Side table for Mother-in-law's kitchen

Nothing terribly fancy here. This was a gift to my Mother-in-law. She requested a simple side table that was the same height as the top of her stove, since it’s on a wall by itself and there are no nearby counter tops to set trivets or utensils on. It also fits around a small trash can that goes underneath the table. Those two requirements explain why the legs are so tall relative to the top.

It’s made of red oak finished with Minwax stain and satin poly. For such a simple project, it exacted more than its fair share of blood, sweat, and tears. Well, no tears, but a fair amount of sweat and more actual blood than I would care to lose in another project. I have since acquired a decent starter bench from Grizzly. Makes planing a lot easier, and certainly more safe.

I threw together an ugly but functional taper jig for my tablesaw in order to shape the legs. At the time, the big box stores near me didn’t have oak 2×2 stock in the length I needed, so I had to laminate two 1×2 oak pieces together for each leg. The top of made from 1×6, sawed in two and joined at the center. The top is secured with metal table top fasteners that ride in a kerf in the aprons that are only visible if you flip the table upside down. The legs are joined to the aprons using pocket screws.

Like I said, nothing terribly fancy. But for what the project requires, it works.

-- Brian in Arlington, TX - Laziness is the foundation of efficiency.