Pro Question, Trestle table

[Jeff Duncan]

Ok I found a couple pics, but I don't have dimensions….so not as much help I believe this one was roughly 6' long though and maybe 30" wide. It was made a specific size to replace a table in an alcove.


Looking at the pic of the bottom I'm going to guess it's roughly 14" or so overhang. I think I layed it out by eye before cutting the stretcher to length.


Nothing fancy of course, but I figure it didn't come out half bad for a hack like me

good luck,
JeffD

[Doug Herzberg]

I was just looking at a nice one today. the overhang was 11-1/2" and very comfortable. I was thinking about building a copy of it at about 60" length and contemplating whether it could ever seat 6, even for drinks. The set I looked at had a bench for one side, which I think might seat two people, but they might have to straddle the legs of the table.

The one I saw was 74" in length and seated 6 in a pinch, but it came with a 20" leaf to bring the total length to 94," much better for 6 people.

[Brian W Smith]

Got a build this month for a pro artist.It's a modular shelf design for vinyl LP's.It was a little dicey on the first meeting.....I sort of knew what to expect and made some conscious decisions beforehand.Started the meeting stating that I really didn't care what he designed.....but there are certain joinery "rules" that I would be following,no discussion.Then gave a short statement regarding proportioning.....and then cut him loose to describe the pce he was envisioning.

Just sayin,a little preemptive advice/cautions/mission statements go a long way for the craftsman,builder when first starting projects with professionals(architects,artists,int designers,etc).

[Jim Matthews]

Not my style, but would a "Crane's foot" base provide sufficient clearance for knees at the ends?

If I'm doing the math correctly, the front chair rail will reach the leg at any table overhang less than 12".
Has the architect Sketched this with seated figures shown, to illustrate clearances?

RECLAIMED-OAK-PEDESTAL-TABLE-2-368x276.jpg

[Matt Day]

I built an 8' long tressel table and have a 16" overhang. I'm 6'1" and fit very comfortably even belly up to it. My knees don't touch by a couple inches but you have to account for foot room too. Even with this overhang my toes touch the bottom of the "I", so it's comfortable to put my feet on top of it.

I've worked with many architects as a GC and they should know all these dimensions, or can easily reference them.

If I were you and was concerned about it, I would mock up one end of the design, basically the overhand and one leg. Architects LOVE mock ups!

[Sam Murdoch]

Nothing fancy of course, but I figure it didn't come out half bad for a hack like me

good luck,
JeffD

We should all be such "hacks".

[Mike Cutler]

Larry
I am right now sitting at the trestle table, actually our center island, I built in my kitchen. It is based on the Limbert Turtle library desk.
The top is a 72"x40" granite slab, and the ends are "turtle back" shaped. The over hang on both ends is 12" to the top of the arc.
I am 6'3", 220lbs, with a 36" inseam and size 12 feet, and I have no problems sitting and eating at the ends of this surface. The ends have corbels built in to support the granite. The base is very stout, built entirely of Padauk. The outside edge is 15" to the cooktop on one side and can seat two adults. Without the cooktop 8 adults could easily sit at this table. (It was designed for 4 though.)
Integrated into this surface is a 36"x 20" Viking gas cooktop. and a 37"x20" undercounter drawer.

Pic's, hopefully, from construction.

IMG_0309_edited-1.jpgIMG_0314_edited-1.jpg

[G Douglas Fowler]

Larry,

My trestle with draw leaf is 74" with 11" overhang. When extended, the overhang is 25". I'm 6'1" and find that the overhang is sufficient without extending the leaf.
Doug

[Mark Bolton]

Larry,

My trestle with draw leaf is 74" with 11" overhang. When extended, the overhang is 25". I'm 6'1" and find that the overhang is sufficient without extending the leaf.
Doug

That style base makes great accommodation for peoples feet sitting at the ends of the table. Without question, a 12" allowance for a mid thigh to the knee for tall man seated is acceptable though could likely be tight for some. A 6'+ man generally measures 12" from the bottom of his pants pocket to the tip of the knee, maybe slightly less. I personally measure dead at 12".

