Stylish side table with secrets
The angles in this table design offer some flair, but its clean lines will go with just about any décor.
My goal was to design an attractive little side table to blend in with the room’s décor. It needed to look light and friendly, be made of sapele to match the other wood in the space, and have generous proportions but not appear heavy.
What developed is a table with a solid plank top, tapered under its gently curved edges to look light despite its actual thickness. Supporting and stabilizing the top is a “bridge”, a floating dovetailed element inset within the top that performs two functions. First, it maintains the integrity of the laminated plank top by allowing for seasonal movement while providing linear support against potential warping. Secondly, it’s facetted with 7° compound angles that provide a solid foundation for the table to rest on tapered legs that rise from the floor at compound angles.
The legs are connected by supportive stretchers, joined not by a stringer but by a laminated shelf set within dadoes and flanked with matching trim. That, in turn, is augmented by a three-part floating surface, expanding the shelf surface and echoing the tabletop.
The build evolves in stages: laminating and shaping the top and the dovetailed recessed underside to receive the bridge; making and shaping the bridge to inset into the top and receive the legs; shaping the legs, stretchers and shelf trim; laminating the shelf; and, with the build complete, shaping the optional three-part floating shelf to fit the table.
Bridge Parts
Here, the three bridge parts are overlaid on the full-sized drawing. The larger piece, what Salusbury calls “Part A,” has a double taper.
Bridge End View
The end view of the bridge assembly shows the outer parts (Parts A and B) along with the middle piece to hold the outer pieces away from each other. There’s a dovetail tenon machined on the bottom of all three pieces.
Compound Angle Jig
A compound angle jig holds Part A from the bridge at the correct angle so the face of the taper on the underside of the part is level. This allows the mortises to be bored in Part A from the bridge at the correct angle.
Shelf Lamination
Salusbury laminated the shelf from two thin outer layers of solid wood and an inner core of plywood.
Mortise the Legs
It’s easiest to bore the mortises in the legs to accept the stretchers before the legs are tapered. Notice a playing card used as a shim to obtain the exact angle needed.
Double Check
With the legs machined, Salusbury aligns them with the drawing to check for accuracy.
Simple Router Template
Salusbury tapered together two longer lengths of thin plywood, separated by two shorter lengths of plywood, to act as a router guide so he could machine the large mortise in the underside of the tabletop to accept the bridge assembly.
Bridge Assembly
The bridge mortises are now complete. Salusbury first used a straight bit to remove much of the material, then used a dovetail bit to angle the outer edges of the mortise so it could accept the bridge assembly.
Bridge Installed
To check for fit, Salusbury installed the three parts that make up the bridge in the mortise in the underside of the top. The thinner, centre piece is the last piece to be installed. It holds the other two pieces against the dovetailed sides of the mortise. Notice the two alignment dots, one centred on the edge of the bridge and one on the underside of the tabletop. When the two dots are aligned the bridge assembly is centred on the mortise.
A Smooth Surface
So there’s no friction between the bridge and the mortise, Salusbury sands, seals and waxes the mortise before assembly.
The Bridge Is Assembled
The bridge is now assembled permanently and Part B has been shaped to match the other parts.
All Together
The round tenons on the ends of the stretchers fit nicely into the bored mortises in the legs.
Shelf Overlay Pieces
The three shelf overlay pieces sit on top of the stretchers and shelf side trim, offering a small hidden area below them. Their lower faces are machined with a lip around their edges to stay centred over the shelf assembly they sit on.
About compound angles
No matter if it’s a box, a tray, a table or a bench, almost anything that includes tapering compound angles offers visual interest and often greater stability. Dealing with those angles when it comes to joinery is fairly simple if you craft rotational flexibility into the joints.
Drawings and joinery
First, if a mistake is going to pop up, it’s better to make it on paper than with costly material. With any new build, I make accurate full-size drawings to act as a dimensional roadmap for the design and proportions, plus a surface on which to overlay parts while dry-fitting assemblies to confirm the build is going as planned (or not). But remember, dimensions are merely technical targets; the build is organic so I plan for subtly tweaking parts as the build evolves.
With all the parts jointed, planed to dimension and cut just over-length, I lay out and crisply mark where joinery will occur. The key to a no-fuss precise build is round mortise and tenon joinery. Turned tenons or inserted dowels with chamfered ends will self-align as you assemble because angles coming together along two planes in three dimensions will always meet a little off, so rotation allows fiddle-room to tune the fit without compromising the joinery.
