2018-05-29T15-18-38

I have been itching to make one for a few months and spent way too much time reading stuff about it, so finally I decided it was time to do it. I’ll be making a small side table in Black Cherry with tapered legs in Curly Birch. I had bought a small board of the latter a few weeks ago, with something else in mind, but the board is 1-1/4” thick with straight grain and rift-sawn: ideal for a set of delicate legs. I choose a 12-foot board of Black Cherry for the rest; it is very colourful and has a lot of straight grain and I think it will be a good match to the Curly Birch. I am trying to keep the grain running parallel to my pieces so I ended up planing a few reference edges at a slight angle. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-05-29T15-19-10

I have been itching to make one for a few months and spent way too much time reading stuff about it, so finally I decided it was time to do it. I’ll be making a small side table in Black Cherry with tapered legs in Curly Birch. I had bought a small board of the latter a few weeks ago, with something else in mind, but the board is 1-1/4” thick with straight grain and rift-sawn: ideal for a set of delicate legs. I choose a 12-foot board of Black Cherry for the rest; it is very colourful and has a lot of straight grain and I think it will be a good match to the Curly Birch. I am trying to keep the grain running parallel to my pieces so I ended up planing a few reference edges at a slight angle. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-05T15-44-07

After a long vacation break, I could not wait to get back in the shop; armed with a towel to mop up my sweat (it is 32°C/90°F in the shop and I do not even have a fan) I got down to planing the Curly Birch to make square blanks for the legs of a small side table. Luckily, the board I had bought already had the growth rings running in a perfect 45° diagonal across the grain and I ended up with very similar figure on each side of all the legs. Planing the Curly Birch was not too hard, but it tears very easily so I had to end with several very thin shavings to get a good surface. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #Woodworking

2018-07-05T15-44-44

After a long vacation break, I could not wait to get back in the shop; armed with a towel to mop up my sweat (it is 32°C/90°F in the shop and I do not even have a fan) I got down to planing the Curly Birch to make square blanks for the legs of a small side table. Luckily, the board I had bought already had the growth rings running in a perfect 45° diagonal across the grain and I ended up with very similar figure on each side of all the legs. Planing the Curly Birch was not too hard, but it tears very easily so I had to end with several very thin shavings to get a good surface. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #Woodworking

2018-07-06T12-07-40

Tiny, little progress on the side table; the legs are tapered starting from 1-1/8” at one inch below the aprons and down to 5/8” at the bottom. I then chose the best figure for the front legs and sides. I really like the curls in this Birch; I hope it will pop once I apply a finish. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #Woodworking

2018-07-09T16-33-35

Just finished chiseling out the mortises for the side and back aprons in the legs of the small side table. I went with 5/16”-wide, 3/4”-deep mortises, each with two 1/4”-deep haunchings; I will leave the horns on the legs to make sure nothing splits while I fit the tenons. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #Woodworking

2018-07-10T15-07-14

The tenons on the side and back aprons of the small side table are not quite finished, but so far the fit is pretty good. I still need to trim the shoulders and miter the tip of the tenons before I can assemble everything. Since the tenons are only 3/4” long, I decided to chop the waste with a chisel rather than cutting the cheeks with a saw; the grain is all very straight and the chopping went fast and well controlled; then I finished the cheeks with a router plane and a float. All adjustments to the thickness of the tenons was done on the inside faces of the aprons so I could keep the 1/8” reveal between aprons and legs unchanged. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-10T15-31-25

The tenons on the side and back aprons of the small side table are not quite finished, but so far the fit is pretty good. I still need to trim the shoulders and miter the tip of the tenons before I can assemble everything. Since the tenons are only 3/4” long, I decided to chop the waste with a chisel rather than cutting the cheeks with a saw; the grain is all very straight and the chopping went fast and well controlled; then I finished the cheeks with a router plane and a float. All adjustments to the thickness of the tenons was done on the inside faces of the aprons so I could keep the 1/8” reveal between aprons and legs unchanged. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-10T17-22-31

The tenons on the side and back aprons of the small side table are not quite finished, but so far the fit is pretty good. I still need to trim the shoulders and miter the tip of the tenons before I can assemble everything. Since the tenons are only 3/4” long, I decided to chop the waste with a chisel rather than cutting the cheeks with a saw; the grain is all very straight and the chopping went fast and well controlled; then I finished the cheeks with a router plane and a float. All adjustments to the thickness of the tenons was done on the inside faces of the aprons so I could keep the 1/8” reveal between aprons and legs unchanged. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-11T10-21-31

I am really glad I took the time to make a miter shooting board. Mitering all the tenons on the aprons of the small side table could not be easier. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-11T17-09-57

It’s finally starting to look like a table, but there is still a lot of work left! So far it’s 8 mortise and tenons out of 18 mortise and tenons and two dovetails (without counting the two drawers). #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-11T17-12-15

