Thread: Side Tables - My Second Project

I have finally managed to cut all the wood for the two tables to the correct dimensions, except for length. I cut the length when I come to use the piece. I tend to make less mistakes that way.

I was really lucky to get a whole bunch of 6x2 off-cuts from a local building site, which will be just the thing for this project because of all the 4" planks that are in the plans. 6x2 jointed and trimmed leaves plenty of timber for 4x1s.

I've attached some photos of where I'm up to.
- The stack of dimensioned lumber
- The legs of the table with mortises done.
- The table saw with mortise jig
- My homemade mortise jig.

Cheers all,
John

Finally, after lots of cutting, routing, sanding and measuring (not necessarily in that order), I've got something this is almost recognizable as taking the shape of a small table.

All the parts have been sanded to 100 grit. The visible parts will be sanded to 220 grit before I fully assemble and glue up the job.

I've deviated from the plans with regards to the bottom shelf. I don't have a biscuit joiner, so I went with a long mortise and tenon on each end of the shelf. It seems to work rather well, and should be stronger than the original design. I plan to only glue the bottom shelf in the middle of the joint so that the panel can shrink and expand. I'm not sure if this is necessary, but one can't be too careful, and the mortise and tenon give it a nice solid feel.
Feel free to comment. I'm very new at this.

Next step is to put the slats in the side panels and then start work on the drawer. I've never done a drawer before and must admit that I'm a little intimidated.

We've got a visitor coming at the end of the month so I'm up against a deadline since we don't have any bedside tables in the spare room. I think I'll make it, but it'll be a close run thing. I learned in my last project that staining and finishing takes a lot longer than I expect.

Cheers all,
John

I'm not taking any credit for the mortising jig. I got the plans off a forum somewhere.
I can't remember exactly where now so I've included them here for reference should anyone want to build it.

I didn't like the way it looked when I first built it and tossed it on the top shelf of my cupboard, until I really fudged up a set of mortises on my planter box project. So for this project I thought I'd give the jig a try. To my surprise it worked remarkably well. Far better than I expected and resulted in nice, straight, predictable, and repeatable mortises. And for 40 mortises just for the side slats alone, that is a very good thing.

Maybe the Saturday afternoon it took me to build the jig wasn't the total waste of time as I originally thought.

Cheers all,
John

they look alright, I will be looking closely at this, as I need to make some for my main room.

Robert

Another good day on the tools and I've made some really visible and tactile progress.
First order of the day was to sand all external faces of the timber to 220 grit. I'm not such a martyr as to do the inside faces to that level; they can stay happily at 100 grit.

After much mental agonizing I decided to sand over the corners of all the pieces rather than go with a round-over bit in the router or leave them crisp and sharp. As it turned out, it was the correct choice, IMHO. The timber feels silky and a delight to touch.

That should be pretty much the end of the sanding, except for bits here and there. I'm not a huge fan of sanding, but I DO like the result it gives.

The final task today was to fit the slats into the sides. This involved a bit of manual chisel work so that they would fit, and I was a bit daunted at first (being 40 ends to go into 40 holes!) but it wasn't as bad as I feared. A little here, a little there...

Anyway, there's some more photos for your perusal.
I've put some of the raw material in the front of the tables to show what I started with. I get a real buzz from taking others scraps and making something beautiful and useful. (And I'm too cheap to buy wood when I'm still learning the game! )

Cheers,
John

Great work. They are looking very nice.

I glued up the sides last night.
I always get a bit nervous when I apply glue because there really is no going back at this point.
The one positive thing about it though is that with clamping the joints came together nicely, and the gaps that were visible in the dry fit are either gone or far less visible.

Now to glue the back and the shelf in and start work on the drawers.
I'm worried about those drawers. I've heard too many horror stories I think.

Cheers all,
John
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I am still learning

looking good

Another couple of 1/2 days of work and I'm closing in on the end of this project.

