The Arc Trestle Table is the first realization of a concept I’ve been exploring for years. One of my main passions in furniture making is combining metal and wood, finding how I can mix the materials and balance their contrasting properties. This project was a new way for me to work with these media, with wood playing a more structural role than just being used for the top.
The table is composed of four parts — trestles, rail, and top — interlocking with no fasteners at all, making for a knock-down design that assembles in seconds.
For rigidity, the trestles are constructed as trusses, hammered at the anvil from mild steel bar stock into the correct angles and then TIG welded together with plate steel connections. This triangular truss design allows the legs to achieve a semicircular arc with almost no flex.
The heavy wooden rail is laminated from five layers of stiff Afrormosia which were cold-bent and glued over an arced form. Angled slots on the underside of the rail ensure a snug fit across the trestles, resulting in an incredibly stable platform.
The weight of the thick Claro walnut top further solidifies the structure; strategic notches where the wood meets the metal create tension with the trusses to lock everything in place.
- Claro walnut, salvaged Afrormosia, mild steel
- 65″ long x 28″ wide x 29″ tall
