Nesting Mission-style End Tables
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 9, Issue 1 - September 2014
The design of these nesting end tables is rooted in the Mission style. This style emphasizes simple lines,
and panels that accentuate the grain of the wood, usually oak. I already have a few Mission pieces adorned
with corbels, so I naturally wanted to use them in this design as well. In this case, I added them to the top of
the legs. They add visual interest and decorative detail as they support the wide, solid tabletops. They did,
however, affect the width of each table. Adding corbels on the sides meant that I either needed to push in
the legs or make the tabletop wider. This affects the table that nests inside the larger one, and so on. I had
originally planned to make these as a set of three, as they are commonly found. To do so, I either needed
to start with a very large table or end up with a ridiculously skinny third one; therefore, it made more sense
to make this a two-table project.
1/9
www.leevalley.com
Nesting Mission-style End Tables
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 9, Issue 1 - September 2014
Selecting Stock and Getting Started
I started with 5/4 red oak boards. This meant I could easily end up with 7/8” thick finished parts, some of
which could even be a full 1” thick. If possible, I like to work with stock that isn’t 3/4” thick simply because
it’s so common. I laid out all my boards and selected the ones for the tops and the legs first.
Tops
I selected two pieces large enough to make each top
entirely from one board to ensure color consistency.
I cut each board into three pieces, jointed and
planed to 7/8” thickness and glued and clamped
them together. Some people like to use dowels
or biscuits to help with alignment when gluing up
tops, which I’ve also done. This time, however, I just
glued and clamped while being careful during the
gluing process to keep the pieces flush.
Laying out the boards for the tops
Legs
I needed a lot of pieces for the legs since they were
glued up to achieve a finished size of 1-1/2” square.
Also, I decided to make an extra one (nine in total)
as a spare. The challenge with the legs was to build
them so that they had a pleasing look from all sides.
I chose long straight-grained boards so that two
faces have the edge grain showing. The other two
sides have the less-pleasing face grain showing.
I jointed and planed the boards just enough to
ensure the pieces were straight and square and
then glued and clamped two pieces together to
make up a leg. Once the glue was dry, I removed
any squeeze-out and jointed and planed the blank
again so that it was 1-1/4” wide and 1-1/2” thick.
Choosing edge-grained stock for the legs
2/9
www.leevalley.com
Nesting Mission-style End Tables
Since I laminated two pieces together to achieve
the desired thickness, I had to come up with a way
of hiding the glue line. I ripped and planed some
of the wood down to 1/8” thick strips and glued
these onto the sides of the legs. To avoid gaps and
bubbles on such thin pieces, I used lots of clamps
to ensure the clamping pressure was spread evenly
over the entire piece of wood. After the pieces were
dry, I removed any squeeze-out and used a flushtrimming bit in the router table to trim the edges
of the 1/8” strips flush to the sides of the legs. (If
necessary, you can run the blanks through the
planer one last time to bring the legs down to the
final 1-1/2” square dimensions.)
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 9, Issue 1 - September 2014
The leg details – direction of growth rings
Note: 1/8” thick stock can easily shatter when fed through the planer. Prevent this by using double-sided
tape to attach your strips to a piece of plywood and feed the entire structure through the planer.
Ripping 1/8” strips for the sides of the legs
For planing, the strips are fastened to plywood with
double-sided tape
Finally, I chamfered the legs on the router table
using a 45° bit and taking off a fairly aggressive
1/8”. This chamfer, since it is the same thickness as
the side lamination, completely hides the glue line.
I also chamfered the bottom of each leg to protect
against splitting. That chamfer is easier and safer to
make using a block plane.
Chamfering a leg; note how the 1/8” strips are attached
to the leg blank
3/9
www.leevalley.com
Nesting Mission-style End Tables
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 9, Issue 1 - September 2014
Crosspieces and Slats
Before cutting the crosspieces and vertical slats, I had to decide how I would assemble my project. If I
used mortise-and-tenon joinery, I would need to make allowances for the tenons when cutting these pieces
to length. If I decided to use dowels, pocket holes or floating tenons, I could simply cut the pieces to fit
between the legs. In the end I decided to use dowels. (Remember that the dimensions on my cutting list
assume you’ll be using dowels too.) My crosspieces were all 1” thick, which I could achieve because of my
5/4 rough stock. You could, however, just as easily make them 3/4” thick.
