Jacob
Pint of bass, porkpie, and packet of crisps please
Here's the best photo I could find of the round table I rescued some years ago. It was a skip find, just the top, no pedestal. Top of two mahogany boards about 20mm thick diameter 12OO.
The framework is cleverer than it looks.
The two bearers aligned with the grain could be screwed tight as there would be no movement along them. The two cross pieces reach right across, across the grain, but without touching the rim apron. They'd need to accommodate movement and be screwed through slots, or better still held with buttons.
The 4 joints would be M&Ts but dry fit and with horizontal space in the mortice for movement.
These bearers and the apron itself were about 30 x 44mm.
The rim was made up of two layers of sawn softwood 8 pieces following the curve coursed like brickwork just glued and nailed (to each other, the hoop itself screwed to the top). The original was veneered but my bodge replacement was just painted black. There must have been enough flexibility in the circular rim to allow movement.
So the whole thing is lightweight but well braced enough to stay flat and allow movement.
The original pedestal would have been fitted to a square block 44 deep, sitting between the bearers (where there is a light patch). This had hinges and a catch - at least you could see where they had been.
If I was doing a circular table I'd definitely follow the same design, perhaps just scaled up or down according to size. Perhaps make the thickness the full 25mm on your 1.8m diameter.
It had held together well for 100 years or so.
I made up a non trad pedestal with 3 legs - quite close in - you could tell at a glance that it wouldn't be a good idea to sit on the edge!
PS the whole thing quite easy to do, except for veneering the apron. The top had a thumbnail moulding formed on the edge.
PPS Buttons just need to be loose fit too. They aren't structural they are just there to keep the top located in place, particularly if you were to lift it by the edges. If the top lifts a mm or so when you lift it that's OK as long as it goes back in place - better than being too tight and transmitting stresses.
The framework is cleverer than it looks.
The two bearers aligned with the grain could be screwed tight as there would be no movement along them. The two cross pieces reach right across, across the grain, but without touching the rim apron. They'd need to accommodate movement and be screwed through slots, or better still held with buttons.
The 4 joints would be M&Ts but dry fit and with horizontal space in the mortice for movement.
These bearers and the apron itself were about 30 x 44mm.
The rim was made up of two layers of sawn softwood 8 pieces following the curve coursed like brickwork just glued and nailed (to each other, the hoop itself screwed to the top). The original was veneered but my bodge replacement was just painted black. There must have been enough flexibility in the circular rim to allow movement.
So the whole thing is lightweight but well braced enough to stay flat and allow movement.
The original pedestal would have been fitted to a square block 44 deep, sitting between the bearers (where there is a light patch). This had hinges and a catch - at least you could see where they had been.
If I was doing a circular table I'd definitely follow the same design, perhaps just scaled up or down according to size. Perhaps make the thickness the full 25mm on your 1.8m diameter.
It had held together well for 100 years or so.
I made up a non trad pedestal with 3 legs - quite close in - you could tell at a glance that it wouldn't be a good idea to sit on the edge!
PS the whole thing quite easy to do, except for veneering the apron. The top had a thumbnail moulding formed on the edge.
PPS Buttons just need to be loose fit too. They aren't structural they are just there to keep the top located in place, particularly if you were to lift it by the edges. If the top lifts a mm or so when you lift it that's OK as long as it goes back in place - better than being too tight and transmitting stresses.