Step by step
I like to start and finish one element at a time, so while one part is glued up and curing, I’m on to the next part of the build. It also helps to see the relationship of one element to another adding logic to the build.
Topping it off
To ease into this project, I began with the tabletop. From a single plank of rough 4/4 sapele I cut three rough lengths. I then jointed one face and edge then dressed the parts to reveal a useful +7/8″ thickness. Next, I compared, flipped and adjusted the boards until I saw a pleasing, repeating grain pattern. After marking the boards to retain my sequence and to finesse the grain for the best match, I tapered one edge on all boards to best follow the grain, ripped the opposing edge parallel, then jointed both edges to final width.
Next, I applied glue to each board’s edges, added small clamps bridging both ends of the joints to maintain alignment, then added long clamps, drawing the boards together. A few minutes later I cleaned away squeeze-out while it was still pliable, then set the assembly aside to cure.
The hidden element
Now on to the secret agent of the table, the two bridges. I found this the most time consuming, yet rewarding, part of the whole project. Each “bridge” is simply a length of stock, milled squarely to +3″ × 2″, dovetailed along its upper length, then ripped lengthwise to yield a 2″ × 2″ and two strips 1/2″ and +3/8″ in thickness. The fun part follows: ripping compound angles along one face of the 2″ × 2″ to produce opposing facets for the table legs to join into squarely.
A pair of bridges, start to finish
Rout 14° dovetails along the two top edges of the milled blanks, 1-1/2 the thickness of the top they’ll be inserted into. On each blank, label the two dovetailed faces “in” and “out”, and the 3″ wide face between them “top” and its opposing face “down”.
Crisply mark the centre line of the length across all four faces of each blank. Next, rip a 1/2″ wide strip from the “in” face, creating a floating dovetail strip (Part C) and set it aside. Now rip a 2″ wide part from the “out” side, creating a 2″ × 2″ “bridge” (Part A). Re-mark “in” and the centre line on its freshly ripped face. The remaining strip (Part B) will become the expansion strip later; set it aside for now.
Now’s the time to lay out the lateral and compound angles on Part A. With one blank on your bench, “in” facing up and “top” nearest you, lay out the chosen lateral angle (7° here) on the “in” face from the centre line at the edge where it meets the “down” face. Accurately mark that line to both ends of the blank. Next, lay out the compound angle (again, 7° here) down both ends of the blank as a continuation of the lateral line. After double checking the layout lines are equal on both sides of centre, rip both the lateral and compounding angles in one pass.
Time to taper
Switching to the tapering jig, from previously stock milled 1-1/2″ square and +15″ long, rip a pair of tapered wedges to exactly a 7° angle. Place one tapered wedge along the vertical face of the jig’s clamp ledge, and add your bridge blank, its “top” against the wedge, “down” facing outward and “out” resting on the jig’s base. By shifting the blank and the wedge fore and aft on the jig, the tip of the compound angle line drawn down the end of the bridge blank first aligns with the cutting edge of the jig, then is finessed to align with the tip of the sawblade, already tilted to 7°. With the blank and wedge snugged against the jig’s clamp ledge, clamp both pieces in place. Now, raise the blade and slowly rip a full cut through the blank as it rides the jig past the blade. One pass, two angles cut. Repeat this cut to machine the same angled surface on the other identical blank.
To rip the opposite compound angle on each bridge blank, reverse the wedge on the jig and align the opposing compound angle line with the jig’s cutting edge / blade tip as before and clamp in place.
With the blanks now ripped revealing opposing compound angled facets, now is a good time to complete the pair of bridge assemblies so they can be set aside until later. First, lightly plane and sand the facets, removing any kerf marks. Next, mate the inside faces of Parts A and C, trace the facet profile of A onto C, then cut and shape C until their profiles match.
Leaving Part B with a square profile provides a good clamping edge and shape to tailor the thickness when it comes time to fit the bridge assembly into the tabletop mortise; shape it after final assembly.
Locate the centre of the 1″ mortises for the legs and, aided by the compound angle plate set at the drill press, bore the mortises in the same facet of both “A” parts then reconfigure the plate set to drill the opposing mortises.
