Last night I finished construction on our new draw leaf table - just in time for the wife's b-day dinner tomorrow. I will post some pics and more info on the table later, but I wanted to start this thread while I was thinking about it. When I started planning the build I consulted the mighty Google and was disappointed with how little info was out there about this awesome design. I watched Rough Cut's video many times and it was probably the best source of ideas, but still sparse on details. Especially the dimensions of the runners. This is my first dining table build and I made many mistakes, but nothing I couldn't overcome. Here are some thoughts that hopefully will help the next guy get it right the first time.
- The top and leaves should be the same thickness. I got in a hurry and didn't double-check my measurements. I built the layers at different times and the top ended up about 3/16" thicker than the leaves. Since the top rests on the runners when they're pulled out, the top was proud about 3/16". I compensated by shaving that much off the top of the runners so the top would sit flush with the leaves, but plane them the same thickness and you won't have to.
- The angled cut on the runners needs to be precise or the leaves will tilt in relation to the top. I found very little info on this part, but after much pondering it really is very simple. The cutoff section is a right triangle; the short leg is the thickness of the leaf and the long leg is the width of the leaf. The hypotenuse is where you make the cut. My leaves are roughly 47"x15.5"x3/4" so I cut a 15.5"x3/4" right triangle off the runners.
- In case this doesn't make sense immediately (it didn't for me) maybe this will help. Having never seen a draw leaf table up close and personal I had a hard time envisioning the geometry of the runners and how it would work. Consider that the top is not attached, but rests on the cross pieces and only has a couple of dowels to keep it from sliding around. With the leaves extended the top is still in the same place, which means the leaves have to rise to the same elevation as the top. Between stored and full-extension the leaves travel in a straight line - vertically the height of the top and horizontally the width of the leaf. Regardless of where the leaf is between stored and extended it will always be level. Once I figured that out the entire mechanism made sense.
- For the tapered runners to guide the leaves the full vertical and horizontal distance they have to start out with the top of the runner flush with the top of the apron when the leaf is stored. That means the depth of the runner slot will be the thickness of the end of the runner's taper, which also means the runner has to be mounted with the end of the runner flush with the outside face of the apron.
- Some tables I saw pictures of had the slot cut flat. I tapered mine to match the angle of the runner. If you cut them with a flat bottom keep in mind that the depth needs to match the height of the runner at the inside of the apron, not the outside.
- The cross-pieces under the top serve a few different purposes. They stop the leaf, keep the edges of it flush with the top, and they make a good place to drill the holes for the dowels. They also keep the leaves from tipping down when extended. I struggled with figuring the thickness and how to know how much wood I needed between the runner and the cross-piece. This also makes sense when you see it. Naturally they have to be the same thickness as the leaves, so with the leaf stored the cross-piece is sitting flat on the runner. Since the runner always travels in the same plane it will always be touching the edge of the cross-piece. No spacer required.
- Make sure your runners are thick and wide enough to hold the weight of the extended leaf plus the weight of your elbows when you're leaning on it after dinner.
- Also make sure they're far enough apart to keep the top from tipping when someone leans on it since the top rests on the runners when the leaves are extended.
That's about all I can think of at the moment. Hope it helps! It has been a huge learning experience and I'm fairly certain my next draw leaf table will take considerably less than a year of nights and weekends to build and will probably have fewer errors. Anyway, I'll post pics and details sometime in the next few days.
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