop on the pedestals.
PROJECT 12
Italian Table
Table, Italian, circa 1500. 67¾ x 25 x 29¼ inches. Colle
ction of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photo by Mark P. Donnelly.
This wonderfully sleek table is so elegantly designed that it could easily have been built in the late twentieth century rather than the early sixteenth century. By 1500, the Italian Renaissance had already been in full flower for 150 years, and stylish pieces like this far surpassed anything being made in Northern Europe, where medieval methods and designs still held sway.
While there are no records to tell us what this table was originally used for, its dimensions and wear marks provide tantalizing hints. At only 25 inches in width, it is unlikely that this table was intended to be used for dining. Certainly people could not have sat on both sides of the table, and at only 5½ feet in length, it is unlikely that it was used as a high table in a nobleman’s palace. There are wear marks on one side of the stretcher, however, indicating that generations of users rested their feet on the stretcher, and this tells us that this was more than just a side table used to display family treasures. We assume that this may have been designed as a desk and worktable intended for use in the family’s private quarters, perhaps in the solar, an area where the lady of the house wrote letters and pored over household accounts or her husband compiled decrees and documents that determined how his lands were governed. This fine table is now in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Construction Notes
Although this table has very few parts, it provides several challenges for the modern builder. There are only a few joints, but several of them are so cleverly hidden that even the museum curators have been unable to determine exactly how they are constructed; therefore, some of our construction diagrams and instructions are based on educated guesses. On a more practical level, to turn the leg columns, you will need access to a lathe with a 4-inch-radius swing, and to shape the top supports and feet, access to a commercial band saw that will accept a board 5¼ inches thick.