Michael has seen a variety of ways to make tables expand and has made almost all of them. But his favorite, and the only way he makes them now, is by using the “butterfly” method. This method stores the leaf under the table, allowing it to be opened when the top is extended. The leaf is never lost or damaged, as often happens when it’s stored separately from the table. This method works with most table designs, whether they’re trestle, leg and apron, or pedestal-style. Multiple leaves can be stored, each opening in a butterfly fashion as the table increases in size. Each person will make a solid wood framework that shows how to locate the critical pivot point and effortlessly clear the surrounding table structure. Whether students already have a design in mind or wish to design and make an expanding table in the future, this class will equip them to include this unique mechanism in their table construction.