Susie and Rob’s new kitchen and heating system meant a change of floor; they asked: Could you use the old oak floorboards? A gift horse. Six months later they called and asked: Could we make them a dining table? Yes. And, if we still had any left, could we use the old floorboards for the top? Maybe.
Flooring-grade oak with splintered tongue and groove and many ‘secret' nailing holes was something of a challenge. It suggested a more traditional, rustic table design and we quickly settled on a simple X-frame trestle, butt-jointed boards on top with breadboard ends.
The X-frame design is a traditional classic and with good reason. It offers simplicity with great strength. Some people like the way the legs seem to intrude less than some other designs.
African Blackwood was used for the tenon wedges. A favourite finish – two coats of Danish oil, a fine sanding followed by clear beeswax. Yes, you can put wax over an oil finish to good effect.
“Max has made other things for us over the years so we felt confident our new dining table would be in safe hands. We like to recycle when it makes sense and we were very pleased he was able to use our old floorboards for the top. Max’s suggestion of the X-trestle design while being quite traditional gives us plenty of room underneath and doesn’t overpower the slender top. We love the proportions and all the little details; in fact we love everything about it!”
Susie Hall, West Sussex
