Wood Joinery:

Build a Table Using

Traditional Techniques
Mortises & Tenons for Tables
We found that all you need
to cut this stout joint
is a router, a router table and
a single inexpensive bit.

T o avoid cutting mortise-and-tenon joints, many

woodworkers opt to build their projects using sim-
pler rabbets, dados and grooves instead. What
many of them fail to realize is that the mortise-
and-tenon joint is nothing more than a clever com-
bination of rabbets and grooves.
The mortise is just a stopped groove. And the
tenon is just a piece of wood that has been rabbeted
on at least one (but usually four) of its faces.
So the real challenge for the woodworker who
sets out to make this joint for the first time is ac-
tually a set of three manageable tasks:
■ Choosing the right tools.
■ Setting up the tools for accurate results.
■ Choosing a project to practice on.

Why Build a Table?

Without a doubt, the best project to learn how to
make a mortise-and-tenon joint on is a table. The
typical table has – at most – eight joints to cut.

PHOTO BY AL PARRISH
(Compare that to a Morris chair, where you can
easily have 75 joints or more.)
Fitting a mortise-and-tenon joint for a table
is more forgiving than fitting the same joint for
even a simple square picture frame. With a frame,
you need to fit the horizontal members (called
rails) between the vertical members (called stiles)
at the top and bottom of the frame. There can The Tenacious Tenon long-grain surfaces, they mate with end-grain sur-
be quite a bit of fiddling to get the rails closed Each part of the tenon has a job to do. Once you faces in the mortise, which makes a poor joint. In-
tightly against the stiles at both places. know this, you’ll also know how the joint can be stead, the job of the edge cheek is to resist racking
With a small table, each assembly of two legs modified or tweaked and still do its job. forces in the assembly. The better the fit between
and one apron is simpler – you have to fit the joint All tenons have four cheeks. The wider cheeks the edge cheek and the mortise, the less likely
only at the top of the legs. There is indeed some are face cheeks and the narrower ones are edge your project will wobble, even if the glue joint at
fiddling when you put these assemblies together cheeks. The face cheeks are the backbone of the the face cheek becomes compromised.
into the completed table base, but because the work joint. They are the long-grain gluing surface that Tenons also have shoulders. This part of the
is done in stages, it’s more manageable. mates with the long-grain surface in the wall of joint – which literally looks like a shoulder – can
Also, the mortise-and-tenon joint for a small the mortise. The better the fit between the face be on one to four of the edges of the tenon. The
table can be much simpler to execute than the cheeks and the mortise, the stronger your glue job of the shoulder is mostly cosmetic: It hides
mortise-and-tenon joint for a frame or door. To joint ultimately will be. any sloppiness in the mortise opening. It also can
understand why this is true, you first need a les- The edge cheeks don’t provide much gluing be pared in various ways to hide other defects of
son in basic tenon anatomy. strength at all. Though the edge cheeks are also the joint. For example, if you sanded your mor-

6 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004

tised piece too much and crowned the surface,
the shoulder can be chiseled up near the cheek to Edge
Cheeks
eliminate any gap that might appear between the Face shoulder
Face
joint’s pieces. The shoulder is therefore necessary shoulder cheek
only on surfaces that show on the final project. Edge
cheek
There’s something else to consider when mak-
ing shoulders: If you make them too wide, you
can introduce two problems to your joint. First,
bigger shoulders means you have smaller cheeks,
which reduces the overall strength of the joint.
Second, a large shoulder will allow the tenoned
board to cup or bow slightly at its edges. Big shoul-
ders can, over time, result in a joint that isn’t flush
like it was the day you made it.
Shoulders
Fewer Shoulders Make it Easier
With all these parts to keep track of, it’s no wonder
that some woodworkers shy away from this joint. The anatomy of a typical The shoulders cover up any inaccuracy in the mortises of these
tenon with four shoulders. bare-faced tenons with simple shoulders.
But tenons for tables can be simpler than tenons
for other assemblies. Here’s why: The tenons for
tables need fewer shoulders. Really, only one face
of the apron shows in a table. You definitely don’t this joint with hand tools requires an investment
need a shoulder on the inside of the apron. in tools (tenon saw, carcase saw, mortising chis-
A shoulder at the bottom of the apron is op- el and shoulder plane) and practice time. While
tional, though a very small one is easy to fit and there is pleasure in cutting this joint by hand, it
prevents the apron from cupping. can be frustrating at first. (See “Cutting this Joint
And here’s the real kicker – you don’t need a with Hand Tools” on page 8.)
shoulder at the top of the apron. In fact, I’d argue There is an easier way. I argue that you can
that eliminating it can make a better joint for two do all the mortise-and-tenon joinery for a sim- A
reasons: First, because the tenon is almost the ple table with a router, a router table and a 3 ⁄8"-
full width of the apron, it keeps your apron from diameter straight bit. All three items are common
cupping or bowing. This is especially important equipment in even the most bare-bones shop.
in a table because a cupped apron can push the In a nutshell, here’s how it’s done: First mill
tabletop up in places, spoiling its flatness. Second, your mortises in the legs. Set up the straight bit B
it makes the mortise easy to cut. Essentially the in your router table and set the fence to center the
mortise is stopped only at one end. As you’ll see cut on the width of the leg. Cut the mortise out
shortly, this allows you to make this joint with- in several passes, increasing the height of the bit
out a lot of equipment. with each pass. You’ll need a stop on the outfeed When tenons are closer to the outside of the
Of course, the logical objection to a joint like side of the router table’s fence to stop the mortise aprons, as in example “B” above, they can have
this is that if the mortise is open on one end then in the same location. extra length, compared to the tenons in example
the table won’t resist racking. I argue that a prop- To cut the tenons, keep that same bit in your “A” that are centered on the aprons.
erly fitted tabletop takes the place of that mor- router table and use a miter gauge (or a scrap of
tise wall, constraining the tenon’s edge cheek wood) to guide the apron into the bit, cutting a cut on. This makes a balanced joint: half of it is
and keeping it from racking. And, as you’ll see rabbet on each end. Adjust the height of the bit tenon and the other half is shoulder.
later, you can easily reinforce this joint with a until the tenon fits perfectly in its mortise. But some woodworkers use 1 ⁄4"-thick tenons
well-placed peg for added insurance. The heart of this method is the 3 ⁄8"-diameter on 3⁄4" stock. For this particular technique, I think
straight bit. Why 3 ⁄8"? There are several reasons. that’s a mistake. Straight bits that are 1 ⁄4" diameter
Choosing Your Tools Aprons for small tables are typically going to be are fragile; even quality ones will snap easily if
One big objection to mortise-and-tenon join- made using 3 ⁄4"-thick wood, and tenons as a rule you put too much pressure on them. Similarly, a
ery is the specialized tools you need to make it. are supposed to be half as thick as the stock they’re beefy 1 ⁄2"-diameter straight bit is also a bad idea.
Benchtop mortising machines cost $200; a kit You could use one, but then your mortise starts to
that allows your drill press to serve as a makeshift get so wide that its walls can become more frag-
mortiser costs about $70 (assuming you have a ile, especially in a small table’s delicate legs. I’d
drill press). An option is to cut your mortises with
“Any intelligent fool can make things save the 1 ⁄2" bit for milling joints for bigger proj-
a plunge router and a shopmade or commercial jig bigger, more complex, and more ects, such as dining tables.
($75 or so). But these jigs take time and money The router doesn’t have to be fancy – even a
and aren’t necessary for this particular joint. violent. It takes a touch of genius – low-powered single-speed tool will do this job
For cutting the tenons, you could buy a com- and a lot of courage – to move with relative ease. And the router table doesn’t
mercial jig, build a tenoning jig or get a dado stack have to be expensive, either. Any table with an
($85 for starters) to do the job on the table saw. in the opposite direction.” adjustable fence will do – even a shop-made ver-
Still other woodworkers insist on cutting the — E.F. Schumacher (1911 - 1977) sion with a simple plywood table and a straight
joint by hand. I do a lot of handwork, but making author of “Small is Beautiful” scrap of solid wood for the fence.

