Spanish Cedar Dressing Table

[Brian Peters]

I think this is the first project I've posted here. I've always enjoyed other people's builds, they are all fantastic. I'm proud to be a part of a very friendly and skilled group of woodworkers.

This project is for my wife, who normally is in the shop with me every day helping me with projects, but since she is abroad, I am trying to sneak this Christmas gift in! Last Christmas I made her a swivel dressing mirror, from an old woodsmith plan I had. I like spanish cedar, but I don't love it. I used what I had at the time to make the dressing mirror, so naturally I need to make a table for it to sit on, (the end table it is on is not a great fit) and I need to match the other piece.

I hunted for some good 12/4 spanish cedar, it's not easy to come by around here. It looked great in the yard but once I started opening it up I Noticed some small knots. These aren't tragic, I'm not a perfectionist and the majority was cut out. I started with the legs as they will require the most effort. They are queen anne/cabriole style. I am not a fan of ball feet or claw feet, I like the simple curvy lines. I started with an MDF template that I made up to lay out the legs. I glued up some scrap poplar to make a sample to check the height and layout of legs and to prove I am not too rusty with bench tools. I haven't made legs like this in years. No fear!

After resawing the boards in half and milling up roughly 3" square blanks, I got started on layout and the mortises. I decided not to go with blind mortises. These are easier for me since I don't have a mortiser, and there really is nothing wrong with this method. A quick pass on the router table hogs it right out. I made the mortises 5/8" deep in one pass.

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Then over to the table saw to take care of the shoulder. I recall doing these with a bandsaw once, and even with a fence you still have a lot of cleanup. This took care of most of the meat, the rest was resolved with a sharp chisel and a card scraper.
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[Brian Peters]

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I then took them to the belt sander and got them cleaned up as best I could. One has to be careful to not get too hasty with power tools and cedar! Patience is the game. Not bad for a few hours of work. I will work on the rails next and the drawer parts.

Thanks!

[Brian Peters]

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And here are photos of what will be on top of this finished table. This is the dressing mirror I mentioned in the first post that I made last year for her.

[Brian Peters]

Here are some updated photos. I went through my lumber and started sorting things for the top as those are the biggest and nicest parts needed. I then milled up the rest for the rails/skirts. I decided to go with a once piece front with inset drawers. It's a little bit more tricky to get right, but I really like the look of the grain running through the entire face from the drawer front and on.

I setup the dado stack for the tenons and they fit snug in the mortises. A little filing on the ends and they fit in the round mortises without more chiseling to square them up. I put a band clamp on it really quick to see how it sat and to check the fit. I really like how it is coming out, it's simple but elegant. I added a 5/16" bead to the edge of the skirt/rails as well to add some detail.

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[Mike Wilkins]

Hey Brian, great design. Looking forward to seeing the top and the final finish. I have never worked with Spanish Cedar, other than removing cigars from a cigar box, but it looks like it is similar to Mahogany in working properties. Thanks and keep us posted.

[Brian Peters]

Here is another update. I hand sanded the legs with a block to even them out. I started with 80 grit and worked up to 150, and then sanded them with a RAS with 150. I think they came out pretty smooth, contour wise. I then sanded the skirt parts to 150 and glued it up with some band clamps. The m&t joinery was perfectly tight with the glue joint, I am confident it will last for a long time. Only time will tell if the geometry I designed for the legs will hold up in spanish cedar. It's not the highest density wood, such as maple, and softer than mahogany or sapele, but strong still indeed.


I also worked up the webbed frame for the drawer runners and to add overall strength to the table. I did a cope and stick pattern for them on the shaper. I would normally do this on the table saw for only 1 frame to save setup but I got this C&S set off a machine purchase and wanted to see how it fit up. Turns out it's a bit loose, I will have to contact freeborn to see if they can fix the hubs on it.


I then notched out the frame to fit in between the legs, on the table saw. I am still debating whether to pocket screw it in, or to conceal the screws and counter bore them into the groove and just screw it in horizontally. I think the pocket screws would be easier though, although less traditional. Any opinions on this would be great.


I started resawing up scraps and left over for the drawer material (1/2" thick finished) as well.
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[Brian Peters]

600 views and 1 reply, lots of lurkers here or what?

[Brett Robson]

Looks great so far! I've never worked with spanish cedar either but based on that dressing mirror you made, it looks to be really pretty stuff!