After cutting the crosspieces, I sorted them and marked each with where it would be installed. To allow for
seasonal wood movement, I used table-mounting clips to attach the tops to the bases. I set the tablesaw
fence to 1/2” and ripped a slot approximately 1/4” deep along the inside top edge of each of the four top
crosspieces. The thickness of one saw kerf was sufficient — 1/8”.
I cut a small arched curve into the bottom of each of the lower rails. It’s a subtle detail that, along with the
corbels, softens the lines. The arch is 1/2” tall at the center of the rail. I drew it out on a piece of scrap
plywood first, transferred it to the rails and cut it out using the bandsaw. It was sanded smooth to the line
of the curve.
The slats are all 1/2” thick by 2” wide. (I would not recommend going much thinner than this.) I rounded
over the edges of all the slats using a 3/16” radius round-over bit in the router table. All of the pieces were
sanded before starting the assembly process. My planer leaves a fairly nice surface, so I started with 150
grit in a random orbit sander and progressed up to 220 grit.
Testing the Joinery
When making the slats and crosspieces, I milled
a few extra pieces to use as practice joints. These
weren’t wasted, since I also used them to test my
stain and finish. I realized the slots that I cut for
the table clips would be uncomfortably close to the
dowel holes that I would be drilling. To solve this, I
ripped a few thin strips of oak the exact thickness
of my saw kerf and glued in a 1-1/2” piece at each
end of the dados. Once these dried, I sawed them
off using a flush-cutting saw and planed the area
smooth. These are on the inside of the rails so
they’ll never be seen.
Practice joints let you determine if your joinery method
will work well
4/9
www.leevalley.com
Nesting Mission-style End Tables
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 9, Issue 1 - September 2014
Lay Out the Pieces
Before assembly, I laid out all pieces and determined
where each would go. I took note of how I wanted
the tops oriented and marked this directly on the
workpiece.
I did the same careful evaluation of my leg blanks,
sorting and deciding which ones looked best
together. I grouped them in two sets of four and
marked each set so that they didn’t get mixed
up. A simple way to mark them so that you know
the orientation they should be in is to stand up all
four legs in their desired arrangement and draw a
square on the top that overlaps all four pieces.
Marking the legs with a square
When laying out the slats, I considered the color variation of the oak boards. There are three slats on either
side of each table and I didn’t want to end up with, for instance, three pale slats on one side and three dark
ones on the other. At the same time, I considered the flow of the grain and looked for ways the eye could
be fooled into thinking the grain flows from one slat to another in a pleasing pattern.
Finally, I laid out the different crosspieces. I did this sorting before cutting the crosspieces to final length!
Assembly
This will vary depending on what joinery method you use. The basic steps are to attach the slats to the top
and bottom rails for each side. Next attach the side assemblies to the front and back legs. Finally, attach the
two side assemblies to each other with the front and back rails. Do not attach the top until after the finish
has been applied.
As I said earlier, I used dowel joinery. Using a dowel jig, I drilled 1/4” dowel holes in the top and bottom of
each slat and matching holes in the side rails. I then drilled 3/8” dowel holes in the ends of the rails. After
dry fitting to verify the joints, I applied glue to the inside of each dowel hole, inserted compressed dowels
and clamped the side assemblies together. Each time, I took care to ensure the assemblies were square.
Once these had dried, I drilled matching dowel holes in the side legs and glued them to the side assemblies.
Finally, I drilled holes in the front and rear crosspieces, test fitted once more and glued the side assemblies
of each table together. (Again, I was careful to check for square.) In hindsight, I should have drilled the
dowel holes for the front and back crosspieces into the legs before I glued the legs into the side assemblies.
Live and learn!
