A while back I posted a question about a design for a kitchen table, and Gene Davis was more than helpful in coming up with some good ideas for me (thanks again Gene!). I've finally gotten time to work on this again and have some questions about the material sizing and joinery.
I've attached a Sketchup drawing of the base (based heavily on Gene's design), as well as a picture of the table that inspired the design. On my table the legs are going to get "roughed up" with rasps to make them look a little more "natural". The top will be live-edged so the leg treatment is going to complement that. The top will be about 72"x44" and about 1.5" thick. The space between the legs will be 40". The vertical leg pieces are angled 6 degrees left and right. The leg assemblies themselves will be fully vertical and will not angle away from each other at all.
The leg pieces are all 2" thick (i.e. along the long dimension of the table). The feet are 3.25" tall (by 38" long); the vertical leg pieces are 2.5" wide; the mid-leg stretchers, the main stretcher, and the cleats at the top are all 2" wide/tall. Everything will be solid material, so no glue-ups. The joinery will be all blind mortise and tenon (i.e. no thru-tenons); they will all be pinned, but I've never done drawbore. The mortises are all about 3/4" thick by 1.5" to 1.75" in width. The length / depth of the mortises will be about 1.25".
My concerns are with respect to the material sizing and joinery. Is this base design going to hold up to the needs of a dining room table? I don't think I'm concerned about the mortise and tenon joints all that much, although I would like to hear opinions on those as well. My main concern is whether that lone stretcher can handle the stress that will be placed upon it. I was wondering whether I should have a second stretcher along the top of the legs (I do have the material; no worries there). I figure that would help resist movement and would allow for more anchor points for the top.
Thoughts, concerns, and opinions are more than welcome.
Thanks,
Steve