A Farm Table Build

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
I was asked to make a 9 1/2 foot long farm table with painted legs and Red Oak top. Here are some beginning pictures of bench construction. The benches are a little over 8 feet long and I've tried to design them to support 800 pounds. I hope they never see that, but it is possible. Most joints are dominos (big ones) but the center brace is held by screws. Additional boards will be glued to the outside edges around the bend structure so that there are 5 3/4 inch by 4 inch boards supporting the load. IMG_9859.JPGIMG_9860.JPG
 

FredP

Fred
Corporate Member
The table alone will weigh nearly half of that. Assuming 8/4 too?.looks great.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
I'm curious again. How did you design the bench to take 800 lbs? I wouldn't know where to start! :rolleyes:
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Sorry if this is pre-emptive -

I.B.C. (Int'l building code) load chart, or load chart for wood and then calculate the screw/fastener system load chart in concert with it.

Then, most engineering adds a safety factor of 1.2 to 1.4 depending on application. So, one would assume 1000 lb load to provide a 800 lb rating.

Trivia - Most ladders are designed to fail at 5/3rds the rated capacity. So, a 375lb ladder failure would be 625lbs ( 375÷3)*5 =625 at least that is how Werner (ladder manf.) explained it to me.
 
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Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
Great looking table and benches. I look forward to seeing the rest of it as it progresses. Did you turn the legs or buy them?
 

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
Great looking table and benches. I look forward to seeing the rest of it as it progresses. Did you turn the legs or buy them?
I bought the legs from Carolina Leg Company. They were super fast in delivery and the quality appears to be good. My Shopsmith doesn't have what it takes to try to turn these.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
This is from Carolina Leg Co and looks similar to what you're building.
 

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Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
Here is the completion of this build. The client, my daughter-in-law, is delighted so all is well!
IMG_9866.JPGAttaching the outer wrap. There are screws under the pegs so each leg is held in place by 4 floating tenons and 4 screws. They are arranged so the tenons and screws are 90 degrees apart from each other which offsets torsion loads in either direction.
IMG_9872.JPGThe completed frames. The table is 9 1/2 feet long. Designed to hold a 300 lb dead load in the center of the table. Benches will hold a greater load - 800 lbs each with essentially zero deflection. I hope neither ever sees this weight.
IMG_9880.JPGTop glue up done in three stages to try to keep everything aligned.
IMG_9882.JPGJust a shot of planing. Everything was within a few thousandths ( a very few so as not to be measureable).
IMG_9883.JPGMethod for breadboard attachment. Floating tenons in tight slots on the main table and loose slots on the breadboard with oblong holes to allow for expansion.
IMG_9884.JPGWooden pins hold everything in place. Glue on the center tenons, and free floating on the remainder. Pins are drawbored.
IMG_9888.JPGOne of the benches before finish
IMG_9897.JPGPlanning for attaching the tops to the bases. Pocket screws are used to hold the center support to the top and the side supports have floating tenons in mortises to allow for expansion. This shot shows me using hide glue for a rub joint for the base to hold the tenon later.
IMG_9898.JPGMy normal finishing area was WAY too small for this, so here is my "spray booth".
IMG_9902.JPGPicture of a top holding tenon in place.
IMG_9906.JPGThe final product!
IMG_9907.JPG
IMG_9909.JPG
IMG_9921.JPG
 

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
Have double doors fortunately. However, the table top will actually not be permanently mounted until in place at its final location. It would be too wide (44 inches) and way too heavy to move. Without the top on, the base is 29 inch high so turned sideways easily goes through the 30 inch door of the new home.
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Mark, it is always important to keep the daughters-in-law happy...and I can see why yours is! Beautiful table and bench!
 

sawman101

Bruce Swanson
Corporate Member
I made an 8' trestle table for my sister. The top was three 12" wide x 2" thick white pine boards I had sawed out on the saw mill several years before. That was heavy and had to be assembled at her house, so I can really appreciate how much effort you have to expend in the building of it. Your table and benches are fantastic Mark, and will certainly make you a most favored father in law.
 

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