side table for a friend of mine

Dan Noren

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falcon heights, minnesota
the other week, a friend of mine asked me how much it would cost to replace the cheap side table he has. he had some plants on it, and after a bit of time some water had gotten under the cheap vinyl veneer, and gotten into the mdf substrate, and caused it to swell.:rolleyes: this happened in a couple of spots. while my wife and i were over for dinner the other night, we took the rough dimensions of the table, and talked over rough sketches of the new table. last night i finished the drawing in sketchup, and sent him both a pic of it, and a rendered version, and he likes it. i also ran a cut list on it, and quoted him a price for it.:D now i'm just waiting to see what his reaction to that was... :rofl:
 

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Dan:

I really like the simple design. I'd like to make a few tables similar to that. Excuse my ignorance but how will you build the sides for that?

Adding to Dan's answer, if the stiles are 2 1/2 inches, and the material 3/4 inch thick, I make the back stiles 1 3/4 and do some basic color matching on the wood, so when they are glued together, it isn't obvious that the back is different than the sides.
 
Adding to Dan's answer, if the stiles are 2 1/2 inches, and the material 3/4 inch thick, I make the back stiles 1 3/4 and do some basic color matching on the wood, so when they are glued together, it isn't obvious that the back is different than the sides.

i'm still trying to puzzle that one out charlie.:huh::dunno: all the rails and stiles are 3" wide and 3/4" thick, with the exception of the middle one on the sides, which is 1 1/2". each rail has a tenon on the end, and the panels are joined to the legs by those tenons. the back has no center stile, as it will be up against a wall, and not seen.

update: the knobs and hinges have been purchased, and the type of lumber has been changed from cherry, to brazilian cherry, as it is a little cheaper, will go better with his flooring, and can be had in the widths and lengths needed.
 
Dan:

Did I understand you correctly? You will make raised panels with stiles and rails and that the rails will have tenons. These tenons will then fit into mortises on the legs.

The reason I am asking is that I am reading Bill Hyltons book on cabinet making and he talks about Post and Panel construction and I was wondering if your construction method is the same thing.

Does this mean that the panels act like an apron in the construction of a kitchen table? What will you attach the top of the table to?

Sorry for all the questions but I am just learning and would like to make some tables similar to yours.
 
Dan:

Did I understand you correctly? You will make raised panels with stiles and rails and that the rails will have tenons. These tenons will then fit into mortises on the legs.

The reason I am asking is that I am reading Bill Hyltons book on cabinet making and he talks about Post and Panel construction and I was wondering if your construction method is the same thing.

Does this mean that the panels act like an apron in the construction of a kitchen table? What will you attach the top of the table to?

Sorry for all the questions but I am just learning and would like to make some tables similar to yours.

that was the first design change, instead of raised panels, we're going with 1/4" flat panels.

in a way, you could say that they are like very deep aprons, for only a short amount of exposed leg. i will be attaching the top to the top rails of the panels, using figure 8 table irons. i've used that type of table iron on all of my tables. for me it's easy, and has enough give for wood movement.

don't worry about asking too many questions, that's how we all learned. i'm including a pic of the side frame and legs that shows the assembly exploded, i hope that helps.
 

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Dan:

Thank you for your help and explanations on how you are going to complete your project. The exploded diagram you made really explains it. Since I have a long weekend I just might have to make a mock-up of a side of a table and see how it goes. I will be sure to let you know how it turns out. I will try to supply some pictures as well.
 
i'm still trying to puzzle that one out charlie.:huh::dunno: all the rails and stiles are 3" wide and 3/4" thick, with the exception of the middle one on the sides, which is 1 1/2". each rail has a tenon on the end, and the panels are joined to the legs by those tenons. the back has no center stile, as it will be up against a wall, and not seen.

I apologize... I spoke before I looked back at the picture closely. New answer: There are two move variations that you might consider...

First, if I am going to have raised or flat floating panels on the sides and back of a cabinet, I normally glue the side and back stile together at a 90 degree angle (no leg yet). To keep it looking "right" I make one of the stiles narrower by the thickness of the wood that will be glued to it at a right angle. That was where the "make it narrower" comment came from. I get nervous if the rail to stile connection is much over 2 1/2 inches, since you are joining cross grain to end grain, but 3 inches will probably be okay. In this design, the legs or base are attached at the bottom, perhaps slightly inset from the panels.

Second, if I have a full leg going up the sides, I sometimes try not to use a separate stile - I just mortise the rails into the leg, and put a narrow dado in the leg itself to hold the floating panel. I think this is the direction Kevin was thinking.
 
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