trestle table
{{Short description|Table made from two linked A- or X-shaped supports}}
{{Other uses|Trestle (disambiguation)}}
File:Trestle table MET 203528.jpg
File:Trestle Table MET 97190.jpg
File:Lotyšské etnografické muzeum v přírodě (74).jpg]]
File:Apparatus used by Joseph Lister, laid out on trestle tables Wellcome V0027905.jpg.]]
In woodworking, a trestle table is a table consisting of two or three trestle supports, often linked by a stretcher (longitudinal cross-member), over which a board or tabletop is placed.Webster's Third New International Dictionary In the Middle Ages, the trestle table was often little more than loose boards over trestle legs for ease of assembly and storage.{{cite web|url=https://www.finewoodworking.com/2005/09/13/a-short-history-of-tables|title=Blackburn, G. (n.d.). A Short History of Tables. Retrieved from Fine Woodworking.com.|publisher=}} This simple, collapsible style remained the most common Western form of table until the 16th century, when the basic trestle design gave way to stronger frame-based structures such as gateleg and refectory tables.[https://books.google.com/books?id=R8BMW6Au7pQC Gordon Campbell, The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts Vol 2, Oxford University Press US (2006) p411] Ease of assembly and storage has made it the ideal occasional table, and it remains a popular form of dining table, as those seated are not so inconvenienced as they might be with the more usual arrangement of a fixed leg at each corner.
Construction and uses
Trestle tables figure prominently in the traditional American style of household furnishings, usually accompanied by spindle-backed chairs.http://www.shaker.net/html/trestle.html Examples of modern trestle table and chairs The trestles in this case are normally of much higher quality, often made of oak and braced with a stretcher beam using a keyed tenon through the centre of each trestle. These typically support a high-quality waxed oak tabletop.http://www.oldandsold.com/articles03/hf1.shtml Americana-style trestle table Trestle tables are also used in the event furniture industry, they are the main table used at weddings and other types of venues today.{{Cite web|url=https://www.strictlytablesandchairs.co.uk/trestle-table-history|title=Trestle Table History|website=Strictly Tables and Chairs|access-date=2016-06-02}}
Heraldry
File:De Stratford Coat of Arms.jpeg coat of armsGuillim, John. "A Display of Heraldry" 1724]]
The trestle (also tressle, tressel and threstle) is (rarely) used as a charge in heraldry. It is symbolically associated with hospitality (as historically the trestle was a tripod used both as a stool and to support tables at banquets).
See also
References
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External links
- [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=trestle Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20041117171645/http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pimage?18107+0+0+iadfurn National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC]
- Historical reference at [https://web.archive.org/web/20060425105510/http://www.bartleby.com/65/ta/table.html Bartleby/Columbia Encyclopedia]
- Photos of a trestle table broken down into individual components at [http://rlgoins.com/projects_nameytrestletable.html RL Goins]
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