To complete the bridge assemblies, align all parts of each bridge then firmly apply painter’s tape along the top to bond each assembly together. At the table saw, with the blade raised the exact depth of the dovetail, remove 3/8″ from each end of each top to conceal the dovetail and allow for seasonal movement of the tabletop once assembled.
Veneering the shelf panel
The shelf panel is a 1/4″ plywood core sandwiched between two shop-made veneers of sapele. After resawing planks of sapele to about 1/4″ thickness, sort and align the pieces of veneer for best grain and colour match. If needed, rip one edge for best grain alignment, then the opposite edge to be parallel. Joint all edges to finalize each plank’s width and mate the veneer edges to produce two panels.
Once gently cross-clamped together, firmly tape the seams of each assembly end-to-end along one face. Flipping each assembly over reveals the tape has become a hinge, along which glue can be applied. Place the assembly on a flat surface and again cross-clamp to bond the veneers firmly, making sure each panel is as flat as possible.
Once fully cured, each of the two panels gets planed and sanded to a uniform final +1/8″ thickness then applied to each face of the plywood with an overall application of glue and firmly clamped or pressed over a perfectly flat supportive surface. Once cured, plane and sand the panel to a uniform +1/2″ thickness.
The legs
While the shelf is curing, make the legs, stretchers and shelf trim. Mark out the exact top and the shoulder of the tenon on the leg blanks and where the mortises would be bored to receive the stretchers. Measure the centre of these mortises from the same end of all legs. Now, before tapering the legs, bore the mortises for the stretchers at the drill press using a compound angle plate set. By tapering the legs later, the angle drilled will be true, not altered by the angle of the taper. Locate the centre of each end of the legs and turn the 1″ tenon (or bore a 1″ round mortise for a dowel) at each leg’s top.
Lastly, lay out and rip the tapers using a tapering jig at the table saw. Here, the legs are 1-7/8″ at the top and 1-1/4″ at the foot.
Stretchers and trim
The stretchers and shelf side trim are from stock milled square in cross section to 7/8″, a safe yield from 4/4 rough material. Now, referring to the full-scale drawing, the overall length of the stretchers is determined and cut, the end centres located and the tenons turned (or mortises bored to receive a dowel) to match the mortises earlier bored in each leg.
At the router table, 1/2″ wide grooves are machined to accept the thickness of the finished shelf lamination; full length grooves are machined in the trim and stopped grooves are machined in the stretchers. Do any chamfering on these parts now, before assembly on the shelf panel.
Shaping the tabletop
Returning to the tabletop, it’s time to finally plane and sand the top to uniform thickness, lay out and shape its outer edge, and rout or plane the chamfer under each edge. I use a panel shaping bit (for frame and panel construction) with a pilot bearing at my router table.
Once the available underside surface area is confirmed, rout the dovetailed recesses to receive the bridges. These are routed with a plunge router fitted with a guide bushing that follows a shop-made guide frame conforming to the smallest cutting diameter of the 14° dovetail bit used to shape the top edge of the bridges. In my situation, that’s 1/2″ diameter. By calculating the diameters of the router bit and the router’s guide bearing, the width inside the guide frame is calculated. I then subtracted 1/32″ for the bridge to fit snugly. As for the inside guide frame length, the same measurements are factored in and subtracted from the overall length of the bridge, less 1″.
I made my guide frame from 1/4″ plywood strips joined with 1-3/8″ wide painter’s tape bridging where the strips met on both sides of the frame.
After clamping the completed guide frame in place, begin routing a mortise using a 1/2″ diameter bottom-cutting bit set to the depth of the dovetail on the bridges plus 1/32″ for clearance. Cleanly clear out all the material within the frame with this bit. Next, swap over to the 14° dovetail bit set to the full depth of the mortise and rout the full length and both sides of the mortise. Since the dovetail bit is wider than the 1/2″ straight bit, move from inside the frame outward to start the cut; don’t plunge the dovetail bit anywhere near the edges.
Dry-fitting time
Now it’s time to dry-fit the bridge within the tabletop, the legs within the bridges and the stretchers within the legs.