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 7
 Make the Mortises
Cutting This Joint with Hand Tools The first step is to mill the mortises on the ends of
the legs. Set up your router table so the bit projects
1⁄
4" above the table. Position the fence so the cut
will be centered on the end of the leg. You prob-
ably won’t hit this dimension the first time, so be
sure you practice on test pieces.
Clamp a stop piece (a scrap piece is fine) to
your fence so your mortises will end at the same
place. Where you clamp the stop is determined
by the width of your aprons. For example, if your
Bottom of mortise aprons are 4" wide, I’d position the stop so that the
Edge of mortise mortise is 37⁄8" long. This will give you a small
1⁄
8" shoulder at the bottom of the apron.
Take some scrap that is the exact size as your
To cut a mortise by hand, use a chisel that’s the
exact width of your desired mortise. Work from
table leg and mill a test mortise. Push the leg
the center out with the face of the tool pointed into the bit with steady pressure. If the bit burns,
toward the center of the mortise (left). I sliced you’re going too slowly; if it chatters, you’re go-
open this joint during the process (above) so you ing too fast. Check your results. To determine if
can see how you chop out a “V” in the center and the mortise is centered on the leg, use calipers
then chop to the ends. and check the length with a ruler.
With your setup just right, you can mill the
mortises. First mill all the mortises with the bit
set to 1 ⁄4" high. Then increase the height of the bit
to 1 ⁄2" and perform the same operation on all the
legs. Finally, raise the bit to 3⁄4" (if that’s your final
height) and make the last pass. In my book, a 1"-
deep mortise would be preferable, but not every
project will allow it. The small side table project
in this issue uses a 3 ⁄8"-deep mortise.

Time to Try the Tenons

Making the matching tenons is surprisingly sim-
ple work using the same router-table setup. Set
the height of your bit to 1 ⁄8" and adjust the fence
so that the diameter of the bit plus the distance
between the bit and fence equals the length of
To cut the tenons, saw the cheeks diagonally Once you make the first diagonal cut, turn the your tenon. For example, to cut a 3 ⁄4"-long tenon,
with the piece held in your vice. Seeing two work around and saw straight down. The first position the fence so that the 3 ⁄8"-diameter bit is
3⁄
sides simultaneously increases your accuracy. cut guides your second cut. 8" away from the fence.
Get some scrap that’s the same thickness as
your aprons and cut a test tenon. You can use a
miter gauge to guide the work, but a simple square
back-up block works just as well – and it reduc-
es tear-out as the bit exits the cut. Make the test
cut in at least three passes. Start at the end of the
tenon and work to the shoulder. This is the safest
way to make the cut because you cannot get any
wood jammed between the bit and the fence.
Check the length of your tenon and adjust your
fence. With the length set, mill the edge shoul-
ders on the bottom edge of the apron.
Next, make the first cut on the face cheek on
all the aprons. Do this using the same procedure
you followed for the edge cheeks. With that cut
complete, raise the bit very close to 3 ⁄16" high and
make another pass on all your tenons. Your ten-
ons should almost fit in the mortises.
Getting a perfect fit is just a matter of taking
The next step is to saw the shoulders. Mark the location of your shoulder with a chisel and the time to nudge the router bit up until the ten-
straightedge. This cut will guide your saw. With the shoulders cut, trim them with a shoulder plane ons fit in the mortises you cut. What’s a perfect
(shown above) until the tenon fits the mortise. fit? You should be able to fit the tenon in its mor-

8 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004

 Mark your
start and stop
points on a
piece of tape

Stop

To cut the mortise with the router, first mark out The stop determines the length of the mortise. Don’t forget to include the diameter of the bit when
the location on the end of a leg and line up the bit determining where the stop should go. Try to get it as close as you can when making a test cut.
with your layout lines as best you can.

