Adding extension leaves to dining table

The customer had owned a dining table for several years but found that now it was too short for their requirements.

The table, purchased from a bespoke furniture shop, was made from European ash with a distinctive grain.

One of the extension leaves made in European ash

We sourced material that was a very close to the ‘olive ash’ appearance of the original table in order to ensure the new leaves matched the tabletop.

A mechanism was created for the underside, comprising two sets of sliding rails, which had to be offset in order that they could be housed when not in use.

Assembly of the sliding rail mechanism to support the leaves

The manual operated system requires that the leaves are stored separately and added to the table when needed. To keep them stable, the leaves are attached to the rails using bolts.

The leaves were made with the grain running at a right angle to the main tabletop as this direction provides better stability and helps the wood stay flat when a piece is shorter than it is wide.

Both the leaves and rails were finished with a tinted hardwax oil to match to existing tabletop.

The table with added leaves

“The leaves are beautiful and the mechanism he created for it to slot in to place is impressive. I couldn’t be happier…I would highly recommend!” – Rebecca, Google review

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