Woodworking
Shaker tables
I BUILT THIS SET OF THREE CHERRY TABLES, two side tables and a coffee table, between January and July, 2000. They are solid cherry, with poplar as the secondary wood. The finish is Danish Oil and wax.
Side tables
The side tables (see enlargement) are 13" by 17" (top) by 23-3/4" high. All joinery was done entirely with hand tools; the only power tools used were a surface planer (for planing 4/4 stock) and a random orbit sander. I followed the standard model of mortise-and-tenon joinery. The legs are tapered slightly on the inside and the top is beveled underneath around the outside edge, which gives an appearance of lightness without sacrificing strength.
The drawer is dovetailed (see detail), also by hand. The drawer pulls, pewter-toned maple leaves (see detail), would likely have horrified the Shakers whose design I borrowed. I like them anyway.
Coffee table
The coffee table (see enlargement) was built on the same design as the side tables. (Here I can't really call that design Shaker, however, because the coffee table is a fairly recent invention.)
See also the top view which gives a better view of the grain in the cherry.
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