tise using just hand pressure. If you have to use

a mallet, it’s too tight. If the tenon drops into the
mortise and wiggles, it’s too loose.
If the tenon is too tight, don’t force it. You’ll
destroy a fragile leg. If it’s too loose, you’re going
to have to beef up your tenon a bit. The best way
to do this is to glue hand-plane shavings (for
small adjustments) or thicker scraps (for large
errors) to the tenon. Once this extra wood is glued
in place, you might have to mill down the tenon a
bit again. Take your time when cutting your tenons
– a little extra care saves you a lot of grief.
When the tenons slide home in their mortises,
you’re close to completing the joint. Now it’s just Mill the mortises in several passes to avoid
a matter of squaring the rounded end of the mor- stressing the bit. With your stop and fence in
tise and either mitering or notching the tenons so place, the work proceeds quickly.
they fit together, if necessary. One option to deal with the point where the
Getting the tenons to fit with each other is sim- tenons meet is to miter the end of the tenons.
ple work with a backsaw. Really, there is noth-
ing difficult about this cut, and even if you mess
it up it will never show. If you like, you can cut
wide of your line and then pare to your layout
line using a chisel.
In small tables (and many large ones), it’s typ-
ical for the two mortises in a leg to meet at the
center. This is easy to deal with; you’ll just have
to modify your tenons a bit to make them fit.
There are two generally good solutions: You can
miter the end of each tenon to fit, or you can cut
notches on the ends so they interlock, as shown
in the illustrations at right.
Walls
Both solutions are simple work with a saw. You
don’t need a perfect fit inside the leg because it
will never show. But they are both good ways to A dial caliper ensures that you will have less
get some experience cutting with a hand saw or fussing when you fit your joints. A perfectly
making a couple of miters. centered mortise will result in a table base that is
When your joint is ready to assemble, here square and not a parallelogram. Check the two
are a couple of tips: Don’t try to assemble your mortise walls. When they are equal in thickness, If you don’t want to miter the tenons, you can cut
table base all at once. Glue up one side and your mortise is centered. notches in the ends so they interlock.

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 9
The tenon length is determined by the diameter Your test set-up is perfect for milling the single After the second pass, your tenons should be only
of the bit and its distance from the fence. Use a edge shoulder. Make this cut with the apron on a hair off. Make this cut on a piece of scrap first to
ruler to get this setting close. Make a test cut and edge guided by a back-up block or a miter gauge. ensure you don’t overshoot your mark.
adjust the fit so it’s perfect.

then the other. Then glue those two assemblies Reinforcements center my pegs on the length of the tenon.
together. It takes more time, but there are fewer Finally, I think it’s a good idea to reinforce table Put a little glue in the hole and drive the peg in
joints to keep an eye on as the glue begins to set tenons using a wooden peg driven through the with a hammer. As the peg hits bottom, the ham-
up. The glue-up procedure also reinforces the leg. But don’t peg your joints until the glue is set mer will make a different sound when it strikes
sometimes-fragile mortise wall created by this up. If you don’t want the peg to show, you can peg the peg. Stop hammering. Any more hits could
mortising technique. the joint from inside the table base. split the peg. As you’ll see, this procedure lets you
Be sure to do a dry fit. If the tenon won’t seat all No matter where you put the peg, the proce- put a square peg in a round hole. The corners of
the way into its mortise, shorten your tenon until dure is the same. Cut some pegs on your table saw; the peg bite into the surrounding wood to keep it
it does. If there is a gap at the outside shoulder, try I like square stuff that’s a hair bigger than 1 ⁄4" x from twisting out. Finally, trim the peg flush (or
1⁄
paring away some of the end grain of the shoulder 4". I don’t use manufactured dowels because they almost flush) using a chisel, a gouge or a flush-
at the corner where it meets the cheek – but don’t are inconsistent in size. Sharpen one end of your cutting saw, as shown below.
chisel the edge of the shoulder that shows. square peg in a pencil sharpener and crosscut it to With this simplified version of the mortise-
During glue-up, add glue on the mortise walls 1" long. With a knife, trim off a good deal of the and-tenon joint mastered, you can see how a cou-
only. Don’t glue on the shoulder and don’t worry pointiest part of the end you sharpened. ple of extra cuts can change it. Keep practicing
about gluing the edge cheeks or the mortise’s bot- Take a drill with a 1 ⁄4" brad-point bit and drill this joint and before you know it, that Arts &
tom. If you get glue there, that’s fine, but mostly the hole for the peg. The hole should be deep Crafts spindle bed or Morris chair will look like
you want to get the maximum amount of contact enough to pass all the way through the tenon but an easier (or at least doable) job. WM
between the face cheeks and the mortise wall. not pass through the entire leg. Usually I like to — Christopher Schwarz

Rounded
corner left
by router

Scrap guides
the chisel

The best way to square the end of a mortise is

with a chisel that is the exact width of your
mortise. This joint will be concealed by the If you’ve never pegged a joint before, give it a try on one of your test joints. It’s actually simple and
tenon shoulder, so it doesn’t have to be pretty. straightforward work. This extra effort will add strength to your table base.

10 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004

Simple Shaker End Table
Most joinery for small tables
is unnecessarily complex.
You can build this icon of
good design using simplified
(but solid) methods.

W hen woodworkers first set out to build a proj-

ect that they designed themselves, the end result
is usually overbuilt and chunky-looking. I myself
was a victim of just that problem: One of my ear-
liest projects had massive finger joints that were
reinforced with #10 screws.

