minorhero Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Hello, I recently moved my shop and while I am still figuring out a number of things like where I am going to get electricity from, I decided I have enough to do a little project. It just means only running one machine at a time. What I have come up with is a desperately needed end table. For the base I am going to use poplar and will paint it. For the top it will be either cherry, or oak depending on which of the woods I have lying around I want to use. The whole table is put together using butt joints and miters with the exception of the lower shelf which will have a tenon, or cutout? not sure what to call it. My question is this, do I need to worry about wood movement on the bottom shelf? It will only be 5" wide and 20" long. Can I glue it in place or do I need to do something like use those figure 8 top attachment devices? Also while I think I will have plenty of strength from the butt joints long grain on long grain glue up, I am open to criticism there as well as any other thoughts on the design. Link to model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 I had doors that i assembled a bit too tight pop apart that were only 6" so i guess 5" might be a concern. It may depend on the species of the wood but I'd account for it to be safe. With the bottom shelf your butt joints may be strong enough the question I'd have is if you have a doweling jig why not use it? If you don't as an end table it's not going to see huge live loads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Just leave 1/32" between either side of the shelf and notch it sits in. Screw up through the stretcher into the center of the shelf and you will be fine. Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Personally I think it would look better just sitting on top of the stretcher, no need to recess it into the stretcher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 The joint where the two-piece leg meets the apron is technically a cross-grain joint, not as strong as true long grain to long grain like the legs. Probably ok for a light duty table, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Check out my berkey table build journal, I did a shelf about that size with mortise and tenon (domino), and widened one slot (no glue) for seasonal movement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 Load on an end table? Just wait until a lightbulb burns out and some fool decides that they can reach it standing on the end table... I have seen it happen. i think the shelf recessed into the stretchers looks funny. Sitting on top is fairly typical. A single screw from below into the center of the shelf is sufficient . If you have the cherry use it ! Oak is so common and years from now the cherry will only have aged to look better ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted March 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 Some small progress has been made. All the wood for the base has been milled to thickness and width with final length to be cut. The wife likes the inset shelf so that is staying but I haven't actually made the cut yet. I am thinking the best way to go about it will likely be the scroll saw with followup using chisels. The whole project is taking substantially longer then it normally would because I am also re-calibrating all of my machines as I go since the move definitely got things a bit out of wack. Today I made the long 45 degree cuts on the legs and did the first glue-up. Here are some pictures of the legs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted March 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 A little bit more progress. I did a glue-up for the table top and I did the glue-up for the apron as well. The apron came out pretty good and the table top is promising to come out quite nice as well. I don't own a panel saw of any kind so I will likely buy a crosscut blade for my circular saw and use a straight edge to trim the ends. I also milled the board for the lower shelf as well. Next up will be making the tenon? or whatever you call the cut-in for the lower shelf. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Hero, looking good. What did you decide to use for the top? Can't tell from the pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Nice! I'm curious about the top as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted March 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 The top is Cherry as is the lower shelf. My cell phone camera is pretty terrible so it is hard to tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Wow, I've never seen cherry that color! Looks really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Cool...Look foward to see more of your work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted March 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 Some more progress has occurred! Today was a big day for the end table. Today was the glue-up. Leading up to the glue-up I ran everything I could through the router table and put a 1/8th round-over on the pieces. Most of the parts are glued but the stretcher for the bottom shelf is screwed and glued in place. The reason for this was a combination of concern over a small glue area, and also because the screws would help out the glue-up process, acting as a clamp. I prepared the piece by using a forstner bit to make an easy place I can fill with wood putty to cover up the screw. Since this base is going to be painted I am not concerned with making wood plugs. Here is what the base looked like once the glue-up was complete: For kicks I laid the cherry bottom shelf down to see how that would look: While waiting for the glue to do its thing I began to deal with the table top. I used a combination of sander and hand plane to flatten it out. Here are the two sides: And that is where I'm at now. Overall good progress for the day. Next up is a lot of sanding followed by painting and finishing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 14, 2016 Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 Coming along quite nicely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 14, 2016 Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 Looks like things are coming along nicely. How did you stop the top from moving around while you were planing on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted March 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 I removed them but I had 2 bar clamps holding it to the counter when planing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted March 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2016 More progress! Sanding has occurred!The wife got into the action and helped me paint the base. While that was happening I went ahead and began putting the finish on the top and shelf. I am trying out minwax polycrylic along with the minwax stain conditioner to help stop blotching issues cherry is prone to. Here is what it looks like now: Next up is more coats of finish and then final assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 It's coming along nicely. Is the final paint color that white ? Or is that just the primer coat ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Nice progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted March 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Its really that white. I actually thought it was going to be a bit more off-white then bright white based on the color on the outside of the can. That being said it works out, the room its going in has bright white trim which this matches. The paint is "chalk" paint so it has a very rough matte texture which is what I going for to make it look "rustic." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post minorhero Posted March 21, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Things have occurred, chief among them, Victory! Finished up the table early this morning with a final light sanding and then attaching everything to the base. This thread started with a question on how to attach the shelf. I went with folks suggestion and used a single screw through each stretcher into the center of the shelf from underneath. For the final series of shots I got out the real camera. Here is what the table ended up looking like: And here is the table in its final resting spot. As you can see its a very narrow but tall space hence the kind of leggy look this fellow has. Thank you all for the advice and support! Cheers! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Looks good, I think... I guess you got all artsy fartsy cinema noire with your real camera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted March 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 I did like the shadows probably a bit too much I meant to shoot it outside with natural light but it was too early for that and it was kinda dark and overcast when I had my camera out. I have some less aestheticly pleasing shots taken inside my shop. I will try and post them after I get off of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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