Remember Mom’s little plant stand? Fond memories often revolve around the simplest things. The sight of this little table could remind you of the parlor that you crept into when you were six years old; maybe it sat on the porch and you knocked it over, breaking Mom’s favorite flowerpot; maybe you helped your dad build it. No matter what the memory, a little project like this one will become something of great value to a family in years to come. Here’s how to build your own memories.

Choose your lumber well. This one was built using oak. The two shelves were laminated to prevent warping under heavy loads. Cut the shelves to size and note the grain direction of the bottom shelf. This gives it strength. Mark the corner radii carefully and cut.

The easiest way to mark the centre of the 6 1/2” radius is this. Find the beginning and ending point of the cutting radius with the measurements given on the drawing. Since the board that will become the shelf is not large enough to draw the centre on, clamp another board to the side of it temporarily to accept the pencil mark as shown in the diagram. Now place the point of your compass at the beginning of the cutting radius and strike an arc on the temporary board. Move the point of the compass to the ending point of the cutting radius and strike a second arc. This will cross the first arc as shown on the drawing. There you have the centre of the cutting radius. Now place the compass point on the newly found centre and mark the cutting radius.

Believe me, I found it harder to put this into words than it will be for you to do so don’t hesitate to try it. It works every time. Four uniform cuts on this project really makes a difference.

The design for the legs will need to be enlarged. After marking the pattern onto your wood (but prior to cutting the curves) cut the 1/8” deep dados. They will lock the legs to the top, preventing the legs from collapsing under the load.
Drill clearance holes for the attachment screws and, if you wish, counter bore the holes to accept standard screw hole plugs. Finish sand all six pieces and do a trial assembly.

Stain or paint your new project as you would any other project. Final assemble and start creating memories for the young ones around you!