PHOTO BY AL PARRISH
Good craftsmen also must be good designers
and good engineers. This mix of sound skills,
pleasing proportions and just-right joinery is as
difficult to teach as it is to learn.
And so, as my best teachers always said, “It
is better to show than tell.”
This small Shaker-style table is a perfect blend
of traditional joints and delicate lines. Though Begin at the Legs The reason for this is simple and is shown in
I’m going to tell you how to build it, my hope is For me, the most difficult task in making this table the photos at right. If the growth rings do not travel
that this article will show you that strong joints is choosing the right wood. It sounds ridiculous, from corner to corner, then each face of your legs
don’t need to be massive – just well-made. And but it’s true. There is so little wood in this pro- will look markedly different than the face adjacent
that good design doesn’t have to be flashy – just ject (only about 12 board feet) that you have to be to it. It’s distracting and worth avoiding.
pleasing to the eye. picky. The pickiness begins with the legs. If you can find boards at the lumberyard that
This table is adapted heavily from Thomas Making table legs is more involved than you are cut this way, count yourself lucky, because I
Moser’s excellent book, “How to Build Shaker probably imagine. If you ignore any of the follow- never can. So I purchase 13 ⁄4"-thick stock (sold
Furniture” (Sterling). Moser, an English-professor- ing steps, there’s a good chance your legs won’t in the rough as 8/4 wood) and mill the legs from
turned-cabinetmaker, has an excellent eye for look right and this will bother you when the pro- those over-thick boards.
design. You can see it in the line of furniture ject is finished. The goal with the legs is to find The legs are 11 ⁄8" thick, so I made a cardboard
produced by his successful Maine-based business, the straightest-grained boards possible with the template with a hole in the center that is oversized,
Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers, and you can see it end-grain growth rings running from corner to 13⁄8" square. I place this template on the end grain
in this book, first published in 1977. corner. A leg with the growth rings running from and rotate it until I see the grain lines run from
The first time I built a version of this table, I corner to corner exhibits what’s called “bastard corner to corner. Then I trace the shape of the leg
was stunned by its proportions. The legs are so grain” on all four faces. onto the end grain using the template.
delicate – just 11 ⁄8" square. And the detailing is so Next I rip out that shape. Transfer the cut-
Spartan – the only ornament is the wide bevel on ting angle from the board to the blade of the
the underside of the top. But the results are impres- table saw using a bevel gauge and rip one edge of
sive, and I think you’ll be impressed, too. “The finest tool ever created is the the leg at that angle. Then, rip the leg free of the
I built the table shown here with a hand- human hand, but it is weak rest of the waste (you might have to reset your saw
dovetailed drawer. However, if you’re not up for blade to 90° to do this) and square up the other
attempting that joint yet, don’t worry. We’ve out- and it is fallible.” three faces of the leg.
lined an effective technique for making simple — Sign above door to shop of planemaker and With the grain tamed in the legs, you can then
rabbeted drawers on page 24. author Cecil Pierce (1906 - 1996) joint and plane them to their final thickness and

16 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004

width. I prefer to use my thickness planer for this
job. It gives me more consistent results than try-
ing to size the parts on my table saw.
Choose your best-looking boards for the table-
top and drawer front. Your next-best pieces should
be reserved for the aprons. The rest of the stuff is Bastard grain Flat-sawn
useful for the parts inside the case that guide the
drawer. Joint and plane all the parts to their fin-
ished thicknesses, then rip and crosscut them to
their finished widths and lengths.
Quartersawn
Tackle the Top figure
Making a good-looking and flat tabletop is a skill
to itself, so we included a primer on gluing up
panels on page 22. Even if you have mastered the With the shape of the leg drawn on the end grain,
edge joint used for making panels, you should Flat-sawn it’s now just a matter of sawing and jointing to
keep a wary eye when it comes to picking the figure those lines. First cut the angle on the table saw.
right boards for your tabletop.
To make the top look as natural as possible,
pay attention to the seams. Never join the straight
rift-sawn wood edges of a board to the cathedral-
grain wood you typically find in the middle of a
board. This looks horrible. The best arrangement
is to join edges with rift grain to similar-looking
edges with rift grain. Shift things around until
the top looks good. Ignore the adage about alter-
nating the growth rings face up and face down
on adjacent boards in a tabletop. The warpage

PHOTO BY TIM GRONDIN

patterns of almost any antique table will quickly
point out the fallacy of this approach.
Glue up your top and set it aside for the adhe-
sive to cure. It’s time to make mortises.

Simple & Sturdy Table Joinery

Mortise-and-tenon joints are the best ones for a Getting good-looking legs is all in the growth
table. Yes, there are metal corner brackets out rings. When the rings run from side to side (right),
there, and a couple of biscuits also could do the the leg shows flat-sawn figure on two faces and
job. But the simple router-table setup we’ve de- quartersawn figure on two faces. This won’t look
right. Grain that runs from corner to corner –
vised is so simple, straightforward and inexpen- Then square things up on the saw or jointer.
called bastard grain – creates four faces that all
sive that there’s no reason to cheat here. look the same.
Essentially, the mortises are open at the top
and milled in the legs using a router in a table and
a 3 ⁄8" straight bit. The simplified tenons are cut
using the exact same tools and setup. There is no
reason to buy a pricey mortiser or spend hours
learning to make the joint by hand. Both of those
approaches are noble; they’re just not necessary
for this particular table.
It’s important to talk about the length of the
tenons used for this table. As a rule, you want your
tenons to be as long as possible – within reason,
of course. An ideal tenon is 3 ⁄4" to 11 ⁄4" long. But
when you’re dealing with a small project such as
this, you need to scale your joinery. The legs for
this table are quite delicate, just 11 ⁄8" square, so
full-size joints aren’t going to work. And once
you set the aprons back 3 ⁄16", as shown in the il-
lustration on page 19, you get even less room. The 3 ⁄8"-deep mortises are centered on the ends of
The maximum length for the tenons in this table Yes, this wastes a little wood, but there isn’t much the legs and are open at the top. This allows you
is 3 ⁄4" with the tenons meeting in the middle. But wood in this table to begin with. When the grain to cut them all with one fence setup. Note that the
making these mortises open at the top makes a lines run from corner to corner of your template, front legs receive a mortise on only one face. The
fragile shoulder on the inside corner of the leg. mark that shape and head to the table saw. back legs get mortises on two faces.

