I spent the last two weeks making this pedestal/trestle bench as I continue to work towards completing this dining set. The bench is almost a clone of the table, and I think it really helps bring out the character of the set by replicating the detail in the pedestal bases.
Like the table, I started by laminating the lumber to create the large square blanks that become the feet, column and arm of the pedestals.
With the blanks done, I moved on to joining the pieces while they were still square. Large mortises in the arm and foot accept large tenons cut on each end of the column. The bulk of the waste of the mortise was removed at the drill press and the walls of the mortises perfected with a template and router.
The tenons were cut at the table saw to create the shoulder and the waste removed at the bandsaw. A shoulder plane was used to fine tune the fit of the tenon and true up the shoulders where they meet the foot and arm.
I finished up the joinery on the pedestals by creating the mortise that will accept the bottom rail and the half lap joints on the arms that will accept the upper rails. Then, the mating half lap was cut on the upper rails completing the joint.
With the joinery complete, I moved on to the fun part of shaping. The small facets were cut with a panel raising router bit and the large curves were cut at the bandsaw.
I finished the piece by sanding to 120-grit and applying the pre-aging treatment. After knocking down the grain with a 220-grit sanding sponge, I applied Rubio Monocoat’s Oil Plus2C hard wax oil finish. To assemble the piece, I glued in the bottom and top stretchers and screwed the top to the base with pre-drilled and counter sunk holes. Next up: Chairs!
Whitehurst Custom Woodworking 