Harvest Table

he drop-leaf table is one of the

most versatile designs that I build.

I’ve made small, 30-in. square end

tables, 10 footers for major dinner parties,

tables with drawers, tables with one leaf,

and tables with leaves that hang almost to

the floor. The form can be used not just for

dining tables but also for side, end, serving

and couch tables.

Recently, I was commissioned to design

and construct a drop-leaf table and a set of

chairs to seat eight. The base should pro-

vide diners with adequate chair space, with

no one straddling a leg. Figuring 24 in. (or

more) per serving area, I came up with a

base that’s 28

⁄2 in. by 79 in.

For the top dimensions, I figured 31 in.

wide by 84 in. long. The top extends be-

yond the base so that the two 9-in. leaves

can hang below. When down, the leaves

allow for chairs to be slid under them. With

the leaves up, the total width of the table-

top becomes roughly 48 in. (because of the

rule-joint overlap). I made this tabletop

⁄16 in. thick, but

⁄4 in. is the minimum—less

than that and the quirk (or filet) on the leaf

rule joint becomes too thin or fragile.

Glue up the top and build the base

Start by gluing up the top and leaves from

⁄8-in.-thick stock. When flattened and sand-

ed, the finished product is

⁄16 in. thick, a

smidge more than minimum. Next, cut the

legs to 1

⁄8 in. square by 29

⁄4 in. long. Taper

the four legs to 1

⁄8 in. on the tablesaw us-

ing a jig, then clean them up on the jointer.

The mortises in the 4-in.-wide aprons are

⁄8 in. thick by 1

⁄8 in. deep by 3

⁄8 in. wide

(located

⁄4 in. from the top of the leg and

⁄8 in. from the apron bottom). I’m fortunate

enough to own a horizontal slot mortiser,

but this joint is easily cut by hand, with a

drill press and chisels or with a router.

The aprons are milled from

⁄8-in.-thick

62 FINE WOODWORKING

Harvest Table

This Shaker drop-leaf design can be built for two or for 20

BY CHRISTIAN BECKSVOORT

Photos, except where noted: Matthew Teague; this page: Dennis Griggs

stock: two pieces 4 in. by 28 in. and two

pieces 4

⁄4 in. by 79 in. (The long side

aprons are purposely oversize in both di-

mensions.) Before you cut and chop up the

long aprons to make the leaf supports, or

spinners, make a story stick. The stick

shows the location of the two legs, the

three spinners, the four hinges and the four

attachment points where the top will be

screwed to the base. With the story stick,

you can then make witness marks in the

appropriate locations on the aprons: two

short 3-in. ends, three 18-in. spinners and

two spacers between the spinners. Then

rip 1

⁄4-in.-wide strips the full length of both

aprons and joint the pieces. With the wit-

ness marks in place, cut the spinners and

the spacers to length with the miter gauge

set to 45° (for other leaf-support options,

see p. 65).

Now it’s time to reconstruct. Starting from

the center, line up the spinner with its wit-

ness marks. On either side, glue and tape

the two spacers onto the apron, place the

other two spinners and glue the two end

spacers. Then remove the spinners and

clamp the spacers. Drill

⁄8-in. holes through

the center points of each of the six spin-

ners. Once the glue has dried, attach the

spinners using 10d finish nails. Let the

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002 63Drawings: Bob La Pointe

CHERRY DINING TABLE

⁄2 in.

79 in.

⁄16 in.

CORNER DETAIL

31 in.

9 in.

84 in.

Dowels,

⁄4 in. dia.

⁄8 in.

Side aprons,

⁄8 in. thick by 4 in.

wide by 24

⁄4 in.

long, shoulder to

shoulder

Front and rear aprons,

⁄8 in. thick by 4 in.

wide by 75

⁄4 in. long,

shoulder to shoulder

Spinners, 1

⁄8 in.

wide by 18 in. long

⁄8 in. thick

⁄8 in.

Spinner ends

are cut at 45°.

Inside faces

of each leg

are tapered

from apron

to floor.

Legs,

⁄4 in.

long

Corner

blocks

Ledger strips,

⁄2 in. wide

by 4 in. long

Shoulders at

top of tenons,

⁄4 in.

Each spinner pivots on

a 10d finish nail with

the head clipped off.

⁄8 in.

Leaves,

⁄16 in.

thick by 9 in. wide

by 84 in. long

Top,

⁄16 in. thick

by 31 in. wide by

84 in. long

This classic Shaker dining table features drop leaves that are

supported by spinners cut into the aprons. For two other leaf-

support options, see p. 65.

