I Made: Nesting End Tables

Back in August I wrote about the beginner woodworking class I took at the Indianapolis Art Center over the summer. At the time, I had already registered for the intermediate woodworking class in the fall. The class has come and gone and once again I am incredibly happy with my experience.

In the beginner class, there were certain techniques and tools we learned about each week. The intermediate class was structured more like an open-study. You pick a project, and the instructor provides guidance as needed. I personally loved this approach because it gave me more time to work on my project and get help specific to what I was working on, which was particularly great for me because I took on a project a bit beyond my skills….nesting end tables.

I chose the tables from Mid-Century Modern Furniture: Shop Drawings & Techniques for Making 29 Projects by Michael Crow thinking they didn’t look too complicated. But as is often the case with these things, they were more complicated that I had originally thought. I had to consider grain matching, how to layout cuts, and make sure the grain was consistent between tables. Things I hadn’t had to consider when I was working with a single board. I also learned how to make templates, and how to use a router and biscuit joiner.

Throughout the 16-week course I had to miss a few sessions, which put me short on time. My husband actually ended up doing the final assembly of putting the legs onto the tabletop with dowels. I’m incredibly happy with the end product, and yes this post is basically a not-so-humble brag.

For those interested, the tables are built out of cherry, finished with Danish Oil in natural and rub-on poly in satin.