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 17
The 3 ⁄8"-long tenons are A 5 ⁄8"-wide chisel makes quick and accurate work of the small mortises Shave 1⁄16" of all four faces of the tenons for the
cut using the same setup on the legs. If you don’t have a mortising chisel, a standard bevel-edge lower front rail. Make the same cut on three faces
on your router table. Here chisel will do the job, though you should avoid wailing on the handle of the upper front rail. Then raise the bit’s height
it’s obvious that tenons are and levering out the chips as much as possible. Work from the center to almost 3 ⁄16" and shave the two larger cheeks on
nothing more than rabbets out as shown. Mark the mortise depth on your chisel using permanent the lower rail. Adjust the height of the bit until the
that have multiplied. marker (believe me, it’s not permanent). This works better than tape. lower rail fits snugly into its mortise.

Once you glue up the joint, the shoulder is sup- upper front rail and make this cut on three faces Cut the dovetail on the end of the rail. Next,
ported just fine, but you risk breaking it before and set it aside. Now increase the height of the dry-assemble the table base and clamp up all the
assembly time. bit and shave away material on the tenons until joints. Place the upper rail in place (the shoulders
So I opted for 3 ⁄8"-long tenons. There is still a the lower rail fits in its mortise snugly. should fit tightly between the legs) and trace the
remarkable amount of gluing surface and the joint The upper front rail is dovetailed by hand into dovetail shape onto the top of the front legs and
is more than stout enough for a table this small. the front legs. Before you despair, take a look at the part of the apron tenon that it overlaps. Dis-
When you make a bigger table in the future, you the upper rail, which you just tenoned on three assemble the table and saw out the socket in the
can make bigger tenons. faces. You’ve cut three perfect shoulders for this legs and on the top of the aprons’ tenons.
For details on executing this joint, see “Mor- joint. So even if your dovetail is the sloppiest one Now you can assemble the table without glue
tises & Tenons for Tables” on page 6. ever cut (which is doubtful), it will still fit tightly and take a look at how your joints fit.
After milling the mortises and the tenons for against the legs and the joint will never show.
the aprons and the legs, you need to join the front With that knowledge, lay out a 3 ⁄4"-long dove- Taper the Legs
two legs with the front two rails. This is a fiddly tail on each end of the upper front rail. Its size and There are a variety of ways to cut tapers on legs.
bit of joinery, but there are some tricks to make it slope aren’t critical. Lay it out so it’s easy to cut and I don’t like the commercial tapering jigs for
foolproof. Let’s start with the lower front rail. yet takes away as little material as possible. And table saws. They work, but they put your hand too
The lower front rail needs to be mortised into make the slope of the angle about 8° or so. close to the blade. Shop-made tapering sleds are
the front legs. The best way to cut the mortises
is with a chisel. First lay out the location of the
mortises on the front legs. The mating tenon on
the rail will be 3 ⁄8" thick x 5 ⁄8" wide x 3 ⁄4" long. Simple Shaker End Table
Next, lay out the mortise wall 1 ⁄4" in from the
NO. PART SIZES (INCHES) MATERIAL NOTES
front edge of the legs. T W L
Chop out the mortises to a depth of 3 ⁄4". Work
from the center to the ends of the mortise with
Table
the bevel facing the center of the hole. Keep in ❑ 4 Legs 11 ⁄8 11 ⁄8 263 ⁄4 Cherry Taper to 5 ⁄8"
3 ⁄4 1 ⁄4" x 2" bevel on underside
mind as you work that though you want to be as ❑ 1 Top 18 18 Cherry
3 ⁄4
neat as possible, the edge of the mortise will be ❑ 3 Aprons 5 121 ⁄2 Cherry 3 ⁄8" tenon both ends

3 ⁄4 3 ⁄4
concealed by the shoulders of the tenon, so the ❑ 2 Front rails 131 ⁄4 Cherry 3 ⁄4" tenon or dovetail

3 ⁄4
occasional small ding is no harm done. ❑ 4 Drawer guides 1 121 ⁄8 Cherry Notched around legs
Now you can cut the corresponding tenon on ❑ 2 Spacers 3 ⁄16 3 ⁄4 113 ⁄4 Cherry Glued to aprons
the lower front rail. Use the same procedure as
Drawer
you did for the tenons on the aprons. First set the 3 ⁄4
❑ 1 Front 31 ⁄2 113 ⁄4 Cherry 1 ⁄4" x 1 ⁄2" rabbet on ends
height of the bit to 1 ⁄16". Then adjust the fence so 1 ⁄2
the tenon will be 3 ⁄4" long. Make a couple of test ❑ 2 Sides 31 ⁄2 121 ⁄4 Poplar
1 ⁄2
cuts to confirm your setup. ❑ 1 Back 3 113 ⁄4 Poplar 1 ⁄4"
x 1 ⁄2" rabbet on ends
1 ⁄2
With the bit at this setting, cut away all four ❑ 1 Bottom 111 ⁄4 123 ⁄8 Poplar In 1 ⁄4"
x 1 ⁄4" groove
faces of the tenon on the lower rail. Next, get the

18 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004

 18"
14"
11œ" 2" ø"

œ"
œ"

3ø" 5"

œ"

1˚"
Taper starts
1" below front rail

27ø"
Rear leg
Rear apron
∕
∕
26œ"

µ"-thick x ‹ ∕
‹
µ"-long tenons
∫"
set back

Side Apron
∕

œ"-long dovetail
‹

∕
∕
upper front rail
Front leg

Leg, Apron and Rail Joinery Top is 18" x 18"