With the tabletop still inverted, begin with the bridges. Place the male dovetail of Parts A and C within the mating mortise, then insert Part B between them to wedge the assembly into place. It may require light sanding to reduce Part B’s thickness for a firm fit. Avoid thinning it too much. In final assembly a slightly firm compression is perfect. If Part B becomes too loose it’s easily remade and replaced fairly inconspicuously.
Once the bridges are dry-fitted, centre them within their mortises, marking centre on both the inside of Part C and the adjacent surface of the tabletop for final assembly. I use a centre-punch mark tight to the joint that won’t get sanded away.
Next, install the legs within their mortises, making any subtle adjustments as required until each leg fits well and seats fully. Fit the stretchers within their mortises, which will require drawing the legs almost fully from their mortises then fitting the stretchers within the legs while reinstalling the legs.
With all four legs and both stretchers dry-fit in place, it’s time to take a final measurement within the dadoes in the stretchers to decide on the final length to cut the shelf panel to. Cut the panel to final length to seat fully within the stretchers, then final width. This too may require extracting the legs a bit then reseating them once the shelf panel is fully pressed between the stretchers. Now the shelf side trim can be cut to equal length to fit snugly and squarely between the stretchers.
All dry-fit together, I now lightly pencil-mark every adjacent surface A, B, C, D etc., overall so I know where every part goes and its orientation to its mating part.
Glue-up time
Begin the glue-up with the shelf / stretchers and shelf trim. Logically, if the laminated panel has been cut squarely to fit full depth within the stretcher dadoes and the equal-length trim fits full depth over the shelf panel, this makes a perfectly square foundational assembly to on which to base the final assembly of the table.
With a wide bead of glue along the end faces of the shelf panel and the inner face of the trim dadoes, centre the panel on the stretcher dadoes. Add the trim onto both edges of the shelf, then apply clamps along the length and width of the assembly to firmly seat the stretchers and trim onto the shelf lamination. Make sure the trim seats tightly between each stretcher. Do this on a flat surface and leave the assembly to cure, removing any squeeze-out while it’s still pliable.
Next, install the bridges within the tabletop. Begin by sanding the bottom of the mortises smooth, easing the dovetailed edges but avoiding the dovetailed faces so the width won’t be altered. Vacuum out the sanding dust and apply a 10 % thinned coat of shellac (preferred) or varnish to seal the entire mortise. Once cured overnight, finely sand the surfaces overall to smooth any raised grain. Vacuum and apply a coat of a wax to permit seasonal movement.
Now’s the time to install the bridge assemblies. After easing the leading edges of Part B to reduce potential binding, begin by centring Parts A and C within the mortises; tap Part B home between them. This should be a firm fit but not so tight the wood buckles as it’s inserted. To align and unite the parts I prefer to drill a pair of countersunk holes for #8 screws to be driven from Part C into Part A. Alternately, a thin veneer of glue can be applied to both faces of Part B before insertion to bond the assembly permanently. Shape Part B to follow the profile of Parts A and C, then sand the assembly overall.
The legs and stretcher / shelf assembly can now be glued together while the legs are being glued into the bridges. This is done all at once in one smooth operation employing an extended open-time glue like Titebond III.
All joined, flip the table over onto a flat surface to sit on its feet, then apply clamps to snug up the joinery. Tweak the build if need be so the table sits squarely on all four feet. If only three feet contact the surface this can be corrected after the build is cured with a spacer and a handsaw.
Finish it up
Next, detail the build and apply a protective finish to enhance the appearance of the table and protect all the surfaces.
While the finish is curing, there’s plenty of time to take final measurements from the table’s shelf / stretchers to add the finishing touch by crafting the optional applied shelf overlay. This simply comprises three equal-width planks shaped to mimic the shape of the tabletop on the upper surface to rest loosely within the shelf, bordered by the stretchers and shelf trim while wrapping within the inside faces of the legs.
The three parts will have a gap between them when installed. After thicknessing, I shaped the underside of each part at my router table using a 1-1/2″ diameter planer bit, but any end-cutting bit around 1/2″ in diameter will work. Follow up by block-sanding to remove router marks. Carefully lay out and shape the outer profiles and the recess inside the legs.
This completes an heirloom project to be proud of and enjoyed for generations.
MARK SALUSBURY - [email protected]
Son of a craftsman father and artist mother, Mark Salusbury was introduced to skilled creativity at an early age. He has explored all forms of woodworking professionally and casually since the 1970s.