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Customizing a Stretcher Base Table
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The Concept & the Base Assemblies  This article shows how stock components were easily modified to get custom results. The client will use the table for a lakefront cottage along the Quebec border. I chose stock part 307-SBX36F because it has a French feel, expressed in the combination of ring turnings and fluting. I chopped each leg in three places, and used the center shafts for legs. Also, I modified the pointed toe of the stock turning into a bun foot that supports the stretcher. See F.1
The table base was created by making two assemblies, the legs and aprons form one, and the base stretcher is the second. See Fig.2Legs & Aprons First I thought about how much the top should overhang the base, feeling that 4” on the sides and about 6” on the ends would be about right. Next I calculated the outside dimensions of the base, and mortised the legs in their upper blocks to receive the apron tenons. I created aprons the appropriate overall length to yield the base dimensions we were looking for after tenons were inserted into the leg mortises.H-Stretcher The H-stretcher is made from three parts, two end stretchers and one middle stretcher. Once I sized the parts (1 ¼” thick by 5 ½” wide), I moulded all four edges of the end stretchers and the two long edges of the medial stretcher. To create a nice sharp inside corner and to create a continuous flow, I used tenons and 45-degree joinery.Getting Hitched With both the stretcher and the apron/leg assemblies complete, it was time to marry the two together. Turning the apron assembly upside down, I aligned the stretcher on it, and then attached the assemblies using two screws through the bottom of the stretcher base up into each leg shaft.
To attach the feet, I installed a hanger bolt into the center of the bun foot (using good old Vise-grips), pre-drilled a pilot hole in the stretcher centered on the upper leg, and screwed the foot into the hole in the bottom of the stretcher.
The base then goes for finishing (see below).Size Matters Making tops with wide boards from the same log makes furniture more special by giving it a sense of rarity. These two beauties will finish just shy of 22” wide each yielding a 43” wide top when joined.Spline is Fine When I use wide boards, I often use a spline joint to draw attention to the exceptional width of the boards. The spline joint will keep the surfaces flush along the length of the table and allow the seasonal movement of wide boards to occur freely.
After milling the boards to a finished thickness of 1”, I use the table saw to cut a spline channel in each of the mating edges. The spline insert itself is milled to the same thickness as the blade kerf. TIP: If you are going to stain the table top dark, pre-stain the spline and mating board edges to prevent white wood from showing when the top shrinks seasonally.
At this point I detail the top boards using a hand plane. This imparts a distinctive scallop pattern into the pine top when finished.Breadboard Ends The breadboard end detail keeps the wide boards flat over time, and when correctly done, also allows the wide top boards to move seasonally. You can expect about 1/8” of seasonal change per foot of width of your top, and must design your joinery around this movement.
The more difficult part of the breadboard end detail is creating the tenons on the ends of the table top. I do this by mortising the ends of the table boards, and then gluing in 5/16 thick X 2” wide pieces that become the tenons.
The tenons float inside the bread board ends mortises, & cannot be glued. All that holds the breadboard ends on are pegs. I let the tenons "float" in the breadboard mortises, which are milled to allow at least a 1/8-in. of tenon movement in both directions. After fitting a breadboard edge over tenons glued in place, I drill peg holes in the breadboard - one hole for each tenon, using the “draw bore” technique. The draw bore slightly offsets the alignment of the holes in the two objects being pegged. When the peg goes home, the breadboard is “drawn” tight to the board ends.Peg It Home Regardless of the material I choose for the top, I use cherry or walnut pegs because they offer perfect hardness and a nice contrast to the pine. Pegging joints is trickier than it looks, especially for the uninitiated. I recommend our peg kit, which comes with pegs, a precision-matched drill bit, plus a really valuable tip sheet. It’s a cheap education. Tap the pegs gently home to draw the parts together for the next 150 years. Trim carefully and pare flush with a razor sharp chisel.Getting Edgy A thumbnail moulded edge detail would have been appropriate for a Vermont/Quebec furnishing from the late 1700’s. See the sketch for a profile. I used an off-the-shelf router bit from Woodtek, product no. 817-253, and ran around the table edge with the router, being careful with the hand planed surfaces, and using a bit of sandpaper to remove any machine marks from the power tool.Finishing I planned an antique painted base, so I began by adding the distress marks that simulate the age I like so much to the bare wood. I did this with rocks, key chains, awls and other implements of destruction. I also spoke shave wear marks in the stretcher base where 100 years of foot placement would have worn thin the moulding detail.
The entire base received a dark brown stain to prevent white wood from showing through when the soon-to-be-applied layers of paint are rubbed off.
When the stain was dry, I applied the base coat of black milk paint. A coat of crackle, and the topcoat of barn red followed this. Once the topcoat was dry to the touch, I used warm water and damp rags in a blotting action to soften the paint, lifting it off in an intuitive pattern of wear and age. To give yet another layer of age to the piece, I actually over-stained this base again with a light coat of water-based aniline dye stain. And again I used damp rags to lift the stain away in selected areas. The final step was to apply a coat of satin varnish to seal the work.
The wide-board top was lightly dinged and distressed, then oiled with several coats of boiled linseed oil cut 50-50 with turpentine. Its tone is a little bright now, belying the convincing patina of age on the base. In just a few years, however, the oil will yellow and darken to a deeper richness. For a look at the base with an aged pine top made 15 years ago, see below.
I hope this article has given you the inspiration to achieve custom results of your own with stock parts. Enjoy your creative time in the shop!
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