π"
End Table
woodworking-magazine.com ■ 19
safer, but they require wood, material and time sand, I recommend you sand the legs by hand with
to fabricate. And don’t even ask me to explain the a small sanding block. A random-orbit sander will
math involved in making taper cuts on a jointer. give you a bellied surface, which will spoil the fit
It makes my head hurt. of your joint. Begin with #100-grit paper and work
The most straightforward, safe and foolproof your way up the grits to #180- or #220-grit.
way to cut tapers is to lay them out on the legs, cut Start the assembly by gluing a side apron into
them out with a band saw (or jigsaw in a pinch) a mating front and back leg. When this assem-
and clean up the cuts on your jointer or with a bly is complete, you can then check the fit of your
hand plane (my tool of choice). dovetail a second time and make any modifica-
The leg taper begins 1" down from where the tions necessary for a tight fit. If you’re going to
aprons end. The legs taper down to 5⁄8" square at peg your joints from the inside (as described in This table is a great project for practicing your
the foot. That seems almost too delicate a taper, “Mortises & Tenons for Tables”), now is the time planing. The parts of the base aren’t wide, so you
on paper. But when you see the results, you’ll be to peg those side aprons. Then glue up the remain- don’t have to worry about the corner of the plane
impressed with the strength and beauty of the der of the table base. iron digging into your work. If you’re interested in
legs. Don’t forget that the tapers are on only the learning to use a hand plane, planing the tapers,
rails and edges of tabletops are three good
two inside edges of the legs. With the tapers com- Sorting Out the Guts
places to begin.
plete, you’re ready to assemble the base. The rest of the table is simple joinery, but you need
to pay close attention to how everything fits so that
Gluing it up the drawer slides well. The first order of business
Begin by sanding or planing all your base pieces is to fit and glue up the four drawer guides. The the top have dual functions: They attach the table
so they are ready for finishing. If you choose to drawer rides on the two at the bottom. The two at base to the top and they prevent the drawer from
tipping downward when it’s pulled out.
Start by notching the corners of all four guides.
A 3 ⁄16" x 3 ⁄16" notch allows the guides to fit around
the legs. You can cut it with a band saw or jigsaw
Cutting the Dovetails on the Upper Front Rail if you like, but a backsaw will be just as fast and
accurate. When the guides fit around the legs,
glue the lower guides to the aprons. Make sure
their top edge is flush with the lower front rail.
This ensures the drawer won’t hang up.
Before you glue on the upper guides, you
should drill countersunk holes that will allow
you to screw the base to the underside of the top.
These holes need to be elongated a bit to allow the
top to expand and contract, but please don’t get
too worked up about this point. There is no need
to rout out a slot or drill overlapping holes. Sim-
ply drive your drill into the hole, and while the
The dovetails are simple backsaw work. Even if Second, mark out the shape of the dovetail on
you miss your line, you’ll be able to fix it when the top of the leg using a mechanical pencil or drill is running, pivot it forward and back.
you cut the socket. If you mess up the socket, (even better) a marking knife. Glue the upper guides in place. Make sure they
the result will never show. Saw down to the are flush to the top of the apron (or just a little be-
shoulder and pare away the little waste sliver low) and don’t drop below the upper front rail.
with a chisel. You can see details of what the inside of the
table base looks like – with all the guides and
runners in place – in “Simple & Fast Rabbeted
Drawers” on page 24.

Return To the Top

You might think that building and fitting the draw-
er is the next step, but it’s not. In a small project,
the top will change how everything fits below it.
If you tighten the screws between the top and base
too much, the drawer will bind up in the case. So
really the best course of action is to make the top,
attach it, then fit the drawer.
Cut your top panel to its finished size and lay
out the bevel on its underside. You can cut this
Third, use your backsaw to define the edges of To remove the waste, first loosen it up by bevel on the table saw much like you would a
the socket. Saw inside the marked line. You can chopping a series of score lines on top of the raised panel for a door. This can be tricky depend-
pare away the extra waste with a chisel once leg. Then come in from the front of the joint ing on the height of your table saw’s fence and the
the socket is chopped out. (as shown) to pop the waste out. Keep working size of the throat opening for the saw blade.
down and back. This is good chisel practice. If you choose this route, set your table saw’s

20 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004

 pensive and machines well. When the drawer is
built, I fit it with a jack plane. Plane the top, bot-
tom and outside faces of the drawer’s sides until
it moves smoothly in and out of the table’s base.
Notch fits
around leg
Then turn your attention to getting the right gap
(called the “reveal”) around the drawer front, a
task suited for a block plane.
With the drawer fit, attach the knob. I like to
screw a piece of scrap on the top edge of the draw-
er back to prevent the drawer from being pulled
all the way out of the table (unless you mean to).
It’s a small detail that I’m fond of.

Cleaning Up
Upper drawer guides
Break all the edges with #120-grit sandpaper and
Once you cut the notch in the drawer guide, disassemble the table for finishing. With cherry,
a sharp chisel can fine-tune the fit with ease.
I think it’s worth the extra effort to accelerate its
To learn how to correctly sharpen a chisel, see
“Sharpening a Chisel” on page 11.
darkening by applying a couple of coats of boiled
linseed oil and putting the table out in the sun
The holes need to allow the body of the screw for a day. Then you can brush or wipe on your
to pivot. So reaming out the holes as shown is
favorite film finish. I prefer a satin lacquer.
perfectly acceptable.
blade for a 7° bevel and sneak up on the proper The first time I built this table, I was going to
cut by making a couple of passes over the blade, give it away to my sister as a wedding gift. But
changing the height of the blade and location of when it was complete, it sparked something rare
the fence until you get the bevel you desire. Drawer Details in me: envy. So I kept the table and it sits by my
If that approach doesn’t appeal to you, I rec- When I’ve built this project in the past, I’ve made bedside as a reminder of the rewards of good de-
ommend you mark the bevel on the underside a dovetailed drawer, which is typical of Shaker sign. My sister can have the next one. WM
and shape it with a rasp and file. A rasp (I prefer construction methods. But to make the project — Christopher Schwarz
the inexpensive Microplane rasp for this job) can simpler to build, I recommend you try out the
remove wood in a hurry. A mill file, scraper and drawer-building method detailed on page 24.
sandpaper will clean up your work from there. That style of drawer is easy to construct and will Supplies
Plane or sand the top for finishing. Attach it to be more than adequate for the light duty this
the base with #8 x 1" screws. The easiest way to drawer is certain to receive. Rockler
accomplish this is to put the top upside down on Note that the sizes in the cutting list for this 800-279-4441 or rockler.com
your bench. Then clamp the table base in place table assume you will make the drawer using this 1 • Cherry Shaker 7 ⁄8" knob, 3 ⁄8" tenon,
to the top. Drill pilot holes into the top and then rabbeted construction method. #78493, $2.59/pair
drive each screw home. Now you are ready to No matter how I make my drawers, I usually Price as of publication deadline.
construct the drawer. choose poplar for the sides and bottom. It’s inex-

Thin the sides of the drawer until you get a

smooth fit. A sander can do the job, but a hand
plane removes material in a much more
The entire top is riding across the blade on a 1⁄2"-wide edge, so take care when cutting the bevel. predictable (if slightly slower) manner.