What I find is the 11-12" dimension makes no accommodation for the individuals feet. As I mentioned earlier, take some shelf brackets and attach a 12" scrap to the wall and sit there. Its not doable for any style of seating. You have to cant your lower legs back and turn/tuck your feet. Larry is of course facilitating someone else's design but the way I see it when Im making tables for sale we need to accommodate any seating style. Full belly, leaned back, feet and legs out, is what comes to my mind. Tough to do with a short table and not a design like yours.

In any mock up we've ever done if your trying to seat a 6'+ individual 14-16" seems to be the dead minimum for "normal" seating, table, desk, etc., if there is no foot well. Im talking someone sitting at a dinning chair with their lower leg vertical and feet pointing straight in front of them.

Of course we can say anything we want, that many people tuck their feet below the chair, many people lean forward while eating, and so on.

We all tend to make "allowances" for something we built/designed that a paying customer will not be so forgiving of. Of course covering all this with a client where this table is part of a much bigger picture...

On this recent table before it left the shop we slid the top back choking the overhang and anything below 14" I had to make adjustments in a normal seating position to sit at the table. But the base design didnt allow in any way for feet.

[keith micinski]

If you need the job and the money to get by then you have to voice your concerns and do as the customer wants. Otherwise I try not to take on projects that are in direct conflict with my views. It leads to me having a bad attitude and being less creative throughout the project. Especially when there is a problem that crops up with the project, which as near as I can tell happens on every project, and you need to come up with solutions to fix it. I am not sure how anyone with any design experience could think no overhang at all is really a feasible option. Part of design also includes finding ways to get around real world problems not just aesthetics.

[Jim Foster]

I thought it might make sense to add a picture of the trestle table I mentioned earlier. I mentioned I have a trestle table with a 12" overhang and it sits me, 5'10" and not thin, very spaciously. One thing to consider with foot room; When eating, a person is sitting up with their feet fairly normal to the floor, so the space required under the edge of the table is not that demanding (12" seems more than fine). When relaxing around a table is when I notice the feet tend to be more spread out under the table, however the limitation of the 12" overhang of our table has never seemed to be an inconvenience in this case either. Also, the arms of the chair shown fit under the table, even though they might look high in the picture

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[Matt Meiser]

I'm not a pro woodworker but the issue of what the client wants vs what is the "right" way to do something comes up all the time in my field. My advise is explain your concerns in an educational way ("usually what we'd do is....", "what I've typically seen is...", "in the past when I've done it that way...") More often than not the client isn't demanding an approach, what they are conveying is just the way they envision something working and they are grateful for my expertise--after all, that is usually the reason they hired us to start. When there's still insistence it depends...if they are asking us to do something I believe is "wrong" meaning it will lead to problems in the future I'll usually consult project management and/or peers which is what you are doing here for advise. If ultimately we move ahead with their way, I just make sure its documented. An email recapping the conversation is usually enough. I'll often ask them for a response so I have a record they've seen it.

1000x yes on the prototype. I did that for the leg design on my parents table which we used to check knee clearance as well as the work out the overall design. The final design is basically nothing like any of us envisioned and we are all really happy it came out that way.

[David Winer]

Larry, I can't help but offer recommendations about size for a dining room table in the range you are considering. My table has served extremely well on many occasions for seating six adults comfortably. Its length is one inch shy of seven feet, and the ends overhang at sixteen inches. I made this table in the early seventies and don't remember the process by which I arrived at dimensions. But being fairly new at woodworking I must have done some research before deciding what dimensions would work.

I have never given the overhang much thought in all these years, but having sat at the end thousands of times I am glad to say sixteen inches is perfectly adequate and that I would not recommend a shorter distance. (I had to clear the table of bricabrac to make a picture for this post.)

Dining Table Overhang.jpg

[G Douglas Fowler]

Not to belabor the point but the overhang may be a factor of how much room is available in the area where the table will be used. If the area can only accommodate a 72" table and needs to sit 6 then the amount of overhang is pretty much defined by the trestle base dimensions. If the area can accept a longer footprint hen I think you have an opportunity to suggest design "tweaks" to insure user comfort.

[J.R. Rutter]

Tough one Larry. I say mention it, propose small increase in length and/or radius on the ends, and build what she wants. Get the final plans signed off by her. I have done lots of what I consider to be ugly cabinet doors, but the buyers see it differently.