Two Drawer Shaker Side Table

[Martin Shupe]

Here is another Shaker table, which I talked about in a design thread, here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18380

I had many wonderful suggestions, some which I was not able to follow on this table, but will use in my next table.

Finishing is my worst nightmare, and while I like Waterlox a lot, I think I refinished this top so many times that it got a little too thick and shiny. I will wait a few months for it to fully cure, then attempt a rub out to dull the sheen a bit.

The first pic shows the table with Dixie, my Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever shop dog. The drawer fronts are from the same piece of curly cherry lumber.

[Martin Shupe]

The second pic shows the guts of the table. Notice the rails are now oriented horizontally. I like this look much better.

The top rail is dovetailed into the legs, while the lower two rails have double tennons, as taught by Kelly Mehler. I just realized I forgot to put a screw into the top rail, through each dovetail and into the leg. Kelly does this to increase the strength of the top rail/leg joint, so that it won't fail when you pick up the table by the top.

You can also see the Kelly Mehler style cove cuts in the inside drawer fronts, and knobs made after instruction by Bill Grumbine.

[Martin Shupe]

The third pic shows the drawer sides with hand cut dovetails. The brand on the far side of the drawers was blatently stolen from Jason Tuinstra (thanks Jason; I'm not worthy). Again, the finish is a little too shiny for my taste. The sides are actually done with BLO, followed by a coat of Bullseye shellac to keep the drawers from stinking after the BLO has dried a long time.

[Martin Shupe]

Here's the final shot showing the bookmatched cherry top. About 16 by 24, with bullnosed edge treatment. The front edge only overhangs the base by about 3/4 inch to allow better access to the top drawer, but the sides have about a two inch overhang, because I liked it that way.

[John M. Cioffi]

Martin,

Another great job. You give Shaker a whole new meaning. Beautiful piece.How are the drawers installed? On runners or do they just slide in? How did you keep them from tipping,when fully opened?
Thanks for sharing.
John

[Keel McDonald]

Once again, Martin, spectacular piece. I still love that Shaker style!

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

That's a fine looking table.

KC

[Mark Singer]

Martin,
Very fine work and details! A pleasure to experience!

[Don Boys]

Martin,

I think the table is great. Nice work! Now tell me about the dog.

Don Boys

[Alain Tellier]

Wow that is a neat side table. I definitely love the dovetailed rails look and the bookmatched cherry top. Nice finish and a great job!

[Roy Wall]

Martin,

The craftsmanship on both tables is superb.......Excellent!!!

You say your slow......but you've got to feel good about these wonderful projects!!!

One question - why the cove on the upper inside of each drawer front?

[John Schreiber]

Very nice. No part stands out from any other, my eye is drawn into the whole piece and feels comfortable. That's what I love about Shaker furniture.

What's the purpose of the "Kelly Mehler style cove cuts"?

[Corey Hallagan]

Beautiful work Martin!

Corey

[John Renzetti]

Great job on the table, Martin. I agree that finishing that cherry can be a real pain sometimes.
How are the friendly skies treating you.
take care,
John

[Jason Tuinstra]

Martin, I see that you do have a brand. Good for you!!! There's no such thing as stealing here. The brand is perfect for you. I'm glad you got it. It just adds another touch of something to the piece.

Another great looking table here. You make Shaker style shine for what it is. Simple designs filled with good attention to construction details - the dovetails again really stand out along with your wood selection.

BTW, say thanks to your wife for finally putting her foot down! My wife has to do that for me as well when I'm not motivated to build, say a Lego table that I promised someone but don't care about compared to the Shaker style entertainment center that I really, really, really want to start building. A purely hypothetical example of course

Keep up the good work