5/9
www.leevalley.com
Nesting Mission-style End Tables
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 9, Issue 1 - September 2014
Drilling dowel holes in the rails
The side assemblies glued and clamped; note the color
variation in the wood
Drilling dowel holes in the legs
The legs clamped to the side assemblies
Drilling dowel holes in the side assemblies for the front
and back rails
The small table glued and clamped
6/9
www.leevalley.com
Nesting Mission-style End Tables
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 9, Issue 1 - September 2014
Corbels
I drew a plan for the corbels on some 1/8” hardboard and cut out the shape using a bandsaw. (A scrollsaw
would also work). I sanded the pattern carefully to get a nice regular curve along the piece. I then used
pattern routing to produce eight identical pieces. (I wrote an article on pattern routing in a previous newsletter
so I will not go into detail about it here.) In brief, I traced each piece on some wood and cut it out with a
bandsaw, staying outside the lines. The pattern was attached to the piece with double-stick tape. I used a
pattern-routing bit in the router table to finish trimming it flush. This step was repeated for all eight pieces.
After sanding the corbels, I glued one onto the outside top of each leg. To prevent them from slipping
around, tap a small finishing nail into the back of the piece and clip off the head so that only 1/16” to 1/8”
sticks out. I cheated and used a 23-gauge pinner, set to leave the pins sticking out, and tacked a pair of pins
into the back of each corbel before gluing.
Corbels glued and clamped in position
A shot of the finished corbels
Finishing
Before proceeding with the finish, I checked over the entire project for any missed squeeze-out. I also
sanded any rough spots to 220 grit. Finally, I slightly rounded over the edges of the two top pieces, as finish
does not stick very well to sharp corners.
I generally prefer to leave wood as natural as possible; however, Mission-style furniture is traditionally
dark. I first applied a coat of Varathane® Golden Mahogany (#233) stain to all the pieces and wiped off
the excess. Next I brushed on two coats of Zinsser® SealCoat™ dewaxed shellac. After each coat, I hand
sanded with 400-grit sandpaper. This seals the stain, adds just a hint of amber color and helps with filling
the wood pores so that a smooth finish is achieved. If you want your finish very smooth, apply several more
coats of shellac, sanding after each coat and wiping off the dust.
7/9
www.leevalley.com
Nesting Mission-style End Tables
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 9, Issue 1 - September 2014
In the process of applying finish to the larger of the table tops.
The final step was to apply three or four coats of Varathane Diamond Wood Finish, a clear water-based
polyurethane. After each coat had dried, I lightly sanded with 400-grit sandpaper. The tops received four
coats for extra protection, while the leg assemblies each received three. Polyurethane provides a hard,
clear surface with excellent moisture resistance.
After the final coat dried thoroughly, I dribbled on a few drops of water for lubrication and buffed with a 3M
Scotch-Brite™ sanding pad. These are the equivalent of #0000 steel wool, but of course you should never
use steel wool on a water-based finish. Dry the piece thoroughly after this.
Wrapping It Up
Once I was satisfied with the finish, the final step was to attach the tops to the bottoms. I laid the first top
upside down on a drop cloth on my bench and positioned the base upside down on the top, double checking
to ensure it was oriented correctly. (With the piece upside down and turned around, it is far too easy to
become confused.) I laid out the table clips and pre-drilled a small hole for each one before inserting a 1/2”
screw in each. I let my tables sit for three or four days in the shop to allow the finish to reach full hardness.
8/9
www.leevalley.com
Nesting Mission-style End Tables
Attaching the top with table clips
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 9, Issue 1 - September 2014
Close up of the table clips
Text and photos by Art Mulder
Art Mulder has been messing around in the shop since he was a kid, as his father was a carpenter with a
garage full of tools. He has been pursuing woodworking as a hobby since 1995 and writing about it since
2004. Most of his projects are inspired by different needs that arise at home. Art loves the design process,
particularly working through several plans to ensure a project fits the goal as well as the location. He favors
both Mission- and Shaker-style furniture and likes to work with contrasting woods, such as maple and
cherry.
9/9
www.leevalley.com