Next piece for the small side table is the lower rail. It is tenoned into the front legs and wraps around them as well. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-11T17-12-27

Next piece for the small side table is the lower rail. It is tenoned into the front legs and wraps around them as well. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-11T17-15-11

Next piece for the small side table is the lower rail. It is tenoned into the front legs and wraps around them as well. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-12T15-27-06

One more baby step in the making of the small side table. This time I chopped the tiny mortises (3/8” deep and only 3/16” wide) into the bottom rail and back apron to support the drawer runners. Chopping a mortise into a piece that is only 9/16” wide was a bit of a stresser so I sandwiched it between two blocks held in the front vice to avoid “explosions” :-) The bottom rail is easily the most interesting piece of this project with special double tenons on the ends, three shallow mortises for the drawer runners and (still missing) a double through mortise for the drawer divider. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-12T16-24-06

One more baby step in the making of the small side table. This time I chopped the tiny mortises (3/8” deep and only 3/16” wide) into the bottom rail and back apron to support the drawer runners. Chopping a mortise into a piece that is only 9/16” wide was a bit of a stresser so I sandwiched it between two blocks held in the front vice to avoid “explosions” :-) The bottom rail is easily the most interesting piece of this project with special double tenons on the ends, three shallow mortises for the drawer runners and (still missing) a double through mortise for the drawer divider. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-12T16-24-59

One more baby step in the making of the small side table. This time I chopped the tiny mortises (3/8” deep and only 3/16” wide) into the bottom rail and back apron to support the drawer runners. Chopping a mortise into a piece that is only 9/16” wide was a bit of a stresser so I sandwiched it between two blocks held in the front vice to avoid “explosions” :-) The bottom rail is easily the most interesting piece of this project with special double tenons on the ends, three shallow mortises for the drawer runners and (still missing) a double through mortise for the drawer divider. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-16T16-59-24

I was lying in bed, about to fall asleep, and all of a sudden it hit me: I chopped the mortises for the middle drawer runner at the centre of the bottom rail and back apron, but my drawers are not symmetric! In the morning I took a quick look at my drawing to see whether I would like the table with two equal-width drawers, but I immediately went back to the original design. I had to chop two more mortises and I used the extra length at the ends of the middle runner to make plugs for the misplaced mortises (I’ll cut them flush after the glue sets). The side runners, instead, only have a tenon in the front and have a notch in the back to wrap around the legs. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-17T17-01-06

The top rail is perhaps the funkiest part of the small side table; it attaches to the front legs and side aprons with dovetails. I also put a small rabbet under the dovetails to make it easier to line up the rail when marking the pins. Cutting the pins in the side aprons was a bit strange since the grain runs opposite to the usual direction. Because of this, the pins in the aprons are made of short grain and are pretty fragile; I made the top rail wider than the bottom rail to lengthen that short-grain span, but I think I could have made it even wider. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-19T11-28-50

Now that the front rail and middle kicker are in, the small side table feels rock solid. The front rail is attached to the front legs and side aprons with dovetails, the kicker is attached to the front rail with a thin 1/8” tenon (the front rail is 3/8” thick) and to the back apron with a dovetail. In passing, I am finding my frame clamps really handy to hold the table together while doing dry assemblies and taking measurements for the next parts. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-19T11-29-10

Now that the front rail and middle kicker are in, the small side table feels rock solid. The front rail is attached to the front legs and side aprons with dovetails, the kicker is attached to the front rail with a thin 1/8” tenon (the front rail is 3/8” thick) and to the back apron with a dovetail. In passing, I am finding my frame clamps really handy to hold the table together while doing dry assemblies and taking measurements for the next parts. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-19T11-29-21

Now that the front rail and middle kicker are in, the small side table feels rock solid. The front rail is attached to the front legs and side aprons with dovetails, the kicker is attached to the front rail with a thin 1/8” tenon (the front rail is 3/8” thick) and to the back apron with a dovetail. In passing, I am finding my frame clamps really handy to hold the table together while doing dry assemblies and taking measurements for the next parts. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #CurlyBirch #Birch #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-23T16-50-53

Working on the last joinery for the small side table (drawers excluded, of course); the drawer divider attaches to the top and bottom rails with tiny double tenons (just 3/16” thick by 9/16” wide). #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking

2018-07-24T13-48-07

3/16” beads, scratch stock vs. plow plane. I found it easier to use the plow plane, but the quirk it creates is huge compared to that left by the scratch stock. Although my first attempt at using the scratch stock was awful (first picture), the second try (second picture) already got me a much better result. I want the bead at the bottom of the aprons and lower rail of the small table to look really delicate, so I will have to go with the scratch stock. #SideTable #Table #HandToolsOnly #BlackCherry #Cherry #Woodworking