Stickley #599 Trestle Table Build

Gary Zimmel

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356
Location
Stony Plain, Alberta
Time to put my shop upgrade on the back burner.
The boss has said we have spent enough time on it and it's time do make another couple of pieces of furniture for our home.
First one will be a Stickley #599 Trestle Table to replace our dining room table.
A massive beast this table is. The original had 2 1/4" thick legs but as we all I can get is 8/4 QSWO we will go with 1 3/4" legs and a 1 1/2" top.
Plan calls for around 135 BF of QSWO so it will weigh a ton....

This is what we are aiming for.
All in all a simple build, just real massive.

trestle table 3.jpg

First is to make the template for the legs.
My first couple of nights were to get this done.

trestle table 1.jpg

With it out of the way I spent the last couple of nights machining the stock for the legs.
I netted out just under 1 7/8" so I'm happy with that.

trestle table 2.jpg

My next few sessions will be to do the two glue ups for these two legs.
The two mortices in each leg will be incorporated into the glue up to save a bunch of time.

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since this will weigh about a ton, one thing i would suggest, if you ever want to scoot the beast one way or the other, are the sticky backed fiber pads. they will protect the leg bottoms, and your floor.
 
I'd go one better than sticky back. Build in glides as you go. HDPE or UHMW pads will always make it pleasure to scoot around as needed. I just did a seven foot altar out of red oak. Weighted a bunch, too. Client loved the HPDE glides. Also slightly chamfered the bottom edge of the legs to avoid splintering as it sits on carpet. Just a thought.
 
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I'll jump on the bandwagon, too. :thumb:

bandwagon.jpg


(That's me sitting in front of the drummer.)
 
A couple of legs..

Well we finally get the main part of the legs glued up...
This took a little longer as I wanted the mortices to be part of the glue up to save a lot of chopping.

I want to have the mortices made into one piece of white oak so my layout took a little time.

glue up 1.jpg

A little piece of wood cut to 3 1/4" gives me my mortice height.
Wanting this to be precise it took three shots to get the mortice done.

glue up 2.jpg

To help with my alinement I use a few dominos.

glue up 3.jpg

To get my exact spacing for the mortices (12 1/4") I save my last cut until the rest of the chunks are glued together.

glue up 5.jpg

Everything work out as planned.
The mortices don't look put together and are spaced exactly the way I wanted.

glue up 6.jpg

A couple of real heavy glue ups...

glue up 7.jpg

Next will be to trim these to size and then trace my pattern out.
They are a little heavy to cut out at my bandsaw so I will see how my jig saw does in 1 1/2" oak...

Hope everyone is getting a little shop time.
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How to cut a 7" circle..

So a couple of wood workers got me thinking about cutting this thick oak with a jig saw...
What about blade deflection?
Really got me thinking as I don't want to ruin a bunch of board feet of QSWO....

My bandsaw can do the side cuts but it is too small to do the circle.
So we will be careful and see how we do on a couple of the side cuts.

First we get the slabs to the right height.
I could of done these at the table saw, but this track saw is really accurate with zero tear out..

legs 1.jpg

With the slabs to size I use the template to trace my form.
Keen eyes will see the form is 3/4 shorter.
I didn't notice the plan has the table height at 29"
Mine will now finish out at 29 3/4"

legs 2.jpg

The jig saw did the job, but it was a real slow cut. Real, real slow.
Now with seeing how the jigsaw did in this thick oak I am really wondering how it will do cutting the 7" circles.

legs 3.jpg

So what would you do if your bandsaw is too small and a jig saw blade may deflect too much making these circle cuts?


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I cut thick stuff frequently with my Bosch. The blade really tells the tale. For thick hardwoods I use a T345 series. If I need a cleaner cut I use a T234X3. I'm sure Festool has some equivalent blade geometries. The difference between blade performance depending on the task is sometimes so significant, I actually laugh out loud. Good thing there is no one listening in or they'd call the wacky-wagon. :) When things are really finicky, I cut a little fat and use a pattern bit to dress up to the template. This can be a bear though on circles due to the reversing grain; especially in burn prone woods. I will cross my fingers for ya and watch with an urge to learn ;).

