Bedside Tables - Part IV - Done!

  We've finally finished the bedside tables! Here's a quick overview of the final steps, and a few pictures of the final product.
  Left out is the cutting of the side panels and the doors. The side panels needed to fit flush, which was achieved by setting the jigsaw at a 45-degree angle for the long cuts along the side (See the picture below). I switched back to a straight cut for curve at the bottom and top of the side panels. The doors also needed straight cuts in for the hinges. After the sanding, staining, and sealing, we had the side panels and doors finished.

   Once everything was stained, the doors needed to go on first, as I needed access to get to the hinges. I used quite a few washers to keep the screws from piercing through the thin 1/4 inch plywood.

  We picked up a magnetic latch to keep the doors shut, and again used three or four washers on the door catch. Positioning the door catch required some dexterity; almost closing the door, then marking the horizontal and vertical position of the catch. The latch also required some distance tweaking so it was close enough to the edge to grab the door, but not far enough over to keep the door open, or be too obvious.

Here's the final product. The notches in each door, combined with the angled cut, allow them to open almost all the way. The sides are nailed into the shelves with small furniture nails. We're letting them air out in the study for a few days to loose the smell before we bring them upstairs, but other than that, they're finally done!





















Here's the price tear down:
Tools:

• Jigsaw
• Mitre Saw
• Power drill / screwdriver
• Sander

Supplies:

• Wood, stain, etc. was left over from the bench.
• Hardware (angle brackets, hinges, door handles, washers): $30

Total:

• $30

Bedside Tables - Part III

  Finally decided to get a sander - and boy am I glad I did! We really could have used it for all of our previous projects. After reading up a bit on sanders we opted for getting a 5-inch random orbital sander with the hook and loop sanding pads. [Aside; it never clicked with me that "hook-and-loop" equates to "Velcro", I was worried that I'd be wrestling with the sander threading some crazy loop mechanism through sanding pads!]
  The sander definitely makes sanding easier - I was able to finish off one of the sanding passes in one evening, whereas one pass would take me two evenings before (and I made two passes before this, just if you were wondering what was taking these posts so long). Unfortunately, we noticed that my hand-sanding from before had inadvertently made some light-scratches on the surface. The random-orbital sander, because of the 'randomness' in the vibration does a good job of avoid this. You can go either with or against the grain with the random orbital sander, and as long as you don't push down very hard, or angle so the edges of the sander bite into the wood, you shouldn't leave any scratches and you should have a nice smooth sanded surface at the end.

Brackets attached to the parts, waiting to be put together.

A close-up of the finished product.

  Post Sanding, we stained the wood, placing two coats of our favored "dark cherry" stain that we've used on all our other projects, on all the sides and edges. We finished up with a quick coat of spray polyurethane sealant, although we'll likely go over the finished product with a paint-on polyurethane sealant.
  With everything sanded and sealed, it was time for partial assembly (we still have to cut, sand, and stain the sides and doors). You can see from the photo, that I opted for thin, 2 screw corner brackets, which I first put on the shelves and the top of the legs. I'm a big fan of pilot holes, and there are some on the legs and top waiting for the screws.
  A very small dab of glue accompanied the legs as they were screwed into the top. Once all were in, I inched the shelves between the four legs and screwed them into place. For each shelf, the brackets were first screwed to the shelf. Then I partially screwed in the screws connecting them to the legs, only tightening them down fully once all were in.

The two tables partly assembled!

  Volia! They're assembled and starting to look light nightstands. Now we just need to finish off the sides, which should prove an interesting exercise with the jigsaw - I've yet to perform an cut with the jigsaw blade at an angle. The final steps will be deciding on the door mechanisms and the hardware. Still, it's nice having a picture of what they'll look like when finished. And they seem to be a good height next to the bed (couldn't help taking them up there for a trial).

Bedside Tables Part II

  Here's the physical start to the bedside tables. I've already cut the table legs and the shelves (see the photo to the right). However, I still need to cut the corners off of the shelves to get the desired look. So here's a detailed look at this step.
  Of course, you'll need a few tools, here are mine; a jigsaw and a couple of clamps. I also have a folding table that you can see in the next picture.

  I clamped a guide board to the bench, and am using it to pin the shelf to the bench. I have a couple of shims to help keep everything almost the same height. While cutting, I make sure to put my weight on the guide board, preventing the work piece from moving. At this point, it's still adjustable slightly so I can make sure the saw will cut through at the right points.

  Check that the saw-blade lines up, both where the blade will start and finish cutting the wood. Make sure that the edge of the blade is on the line, and not the center of the blade. Otherwise your cut will be smaller than you want it to be, as the blade will annihilate the wood in it's path, and then a little bit.

  Four cuts later, we have one done! I think they look pretty good, and also reminiscent of something out of the Battlestar remake. Trim the corners to keep the Cylons from assembling the tables.

  Here's a glimpse of what it will look like when finished the inner shelves are a few inches smaller than the top shelf such that the legs are flush with both shelves. When this is finished, it should give it a nice recessed look along the sides and front, while hiding the ugly plywood edges of the sides.

Here are some "pro tips" I've learned while cutting the 24 corners off of the shelves. First the one I knew going in;

Face the edge you want to look nice downward (on the opposite side as the jigsaw).

  The orbital jigsaw blade moves down, forward, and then up, the amount of forward and back is what gives it the orbital name, and most orbital jigsaws allow you to adjust the amount of forward and back motion. For instance, I usually set mine to cut with a light orbital action on plywood because I want a fairly reasonable finish (our plywood is going towards furniture after all), however, you could set it to a larger reciprocal (back and forth) action for rougher, but faster, cutting along plywood.

  I also noticed that the direction of the grain matters. If at all possible, aligning the grain direction with the direction of the jigsaw cut produces a much smoother and nicer cut. It seems when it cuts against the grain, it is more likely to catch and pull up splinters.

  Well, that's the cutting of the main pieces of the bedside tables. Next up will be sanding and staining, followed by putting these pieces together.

Bedside Tables - Part I

  After finishing up on the upstairs bench, we decided that the next project would be a pair of matching bedside tables. These are especially needed as we currently only have one bedside table of an awkward height, resulting in both of our alarm clocks resting on the floor. In this post I'll share with you some of our early designs, consideratiins in the design process, and the finnal design we settled on (teaser; I think it is almost something out of Battlestar Galatica).

A quick sketch of the shelves, angles and door.

  We went through a few iterations of the design process, first up was what do the drawers / shelves look like? Our current bedside stand lacks a door, and this is something that we knew we wanted.

  My main concern was not showing that ugly stacked side of the plywood on any side of the table. I knew that there was a way in which I could achieve this without giving up any structural support. At the back of my mind I also knew that it involved canting the legs at a 45 degree angle, but for once I could not visualize it just in my mind, but a quick sketch showed me the path. I think we'll still have some showing from the top shelf, but some trim may be able to help with that.

Here's my detailed dimensions sketch after I measured the space.

  By canting the legs at this angle, the shelves can attach directly to them, and the plywood layers of the walls will terminate into the legs. Further, I think having the legs angled should allowed for more room for the front door to swing open. To top it all off, I think we're really going to like the slightly recessed look on the sides. Oh yeah, and the octagon shape is reminiscent of the trimmed squares of the Battlestar remake.

Anyway, this construction will go in parts as the tables get progressively closer and closer to completion - furniture-making is not our full time job, but our part-time hobby, so most of these large projects take weeks, if not months to finish, but it should be interesting for us to show you how everything comes together.