You Can Build a Coffee Table - WordPress.com...You Can Build a Coffee Table This table has a modern look and gains a dose of style from some awesome wood. By JEFF BRANCH W hen it came

You Can Build a Coffee Table This table has a modern look and gains a dose of style from some awesome wood.

By JEFF BRANCH

W hen it came time to replace our first coffee table, I wanted to design something that was somewhat

modern in feel, totally free of curves and visually interesting in some way. The design that materialized covered all those points. The legs along with the rest of the design are straight, the aprons and stretchers step back from the perimeter of the table in an orderly way.

The table top and shelf are a frame and panel affair with the panel being slats featuring contrasting figured wood. In the illustration above, the wood is mahogany and the accent wood is birdseye maple. I have also used wood combinations like stained oak and tiger maple with success. The March/April 2010 issue of Fine Woodworking includes an interesting article on contrasting woods showing

which ones work well together and which ones don’t. The joinery is straight forward: dowels join the aprons and stretchers to the legs. I used either splines or biscuits to join the corners of the top and shelf. The slats stay in place by way of splines which act as floating tenons. The top and shelf are the only tricky part of the project, but the fabrication is straight forward.

© 2012 Jeff Branch

Jeff Branch WOODWORKING

Major Dimensions

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30 1/2”

26 1/4”

29 3/4”

5”

17”

25 1/2”

3”

12”

2 1/2”

12 3/4”

15 3/4” 2 1/2” 24 1/4”

2 11/16”

29 1/4”

17”

2”

2”

1 1/4”

16 1/4” Leg is 1 3/4”

square.

18” 10”

Front

10 3/4”

Side

Top Shelf

Cut List

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Legs, Aprons and Stretchers Ⓐ 4 Legs 17 x 1 3/4 x 1 3/4” 

Ⓑ 2 Aprons - Long 26 1/4 x 2 x 3/4” 

Ⓒ 2 Aprons - Short 12 3/4 x 2 x 3/4” 

Ⓓ 2 Stretchers - Long 26 1/4 x 1 1/4 x 3/4”  

Ⓔ 2 Stretchers - Short 12 3/4 x 1 1/4 x 3/4” Shelf Ⓕ 2 Shelf Rails 29 1/4 x 2 1/2 x 3/4” 

Ⓖ 2 Shelf Stiles 15 3/4 x 2 1/2 x 3/4” 

Ⓗ 4 Shelf Slats 24 1/4 x 2 11/16 x 3/4”

Ⓘ 5 Shelf Splines - Long 23 1/2 x 3/4 x 1/4” 

Ⓙ 2 Shelf Splines - Short 11 1/2 x 3/4 x 1/4” 

Ⓚ 4 Shelf Corner Splines 3 1/4 x 3/4 x 1/4” Top Ⓛ 2 Top Rails 30 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 1” 

Ⓜ 2 Top Stiles 17 x 2 1/2 x 1” 

Ⓝ 4 Top Slats 25 1/2 x 3 x 3/4” 

Ⓞ 5 Top Splines - Long 24 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/4” 

Ⓟ 2 Top Splines - Short 12 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/4” Miscellanious Ⓠ 20 Clips 1 3/16 x 3/4 x 3/4” 

Ⓡ 24 Dowels 2 x 3/8 x 3/8” 

Ⓢ 4 #10 Biscuits     

Sanding and staining your project Often times it is easier to sand parts prior to assembly, and with this project you’ll need to pre-stain/finish parts prior to glue-up. For the purposes of this project plan, it is a given that parts will be sanded prior to glue-up. Parts that need to be pre-finished will be noted. If you will be using pine, maple or cherry for your table, I recommend using Charles Neil’s Pre-Color Conditioner. See it at: http://shop.charlesneilwoodworking.com Safety Be sure to understand and practice safe workshop proceedures. Using power tools for routing slots in boards means working with stock in special ways. Remember to be safe as you work through the construction of this table.  

Getting Started

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The first step in creating the coffee table is to form the legs, parts A (note their size in the cut list). These legs are 1 3/4” square which means you’ll either need to find stock slightly thicker than this size or you will need to build up the thickness by gluing thinner boards together. When I built this table, I glued together three 3/4” boards and then trimmed and planed them to final thickness.  

Ⓐ

Next, fabricate the aprons, parts B and C along with the stretchers, parts D and E. Note in the illustration above, all of these components have a slot cut along their inside face. These slots provide a recess for the clips which lock the table top and shelf in place. Creating the slots are accomplished with a 1/4” router bit mounted in a router table. The slot is 3/8” deep. See the illustration 5a for more information on the slot boundaries.  

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4a 4b

© 2012 Jeff B

ranch

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Forming the Frame

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5a - Note the location of the slots referred to in 4b.

© 2012 Jeff Branch

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Locating Holes for the Dowel Joinery

6a

Mark the location for dowel holes as shown. Illustration 6a shows dowel locations for the legs parts A. Illustration 6b shows the apron locations, parts B and C as well as the location for the stretchers, parts D and E. Mark the location for the holes on the legs and then carefully transfer these marks to the ends of the aprons and the stretchers. Drill 3/8” holes 1 1/16” deep, centered on the component using a self centering doweling jig (item 49221 at Rockler.com).

6b

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Ⓒ Ⓓ

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Ⓐ 3/8” 3/8” 3/8” 3/8”

9/16”

1 7/16” 5/8” 5/8”

3 5/8”

9/16”

1 7/16”

7/8”

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7a

Assemble just the two sides shown. Take a leg, paint the inside of the dowel holes with glue, then slip the dowels in place. In the same way, add glue to the dowel holes in the apron and stretcher. Slide them in place. Do the same for the opposite leg and position it. Clamp and verify everything is square. Set aside until the glue is dry.

