Festool Domino Machine Instruction Manual - page 61

At the vary beginning of this manual I 

said that the construction of a butterfly 

leaf table was for many woodworkers a 

bit of a rite of passage.  Because it is so 

difficult to build cor-

rectly using conven-

tional construction 

techniques, it is often a 

frustrating experience 

trying to get all the pivot 

points to line up prop-

erly.

The construction tech-

niques we will follow 

here greatly simplify all 

aspects of these inter-

esting and useful ta-

bles.  I think you will 

find them helpful in ex-

panding your wood-

working skills into a 

whole new range of 

projects.  At least, that 

is my hope.  

So, here goes.

Butterfly leaf table

This example is a very small dining table 

sized to fit an upscale arts and crafts 

style condominium which has no formal 

dining room so it has to fit into the eating 

space in the kitchen area.  

Because it is so much smaller than a 

conventional dining table, I designed it to 

look like a library table when closed.  This 

one is made from Oregon Black Walnut 

and Australian Silky Oak (often called 

“Lace Wood” in this country).  It is 850mm 

wide by 1580mm long when closed.  It is 

standard height at 750mm.  The leaf is 

400mm wide so extended the table grows 

to 1980mm long.  In inches these dimen-

sions are 33.5” wide by 62.25” long 

closed (78” when extended) and 29.5” 

high. 

The characteristic of a butterfly leaf table 

is that the leaf stores folded under the ta-