Asian night stands

[Nelson Howe]

Here is a pair (though not shown together) of Asian styled night stands I built last winter. Our bed, which I did not build, is somewhere in the Craftsman/Asian style realm, so I designed these to go with it.

The tables are cherry with maple panels. Ash pegs reinforce the mortise and tenon joints. I used liquid hide glue for the extended open time, as the glue ups were fairly involved and intimidating. I also liked the possibility of undoing a joint if necessary, as a lot of pieces had to line up to hang the inner box inside the frame of the legs. I believe I am now a convert to this glue. For what it's worth, I decided to use hide glue before it became the latest hot product in the magazines. My smugness is nearly unbearable now.

I finished everything with dewaxed superblond shellac and Renaissance wax. The tops got three coats of Target em6000 to protect them from the obligatory water glass (though I still put mine on a magazine).


Thanks for looking,

Nelson








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[Damon Stathatos]

Nelson - very nice looking stands. Is this a style that is typical for you to build or something new? If typical, post a few more pieces...you've given me some ideas. Thanks for posting.

[Jay Jolliffe]

Very nice night stands...I love the attention to detail....

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Very nice joinery, finish and subtle contrasting woods. I love the top seems to "float" above the body of the nightstand......I really like this piece! Nicely done Sir!

[Prashun Patel]

beautiful all the way round. I'm a fan of this style. I admire the design. I love your float.

[Jeff Heil]

Beautiful work and design!

[Bruce Page]

I love the flowing design, and the craftsmanship!

[Will Boulware]

Beautiful work! Inspiring to say the least. Kind of encourages this average wood butcher to step outside the box and cut some curves!

[Tony Shea]

I also really like the design and choice of wood combination. I think cherry and maple together is a very nice combination that I tend to use a lot. Well done! The first picture of the top looks as though the top has a cup to it. Is this an optical illusion or does it actually have a slight cup?

[Nelson Howe]

Thanks for the kind words, all.

Damon, this isn't a regular style for me. It was just something to go with the bed. My curves in the past have been bent tapered laminations. The two sided curves for the legs were new for me. I used a band saw, template, router and card scraper. It took some head scratching to figure out that I had to have a different template for each side of the curved leg. Once I got that figured out it wasn't too bad. Although anticipating how the grain would flow after the curves were cut became a developing skill learned with trial and error. I have many reject leg blanks in my shop now, because it's not enough to use a rift sawn blank. The grain still has to be oriented correctly to get the curve of the grain to flow with the curve of the leg.

Tony, that is an optical illusion. The tops are flat.

Nelson

[Sam Murdoch]

Asian Dream nightstands I'd say. Wow, very, very nice. Sadly being next to a bed they will only be appreciated from one face and by two people.
Still, they will be appreciated. Really lovely.

[Gordon Eyre]

Nelson, these are gorgeous. Love the design and also the excellent craftsmanship exhibited.

[Damon Stathatos]

Don't know if you're into it, but I'd consider entering those (or one of them) into competitions or shows. They are really nicely done and the design is outstanding. You've given me a bit of inspiration, that's for sure.

I think AWFS is beginning to look for showcase pieces. It'd be quite a feather in 'one's cap' and a well deserved one based on those pieces.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Wonderful. Simply wonderful.

I especially like how the upper ends of the legs mimic the curve of the top's edges. Subtle and classy.

You've got me scratching my head on the structure/joinery for the floating top. Some sub-structure is visible between the rails + top.

Care to share any details? Like, mebbe, a photo before the top was installed?

thanks for showing us these photos.

[glenn bradley]

So many fun elements in this design I don't know where to start the compliments. The floating tenons holding the floating lower cabinet are a hoot. The disconnected rear panel accents the floating yet again. Nice fairing at the leg-tops where they nearly intersect the top. Really like this one; thanks for posting it.