Apron tenons,

⁄8 in. thick by

⁄8 in. wide by

⁄8 in. deep

heads protrude about

⁄4 in. and nip them

off with pliers. Then sand the aprons, cut

them to length and cut all of the tenons.

Now glue the long aprons to the legs and

pin the joints with

⁄4-in.-dia. pins. When the

two long sides of the table are ready, glue

and pin the short aprons between them.

With the base assembled, make corner

blocks from 1

⁄4-in. by 3

⁄2-in. stock to

strengthen the joint. Screw each block into

both the aprons and leg. The aprons are

only

⁄8 in. thick, so add 1

⁄2-in.-wide ledger

strips to the top inside surfaces between

the spinners. These ledgers are drilled out

for a

⁄4-in. by

⁄8-in. slot to allow for move-

ment of the top. Near each leg, there is al-

so a similar slot in the corner blocks, as

well as a 1-in.-dia. access hole on the bot-

tom of the blocks. On the end aprons, add

a ledger strip with just a

⁄4-in.-dia. hole at

the center. These two holes anchor the

tabletop and ensure even wood movement

across the top.

Cut the rule joint

Once you’ve established the critical di-

mensions of the rule joint (see the story on

p. 66), it’s time to set up the router. I have

two, so I can have one set up for the

roundover cut (table edge) and the other

for the cove cut (leaf). That allows me to go

Cut apart the apron. At the tablesaw, rip the

spinner stock from the top edge of the apron.

Let it spin on a nail. Becksvoort uses nails to act as pivot pins, because they are stronger than

brass and can be let into a smaller hole.

Separate the spinner stock. Becksvoort

cuts the spinners using a 45° crosscut sled.

Position the spinners. Starting at the center

of the apron, clamp the first spinner in place.

SPINNERS SUPPORT THE DROP LEAVES

1 CUT THE SPINNERS FROM THE APRON 2 REASSEMBLE THE APRON

FINE WOODWORKING

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002 65

back and recut either portion of the joint if

I’m not happy with the fit.

Make the roundover cuts first on the

tabletop. Three passes usually get me to

the appropriate depth. The router bit’s

bearing rides on just a sliver of edge on the

final pass, so you need to clamp an auxil-

iary wood fence to the router base for a

longer bearing surface.

Next, mount a cove bit in the router and

make three passes under each leaf. Now fit

each leaf next to the tabletop, and sight

down the joint. Differences in height will,

for the most part, be pulled together by the

four hinges. Differences in width or paral-

lelism will have to be adjusted. First use a

block plane to remove tight areas (usually

on the leaf, which is more prone to bow-

ing). Once the gap between leaf and table

is a constant width, flip over the leaf and

rerout the cove. Because the bearing rides

on the quirk that you’ve just planed to fit,

that’s where all of the routing takes place.

Once you’re satisfied with the fit of both

joints, you can install the hinges.

Attach leaves and fine-tune the fit

First, locate the hinges using the story stick.

Because the hinges are perfectly flush to

the underside (if properly installed), the lo-

cations can be altered if you have a severe

OTHER LEAF-SUPPORT OPTIONS

SWING ARMS

Swing arms involve a double apron along the leaf sides.

Knuckle joints on both ends of the short apron allow the ends

to swing out to support the leaves. With proper spacing and

planning, one or more swing arms can be used. With well-

made knuckle joints, this is arguably the strongest leaf-

support system because it does not involve cutting the apron.

SLIDING SUPPORTS

Although a bit more work

than making spinners,

sliding supports are a neat

and clean alternative. They

should be no more than a

third the height of the

aprons. They work best

where the leaves are less

than half the width of the

tabletop. For a complete

description, see FWW

#111, pp. 75-79.

Rebuild the apron. Reglue the parts of the apron, making

sure everything remains in the correct order. Keep things

tight, and work from the center toward the ends.

Don’t just drive a nail. With the spinner

clamped in place, drill a hole in the center

to accept a 10d finish nail.

Bumpers allow smooth spinning.

Before installing the spinners,

Becksvoort planes them slightly, then

sets nylon bumpers into place.

3 ATTACH THE SPINNERS

66 FINE WOODWORKING

warp in a leaf, for example. However, if

your table is narrow, and you have attach-

ment screws that go through the aprons,

the hinges cannot go in the same place as

the screws. Bring a line from the quirk on

the tabletop to the underside of the table.