The bases of the tables have been glued up and have come together nicely.
I DO like clamps when I'm glueing up: those annoying little gaps that were worrying me during the dry fit mostly disappeared under some high pressure clamping. Not all, but most, and I'm a happy little camper.

Now it was time for the drawers. I've been dreading these since I first selected the plans, mostly because I've heard they can be a trial. So I took it very slowly and did lots of test cuts on all the scraps of wood I had lying around. Suprisingly enough, they came together rather well. Instead of buying plywood for the drawer bottoms I laminated some masonite which had a nice pattern finish. It worked out at exactly the right thickness and saved me a trip to the hardware shop. (Have I mentioned that I'm cheap?)

I hope to finish this project off next weekend. I have to; our guest arrives the week after and we need the tables in the spare bedroom. The pressure is on!

Here are the photos.

Cheers all,
John

Nice job there John, can't wait to see the finished product

I think I can, I think I can...

O NO !!!!!!

I knew it was going too smoothly. Just glue up the drawers, fit the tops and on to the finishing. Yup, that's only a Saturday's work. A couple of evenings to finish off maybe.

I was happily gluing up the drawers and was a little slow sliding a dovetail joint together. (The drawer sides attach to the front via sliding dovetail joints.) All of a sudden the side stopped. And I mean dead stopped. I couldn't pull it out, I couldn't belt it in, not even with a hammer. I couldn't press it in with clamp pressure. There it was, half in and half out of the drawer front, mocking me.
All I can say is that the atmosphere in the garage wasn't the happiest or most sunny at that particular time.
I wiggled and pulled and "POP", the side of the dovetail joint in the drawer front split off. . Oh, but that didn't help my mood any!
But all was not lost. It was a very clean break and it allowed me to get the two pieces apart! A bit of chisel here, a bit of glue there, a bit of sanding along the way, and all was rescued. I DID NOT want to remake the drawer front and side from scratch.
Lesson of the day: Don't dawdle during glue ups!

Finished the drawers and went to bed.

The next day the good lady offered to help with the staining, and I gladly accepted. So we set about conditioning the wood, applying Special Walnut stain (which is a reasonable match with the existing sideboard in the spare room) and the first coat of spar urethane.

I'm reasonably happy with the result. I've decided that I don't really like the colour, but I didn't have a choice due to needing to match, so there it is. There's nothing like stain to show up your shortcomings and errors. Most I can live with, but one of the tops is made from two different timbers; one light and one reddish. I was hoping the dark stain would cover it. Unfortunately not, and the different woods are very noticeable. Another lesson learned. A small cloth on the table and a vase of flowers and no-one will be the wiser.

Anyway, all that's left is a couple of coats of urethane and screw on the tops, which I've done already in a dry run, and they'll be ready to go.

Here's some photos.
Cheers,
John

lovely work mate!!! It is coming along nicely

The tables are done, completed, finished, etc, et.al.

A second coat of spar urethane went on last night and tonight the tops were attached and the drawers made to slide reasonably. Not 100% satisfied with the drawers. I know now why they invented roller bearings and pressed steel runners: because bunnies like me like things to run really smoothly with less effort. It's not a big deal. No-one uses the drawers in a side table in a spare room anyway.

I think I'll sand the large surfaces back with super fine sandpaper at a later date and try and get a smoother finish, but since our visitor arrives in less than 24 hours that can wait.

But I met the deadline. The good lady wasn't convinced a month ago. To tell the truth, neither was I.

Personally, I'm really satisfied. Both from the fact that I now have tables in the spare room, but mostly because I attempted something WAY outside my skill and experience level and came through will a reasonable result. I'd hate to think of the number of hours that went into those tables. That's one of the big advantages that experience gives, the ability to work faster and not have to double and triple check everything along the way. But the only way to get experience is to be a beginner and keep working.

So thanks for being along for the ride and feel free to comment on the photos.

Cheers all,
John.
P.S. Now for the REAL project. A TV stand. If anyone has got plans for a TV stand with a couple of doors and a DVD/DVR enclosure, I'd appreciate it.

Lovely job: excellent use of timber and design.