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 21
Simple & Fast Rabbeted Drawers
It takes only one setup
on the table saw to cut
every joint you need to make
a solid drawer. Without a
doubt, this is as easy as it gets.

A long the road to comfortably referring to

yourself as a “woodworker,” there are a few im-
portant milestones you must reach. One of these
is building your first drawer. For some reason,
this project causes more antacid-popping than
almost any other project.
A drawer is just a box. The tricky part is that
the box must fit accurately into a hole and move
smoothly. There are three steps to a successful
drawer: precise measuring, accurate joining and
careful fitting. This article shows you the tricks we
use to successfully complete all three steps.

Measuring Like a Pro

Let’s say you’re building an end table with a
drawer. Knowing the size of the drawer’s hole
is the first critical piece of information. Seeing
how that space is made and understanding how
the drawer will “run” in the table is the next step.
In traditional case construction, the drawer is just
slightly smaller than its hole (which is the tech-

PHOTO BY AL PARRISH
nique we’re showing here). In modern cabinets,
the drawer is considerably smaller than its hole to
make room for mechanical slides or glides.
In our traditional case, the drawer hole must
be clear of obstructions or corners that the drawer
can hang up on. For that reason, the sides of the
drawer are traditionally kept in check by “drawer
guides,” which are simply pieces of wood inside “inset drawer,” which means the drawer front the drawer to fit the space exactly and then trim it
the carcase that are parallel to the sides of the doesn’t have a lip that covers the gap between the down with a hand plane to allow for proper move-
drawer. Essentially, the guides create a smooth drawer and case. (Drawers with a lip are called ment? Or do you trust yourself to build the drawer
sleeve for the drawer to run in and out of. “overlay” drawers, by the way.) Because this is an so that there is exactly 1 ⁄16" of space between the
With the guides in place, you’re ready to mea- inset drawer, you should end up with a small gap drawer and its guides?
sure the opening for the drawer. You want to build all the way around the drawer front, called the We like to err on the side of caution. Build
a drawer that fits the largest part of its opening. “reveal.” The reveal must be equal on all four sides your drawer to fit the opening exactly and trim it
First measure the height of the drawer open- of the drawer front. Next, measure the width of to fit. If your drawer opening happens to be out of
ing at the left side, right side and in the middle the drawer opening at the top and bottom. Finally, square, trimming the drawer is the easiest way to
to make sure your case is square. The drawer for measure the depth of the drawer space. compensate. So build to fill the space, then work
the “Simple Shaker End Table” on page 16 is an Now comes a tricky decision: Do you build down to a smooth operational size.

24 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004

One Setup Cuts All the Joints “Yes, risk-taking is inherently We’ve shown two different ways to make a
Now that you know the size of your drawer, you’re bottom here. In the drawings, we show a bottom
ready to build it. Mill all your stock to size (see
failure-prone. Otherwise, it would that actually extends past the back. The back is
the cutting list on page 18 for the Shaker end table be called sure-thing-taking.” cut 1 ⁄2" narrower than the front. This has several
drawer), paying particular attention to its thick- — Tim McMahan (1949 – ) advantages: You can remove the drawer bottom
ness. The thickness of the sides and bottom must international business speaker, author, photographer for finishing and easily replace it if it ever gets
be exactly 1 ⁄2" for this operation to work well. damaged. It’s necessary to build drawers this
We’re going to build our drawer exactly the way when they are deeper than 12" to allow the
size of our opening, except for the depth. The drawer, we’re going to use only the two 1 ⁄8" out- solid-wood bottom to expand and contract without
drawer’s depth will be 1 ⁄2" shy of the depth of the side blades to achieve a 1 ⁄4" groove. binding or busting the drawer.
opening to allow us to fit the drawer flush with its (Note: If you don’t have a dado stack, you can Second, in the photos we’ve shown a bottom
opening, which we’ll explain shortly. use an 1 ⁄8"-kerf rip blade. You’ll have to make a that is completely captured by the groove on the
The drawings on page 26 show how we build few extra passes over the blade, and you will need sides, front and bottom. In small drawers such as
simple drawers using one setup on the table saw. to move the fence, but only once.) this one, wood expansion isn’t a major concern
You won’t have to change the blade height or move Now install a new zero-clearance throat in- and this method allows all the drawer pieces to
the fence as you cut these three joints: sert to be used for this operation alone. (You can be the same width.
1 1
■ The ⁄2"-wide x ⁄4"-deep rabbets that join the buy one from any tool supplier or make one using
sides to the front and back. your saw’s stock insert as a template; your saw’s Fine-tuning and Assembly
1 1
■ The ⁄ 4" x ⁄ 4" groove on the sides and front manual should show you how.) Without this new Before assembling the drawer, dry-fit the parts
that holds the bottom in place. insert, rabbeting the bottom using your stock in- to ensure everything will go together easily. The
1 1
■ And the ⁄4" x ⁄4" rabbets on the bottom that sert can be dangerous, especially with a left-tilt rabbets should fit easily, but the bottom needs to
allows it to slip neatly into the grooves. saw. The opening will be too big and your work slide into its groove without forcing, and you need
It may not be the way you’ll build all your could tip into the blades. to make sure the bottom isn’t keeping the corner
drawers, but it’s simple and nearly foolproof. The With the two dado blades installed on your rabbet joints from closing tightly.
1⁄ 1
2"-wide x ⁄4"-deep rabbets at the corners – when saw’s arbor, raise them so they are exactly 1 ⁄ 4" If the bottom is too tight you have a few op-
reinforced with brads – make the drawer resist above the new insert. Set your saw’s rip fence so it tions. You can head back to the saw and move
racking and tension. While this can’t compare to is exactly 1 ⁄4" away from the dado stack. Confirm the fence a little closer (1 ⁄32", or at most 1 ⁄16") to
a stout dovetailed drawer, it’s more than adequate your setup with some test cuts and dial calipers. the dado stack and rerun the four edges to thin
for most furniture applications. Use the drawings to walk through the simple the rabbet. A couple of passes with a bullnose
To make the drawer a one-setup operation, rabbeting steps for the front and back, and the or shoulder plane will also thin down the rabbet
you’ll need a dado stack. Dado stacks tradition- grooves for the bottom. quickly. If the bottom is holding the corner joints
ally have two 6"- or 8"-diameter saw blades that If you use a 1 ⁄4"-thick plywood bottom instead open, raise the height of the dado stack (1 ⁄16" is
cut a 1 ⁄8" kerf – plus a variety of “chippers” that of solid wood, you’re done at the saw. If you’re fine) and, re-run the edges of the bottom. Then
can be inserted between the two outside blades to using a 1 ⁄2"-thick hardwood bottom, you need to keep checking your fit and adjusting until you’re
adjust the width of the groove to be cut. For our cut the rabbet on its edges so it slides in place. ready to assemble.

