My mother-in-law's table

So last fall my mother-in-law mentioned that she wanted a table for her birthday/thanksgiving. Okay, it was more than a mention. She said they wanted to build one, and did I have any ideas.

Here is what I was told, it needs to be big so all the grandchildren can fit around it. They didn't want to spend too much on it. And finally, we talked about style.

Now I love Arts & Crafts style furniture and architecture, so I drew up se plans for a trestle table. I did this for two reasons, first we decided they wanted built in benches on one wall, and a trestle table is ideal for pushing under a built in. Second, I like the look.

I suggested we make it out of Douglas-fir, which my father-in-law thought was weird. I said it would keep costs down and we could use a super hard finish on it to compensate for the softness of the wood.

We spent a Saturday working on the legs. We used traditional mortise and tenon. My father-in-law cut all the parts to size, and I bored holes and used a chisel to make the mortises.

A few days later I came back and glued up the top. The top was a bit bendy, but we thought we could pull that out when we attached the top.

My father-in-law then did the hard part, sanding.

Work came to a halt when we figured that my mother-in-law wouldn't be hosting thanksgiving. Anyway, this last weekend work picked up again. I helped move the table inside and attach the top. My father-in-law was worried about the top flattening out. He decided to use lag bolts through the top. We pre drilled holes so we can use a dowel to plug the holes.

Here are some photos. He has to use some pre-stain conditioner to keep the wood from blotching, then stain and finish it.

I have to say I'm happy and I like the look.