Forming the Frame

All dowels are mitered - see 7b.

The holes drilled for the dowels intersect inside each leg. This means you will need to cut a 45° 

angle on one end of each dowel.

7b

© 2012 Jeff Branch

Dry fit the end components. We’ll glue the ends in place after the shelf is added - see 11a.

7c

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© 2012 Jeff Branch

Ⓕ

Ⓖ 15 3/4”

29 1/4”

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Ⓖ Ⓚ

Use straight grained wood for parts F and G.

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Time to begin work on the shelf. Note the overall dimensions of the various components as shown in the major dimensions view on page two and the cut list on page three. Begin by forming the shelf rails and stiles, parts F and G. Note the slot that needs to be formed on the inside edges and the mitered corners. The close-up view in 8b shows a straight on end view of the rails and stiles. All of the slots created for these parts are 3/8” deep and 1/4” tall. These slots can be easily fabricated with a router outfitted with a slot cutting bit. Note the chamfer on the upper inside edge. I did this with a table saw blade tilted to 45° and I

then made the cut smooth with sand paper. It is roughly 1/16” deep. The corner splines, parts K create a strong joint at the corners. Cut all the parts as shown and test fit them to ensure the frame is square. No glue-up at this point. Pre-finish parts F and G prior to assembly.

Building the Shelf

8b

8a

3/4”

1/4”

1/4”

3/16”

2 1/2”

Ⓕ Ⓖ

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The center of the lower shelf is made up of four slats and a series of splines which act as floating tenons. Note their sizes in the cut list. Cut the slats to size verifying the inside dimensions of the frame. The illustration on page two shows a size of 10 3/4”, which divided by four slats gives us the 2 11/16” shown in illustration 9b. But slight variations can occur as a project comes together, so be prepared to adjust the width of the slats, parts H accordingly. Also if you live in an area which has high humidity, you will want to make these slats slightly smaller to allow for seasonal wood expansion and contraction. Pre-finish these parts prior to the assembly steps in illustration 10a.

Building the Shelf

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Ⓘ Ⓙ 9a

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9b

Illustration 9b shows a straight on end view of a slat, part H. Note the slot needed for the splines which is 3/8” deep and 1/4” tall. As with the outer frame, the chamfer at the upper edge of each slat is 1/16”.

2 11/16”

3/4” 1/4”

1/4”

3/16”

Ⓗ © 2012 Jeff Branch

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Now, time for some glue. Grab one rail and stile, parts F and G along with one corner spline, part K. Add glue to the corner spline, slip it into the slot on part F and then slide part G into place as shown above. Make sure you position part K back far enough so it does not interfere with the position of the short shelf spline, part J. Clamp, check for square and set aside to dry. Next, begin positioning the shelf splines, parts I and J along with the shelf slats, parts H. The splines and slats slide in place without glue. Position the remaining rails and stiles; add glue to the corner splines and slide them into place. Clamp, check for square, and set aside to dry.

Building the Shelf

10b Next, center the table frame on top of the completed shelf. Carefully mark the location of the legs on the shelf. Cut the needed notch in the shelf to allow clearance for the legs (see the shelf illustration on page two, upper right). Cut carefully making sure there isn’t a gap between the shelf and the legs.

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Ⓚ

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Ⓚ 10a

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In 7c, we dry fitted the side aprons and stretchers, parts C and E into the front and back assembly. Now, pull the table frame apart. Add glue to the dowels and slip parts C and E in place as shown above. Then, position the shelf assembly; add glue to the dowels and slide the back assembly in place. Clamp, check for square and set aside to dry.

Completing the Frame

11a

Place the table on it’s side and permanently attach the shelf to the table frame with clips, parts Q as shown. Note the size of the clips in the cut list as well as illustration 11c.

11b

© 2012 Jeff Branch

Ⓠ

3/4”

5/16”

1/2”

11c

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Ⓔ

Front assembly

Back assembly

Ⓠ

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Creating the Top

The top is similar to the shelf. Illustration 12b shows a straight-on end view of the top rails and stiles, parts L and M, which are one inch thick. Note the bevels on the upper corners, the off-center slot (the slot is 3/8” deep and 1/4” tall) which aligns with the slot in the 3/4” thick slats, parts N. Note the component sizes in the cut list. Form the needed parts, cut a slot for a #10 biscuit making sure the biscuit slot does not interfere with the slot created for the end splines. Assemble the top in the same manner as the shelf. Pre-finish parts L, M and N prior to glue-up.

1/2”

12b

© 2012 Jeff Branch

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Ⓜ

Ⓛ

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Ⓝ

Ⓝ

Ⓝ

Ⓛ

Ⓞ

Ⓟ

12a

3/16”

2 1/2”

7/8”

19/64”

Ⓛ Ⓜ

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Final Construction

The final step in construction is to center the table top on it’s frame and add clips, parts Q in the same way as shown in illustration 11b. With that, construction is complete. The finish utilized for your table will vary based on the type of wood you selected and your personal finishing preferences.

Jeff Branch has been woodworking for about 30 years

from his home in Pelham, Alabama.

In addition to woodworking, Jeff has an interest in graphic design

and operates a blog at http://jeffbranch.wordpress.com.

© 2012 by Jeff Branch. Table design, woodworking plan text, illustration and page layout by Jeff Branch.

© 2012 Jeff Branch

Jeff Branch WOODWORKING