Bedside Table

So, this is the bedside table I just finished up. I made this base and a different top from scrap pine almost a year ago. I had no real use for the table, but had never made one. So, this seemed a good practice session for some left over materials.

At the time I was still working on my front porch (not enclosed). So, tooling and space was minimal. When I made the table top, I flattened it up with a belt sander and it looked pretty nice. Next day at the shop it had bent into a U shape. Lesson in wood movement I guess. So, like many of my projects where I run into some sort of snag, it got put on hold. And, it just sat until I realized it would fit perfect on the gap beside my bed.

I cut the mortise and tenon joints with my router in a jig that clamped to a sawhorse and would allow it to be used as a mini router table. (I hope to blog on some of my jigs later so maybe you’ll get to see it.)

The legs I tapered using a jointer. (You can see the method here. Although, I got the idea from a book by R. J. De Cristoforo and he made it much simpler.)

The drawer is just simple butt joints reinforced with nails and a false front made to overlap the carcass hole.

Being a little more experienced now, I decided to make the new top breadboard style out of poplar. So no glue on the end caps, just three small screws from the underside that go through slots in the tenon to allow for wood expansion. Nice and flat, since I now own planes and scrapers.

I finished with oil based stain and 2 coats of Polly for the top. And, some leftover paint on the base. Oh and a little store bought pull for the drawer.

-- Current Favorite Tool - Bandsaw