BTW, that table is coming along famously.
 
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I would have said the same thing as glenn about using the jigsaw for close, then a 2 inch flush trim router bit, you already have the template. cant figure out how else youd get a nice circle on the inside without a router bit.
 
A little Victory...

Thanks for the blade suggestion Glenn...
Ran into town this morning and picked up another blade with more teeth.
This made a world of difference. But in saying that I wouldn't want to cut thick white oak all day with a jig saw.....

legs cut out.jpg

Now I will clamp on my template and clean these up with my router....
 
A little Victory...

Huzzah to the cutters! I have learned to respect those folks that understand the wiles and ways of cutter geometry. I'm not one of 'em but I listen well :huh:. Those ends look great. It is a joy to watch you work Gary. That table will have a good stout grounded look without appearing too bulky. Do I foresee a traditional Arts and Crafts coloring for that beautiful oak? Well, I've had my coffee; I'd better get out to the shop and get at it myself.
 
A little review...

By the request of a few of the guys I have done a little review of the Festool Trion PS 300 EQ jigsaw.

review 8.jpg

First of all my disclaimer… I have no vested interest in this tool and am only a weekend wood working warrior not a professional. The following is just my opinion from my limited experience with it… I did not have the dust collection system hooked up as I had the front shroud off to see the blade better. But I have cut with this jigsaw with it all hooked up and it lives up to the Festool dust collection abilities.
What I have put it through cutting this QSWO would take any quality jigsaw to the max. of its capabilities I believe. Cutting the arcs I had to go through some quick grain change and even more so cutting the 7” circles. Not a real big deal on thinner stock but it is another story for what I had to do in this over 1 ½” stock.

My first cuts were on the sides of the legs with a Festool S105/4 fsg blade that had 6-7 TPI. Real slow cuts but in hind sight given the blade that was used this would not surprise one. The rest of the cuts were done with a Bosch T234X which had 8-12 TPI.
This pic is how the blades looked after the cuts. The Festool blade was used for two cuts and the Bosch four, two of which were the 7” circles. The paint rubbing off the blades is normal as the Festool jigsaw has in essence cool blocks to help with blade deflection.

review 6.jpg

The first cuts which were the sides showed no blade deflection for the most part of the cut. In a couple places there was a very slight deflection (under 1/16”) but this I think was due to pilot error and not the machine. Cuts in my opinion were very clean. I would of like to of got a little closer to the line but the zero clearance insert clouded my vision and I wanted to be to far away rather than too close...

review 1.jpg

review 2.jpg

Cutting the 7” circles was made easier with the circle jig Festool makes. When cutting the circles the machine was very stable. I made a cut a couple of inches long and backed it off. More to see how I was doing. Some things you have to learn to trust… Thus the irregular cut lines on the block.

review 3.jpg

All in all I was very surprised how clean the cut was in the circle cuts.

review 5.jpg

Deflection on the circle cut was around 1/16” in a lot of the places. At the end of each cut the deflection turned into just over 1/8”. This may have been for a couple of reasons. First I was pulling the jigsaw at this point and I am going from a rip cut into a crosscut which may of deflected the blade. But I was impressed on how it did on these cuts.

reveiw 4.jpg

The blade did generate enough heat to melt the zero clearance insert a bit but I would equate that to the circle cuts.
Not really a big deal, just an observation.

review 7.jpg

I can’t compare this Festool to a Bosch as I haven’t used the Bosch. But in saying that I’m impressed with how this 330EQ did. Tall order to cut this thick QSWO with no deflection and to make the machine cut well a blade match for the job is critical. The first cuts with only 6-7 TPI was taking a lot of fun out of using this real nice (IMHO) jigsaw. I wouldn’t want to cut thick stock all day with this but when one can’t use their bandsaw this is one fine tool to reach for.
A little pricey compared to others but to me it is worth the money. Again just my 2 cents.


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