Bespoke Dining Table - VIII - Final Assembly of the Dining Table

This is a short series following the creation of a bespoke dining table all the way through the making process, from selecting the timber to delivery to the client.

The final countdown - the home straight, squeaky bum time. I've been making bespoke furniture for a while now, but it never ceases to catch me off guard quite how late in the process you find out whether the design truly works. I've modelled it in CAD and subjected it to point loads and distributed weights, analysing deflection under load. I've 3D-printed it in miniature to check the proportions in true 3D. But it's only at this stage that a maker gets a definitive thumbs up that all the work - at the drawing board, on the computer, and at the bench - has paid off.

For this design, the two pedestal bases bolt through to the under-frame with stainless steel fixings - necessary to keep delivery manageable, since each pedestal was particularly weighty. Loose tenons mean that once the bolts are tightened, the structure becomes completely rigid, with the fixings hidden beneath the tabletop.

Look closely and you'll spot small bolts protruding from the top of the frame. These locate into keyhole slots in the underside of the tabletop. Once the top is in place, a simple tap of a mallet seats the bolt heads into the keyholes, holding everything flat. Bolts are then added along the centreline - where no allowance for seasonal movement is needed - locking the whole structure into place.

And finally, a chance to prove the calculations were right, and the table won't flex even under my considerable weight: there's no better test than climbing on the piece you've just spent weeks making.