Brad location
Drawer guides

Drawer runners

Here I’m measuring the height of the drawer opening near the center. You When building a drawer with a captured bottom, clamps are placed to apply
should also measure the height at both ends of the opening. The width also pressure in both directions with the bottom in place. Note that the clamps
needs to be measured at top and bottom. Also shown in the photo are the are placed just behind the rabbet to apply as much direct pressure to the joint
drawer guides and runners in a typical case. (without interfering with it) as possible. Brads add strength.

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 25
 Build a Drawer with One Saw Setup

1 ¬" ¬"
2 ø"

Set your 1⁄4"-wide dado stack at 1⁄4" high Make the second cut with the end of
and 1⁄4" away from the fence. All of the the piece pressed tight against the
crosscuts are made using the miter gauge fence, which will create the full 1⁄2"
to support the work. The first cut trims 1⁄4" width of the rabbet. Repeat this cut
off the end of the piece. Make this same cut on both ends of the front and back.
on both ends of the front and back.

¬"

ø" Plan

This drawer design employs

1⁄ 1
2"-wide x ⁄4"-deep rabbets cut A rabbeted bottom fits into the 1 ⁄4" x 1 ⁄4"
on both ends of the front and back. grooves on the sides and front. Note that the
The rabbets allow for more gluing back is 1 ⁄ 2" narrower than the front to allow
surface and add a rigid corner to the bottom to slip in place under the back.

Exploded View
reduce racking.

¬" Elevation, from rear

3 Keep your saw at the same setting to
cut the 1⁄4" x 1⁄4" groove in the sides
¬"

ø"
and front that holds the bottom in
place. One pass is enough. ¬"
¬"
¬" ¬"
4 Finally, cutting a rabbet will allow the
bottom to fit into the grooves. Make this
cut with the bottom on edge as shown at
left. This operation is dangerous without
a zero-clearance insert in your table saw.
Featherboards help keep the bottom tight
against the fence during the cut.

26 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004

 Use glue and 5 ⁄8" brads to attach the sides to If you’re having trouble planing the end grain
the front and back. Apply glue to the rabbets at on the sides of the front, here’s another little tip:
the corners. If you’re using a solid-wood bottom, Wet the end grain with some mineral spirits. This
don’t place glue in the grooves. The bottom should will make it easier to slice.
be allowed to expand and contract (unless you’re Now it’s time to fit the depth. Because we made
using plywood). the drawer 1 ⁄2" shorter than its opening, it will slip
Slip your bottom into the groove and clamp in past the front edge of the table. Slide the drawer
the drawer. Place your clamps as shown in the all the way in, and measure how far in it went.
photo on page 25. If you’re adding brads to the Then predrill and drive two #8 x 1"-long round-
joints, drive them through the sides into the rab- head screws (one on either side) in the drawer
bets in the front and back. back. By adjusting the depth of the screws, you
can fit the drawer front flush to the table.
Fitting the Drawer in its Space With these basic skills in place, you can now
When the glue is dry, take the drawer out of the use different material thicknesses. And as you be-
clamps and try to fit it in its opening. It probably come more comfortable with your skills, you can
won’t fit. This is OK. The first step in getting it to try a new drawer joint on occasion. But you’ll al-
fit is to take your block plane and remove mate- ways be able to make a simple one-setup drawer The first step in fitting the drawer is to trim the
rial from the top edge of the sides, front and back, that fits perfectly with these rabbets. WM height. A simple block plane can be used to take
checking the fit as you go. You can easily gauge – David Thiel off a little bit at a time until the fit is perfect.
your progress by first marking a 1 ⁄16" line around
the outside of the drawer. As you plane, use this
line as a reference.
Check the fit of the drawer at the top and bot-
tom by inserting one corner of the drawer in the
opening so you don’t have to worry about the
side-to-side fit. When the drawer fits at the top
and bottom, check the side-to-side fit.
Removing material from the sides can be done
with a plane or a power sander. If you’re planing,
remember to work in from both the front and back
to avoid tear-out on the end grain that shows on
this surface. Remove material slowly and work
both sides evenly. It shouldn’t take much to get
the drawer to slip into place.
You may notice at this point that the reveal
around the drawer looks OK at the top and the
sides, but the bottom is a tight fit. Here’s a little
trick: Take your block plane and lightly bevel the
bottom front edge to give the appearance of a gap
to match the top space. Continue to trim the front
with your block plane until the reveal is consis-
tent all around the drawer front. Next, a larger jack plane removes material from both sides until the drawer slides in smoothly.

Screws

1 ⁄ 32 " reveal

With the drawer in place, you can see the reveal at both sides, on top and on Another trick to fitting a drawer is to use screws in the back to help adjust the
bottom. By beveling the lower edge of the drawer front with a block plane, depth. The two screws can be adjusted in and out to fit the drawer front flush
the spacing appears to match on all four sides. in the opening.

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 27
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