Set a marking gauge

⁄64 in. closer to the

table’s edge and mark through all eight

hinge locations. Then center the hinge pins

over the scribe marks, with the long leaves

extending onto the table leaves. With a

pencil, mark the locations of the hinge bar-

rels and draw these lines parallel to the

scribe marks.

Using a

⁄4-in. bit, rout out for the hinge

barrel. This trough can be a bit deeper and

wider than the barrel, but no longer. Clean

the ends with a

⁄4-in. chisel. Clamp both

ends of the table and leaves right at the

joint. Place the hinge barrel into the trough,

keep the pin centered on the scribe line

and use a sharp knife to scribe all four sides

of the hinge. With the router set to the

thickness of the leaves, rout the mortise

and clean the corners with a chisel. The

hinge should be snug and flush. Drive in all

six screws (at least

⁄8 in. shorter than the

top thickness). Repeat for each hinge.

If the table and leaves are straight, fitted

and laid out accurately, fine-tuning the

joint is a minor chore. I fold down the leaf

and take a few passes with a block plane

along the bottom edge of the top. A bit of

hand-sanding, and that’s it. Frequently, it is

a bit more involved. When I fold the leaf

back up, it invariably rubs and squeaks. Of-

When hinging a rule joint, convention says to cen-

ter the hinge under the quirk, but I’ve found that

it’s better to offset the center of the hinge

⁄64 in.

closer to the edge of the tabletop. The center of

the hinge pin is buried

⁄8 in. above the bottom sur-

face, which is the rotating axis of the joint. Conse-

quently, the quirk height is the sum of the depth of

the hinge pin (

⁄8 in.) plus the radius of the

roundover bit (

⁄2 in.), which totals

⁄8 in., subtracted

from the total thickness of the top. To keep the

quirks substantial, I made this tabletop

⁄16 in.

thick, but

⁄4 in. is minimum. For a

⁄16-in.-thick top, that leaves a

⁄16-in. quirk

on the tabletop. On the leaf, a

⁄32-in. clearance is ideal between it and the

table, meaning that the leaf quirk is only

⁄32 in.

The rule joint: It all hinges on the barrel

Cut half a rule joint. Take several light passes before set-

ting the bit to final depth and cutting the roundover portion

of the rule joint (left). Then cut the leaf of the tabletop in

several passes with a cove bit.

Locate the hinge bar-

rel. Square a line up from

the quirk.

A SMOOTH-OPERATING RULE JOINT

1 ROUT THE TABLETOP AND LEAVES

RULE-JOINT DETAIL

Thickness,

⁄16 in.

(

⁄4 in. minimum)

Hinge center is

offset

⁄64 in.

from the quirk.

Tabletop

quirk

⁄16 in.

Leaf quirk,

⁄32 in.

Hinge pin

is inset

⁄8 in.

Long leaf

⁄2-in.

radius

Continue

roundover,

remove

with a

block

plane.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002 67

ten I can visually locate the points of con-

tact and eliminate them with a rabbet plane

and sandpaper. More often than not, I get

out my supply of ancient carbon paper and

slide it between the leaf and table, then

fold the leaf up and down a few times to lo-

cate the friction points. I do this along the

entire length, two or three times, planing

and sanding the dark spots each time.

When both leaves fold smoothly, mark

equal distances from the end hinges for an

84-in. length, square a line across both

ends and cut the assembly to length. I use a

circular saw with a fence clamped in place.

I belt-sand through to 320 grit, hand-sand

using 320 grit and then polish with 0000

steel wool.

Attach the top, open the spinners 90° and

mark under the tabletop for stops. A small

⁄2-in. by

⁄2-in. by 1-in. block glued to each

of the six marked locations allows the spin-

ners to open perpendicular to the table

aprons. If I detect any sag in the leaves, I

glue a small wedge-shaped shim in front of

the stop blocks to level the leaves.

My finish of choice is Tried & True var-

nish oil, four or five coats applied over a

three-week period. Rub with 0000 steel

wool after the first coat, and let subsequent

coats build to a satin sheen.



Christian Becksvoort is a contributing editor.

Mark the contact spots. Set the leaf in place,

and mark spots where the joint makes contact.

Trim the leaf, not the tabletop. A few passes with a handplane helps achieve an even re-

veal. Once the joint closes up, rerout the profile on the leaf and try another test fit.

Carbon paper still has a

use. Becksvoort holds

carbon paper between the

joint as he opens and closes

the leaf. Black marks are

left where the joint is too

tight. Those spots are

trimmed with sandpaper

or a block plane.

2 ADJUST THE REVEAL AND REROUT THE LEAVES

3 INSTALL THE HINGES AND CHECK THE FIT