Bedside Tables for the Cottage
I had bought a "pocket-hole" drill set and have used it on various projects over the years. At the cottage I needed a bedside table that would fit into the 13 inches of space allotted to me on my side of the bed. I could not find one to buy that would fit into the space or give me the drawer and compartments that my wife and I wanted for under $20 each -so I made them.
I bought 2 laminated pine boards 1" x 12" x 8' (96") for $15 each. From each board I cut the sides, top, middle shelf, bottom shelf, back and front kick boards at the bottom, the sides of the drawer and the top back board. The shelves and front for the drawer were 12". The sides were 26". All the pieces had to come from the one 8 foot board. Once cut, I made the pieces fit to allow for a lip at the back and sides at the top in order that items placed on the top would not roll off and under the bed -as has indeed happened. All pieces were abutted and affixed with screws where they joined together.
Then the pocket-hole jig was put to work. Under the top and the shelves I drilled the pocket holes. Even the base kick boards back and front were pocket-hole drilled. Then I lined up the pieces, glued and screwed all the pieces in place. I did use clamps to ensure the screws did not move the cut boards as they are wont to do. Because the pocket holes are underneath and cannot be seen I did not fill them with wooden pegs. The screws did pull the wood in tight.
Once the pieces had been assembled, I squared up the box and put on the back into the rabbet groove I had routered. Once the "box" was squared I nailed the back board.
Two runners were added to guide the drawer. As well, I added a back stop at the end of each runner. When assembled the shelves stuck out in front of the sides by 1/4" because of the rabbet and backing. A 1/4" x 1" wide molding was added to the sides and top of each side. A back board was cut to match up to the sides yet give a design feature. I did try to keep everything quite plain.
The drawer was just a box -no face board to be added -what you see is what I made. I did router a 1/4" groove to hold the drawer bottom. And, I adjusted the back drawer board to fit.
Note the pocket holes for the sides attaching to the front.
Note the pocket holes for the back attached to each side. Note the adjustment to accommodate the drawer bottom which was nailed up into the drawer back.
Once all was done and assembled and checked, I sanded all the surfaces. Some gaps had been filled with wood filler but for the most part the pocket-hole screws pulled pieces together tightly.
My wife and I put them to use right away in our rustic, cottage bedroom. We will think about painting or decorating them next year.
Plain, simple, utilitarian, pleasing to my eye -and easy on the budget.
I bought 2 laminated pine boards 1" x 12" x 8' (96") for $15 each. From each board I cut the sides, top, middle shelf, bottom shelf, back and front kick boards at the bottom, the sides of the drawer and the top back board. The shelves and front for the drawer were 12". The sides were 26". All the pieces had to come from the one 8 foot board. Once cut, I made the pieces fit to allow for a lip at the back and sides at the top in order that items placed on the top would not roll off and under the bed -as has indeed happened. All pieces were abutted and affixed with screws where they joined together.
Then the pocket-hole jig was put to work. Under the top and the shelves I drilled the pocket holes. Even the base kick boards back and front were pocket-hole drilled. Then I lined up the pieces, glued and screwed all the pieces in place. I did use clamps to ensure the screws did not move the cut boards as they are wont to do. Because the pocket holes are underneath and cannot be seen I did not fill them with wooden pegs. The screws did pull the wood in tight.
Once the pieces had been assembled, I squared up the box and put on the back into the rabbet groove I had routered. Once the "box" was squared I nailed the back board.
Two runners were added to guide the drawer. As well, I added a back stop at the end of each runner. When assembled the shelves stuck out in front of the sides by 1/4" because of the rabbet and backing. A 1/4" x 1" wide molding was added to the sides and top of each side. A back board was cut to match up to the sides yet give a design feature. I did try to keep everything quite plain.
The drawer was just a box -no face board to be added -what you see is what I made. I did router a 1/4" groove to hold the drawer bottom. And, I adjusted the back drawer board to fit.
Note the pocket holes for the sides attaching to the front.
Note the pocket holes for the back attached to each side. Note the adjustment to accommodate the drawer bottom which was nailed up into the drawer back.
Once all was done and assembled and checked, I sanded all the surfaces. Some gaps had been filled with wood filler but for the most part the pocket-hole screws pulled pieces together tightly.
My wife and I put them to use right away in our rustic, cottage bedroom. We will think about painting or decorating them next year.
Plain, simple, utilitarian, pleasing to my eye -and easy on the budget.
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