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A nightstand shouldn't be so plain that it puts you to sleep. I designed the cherry nightstand in the photo below as part of a bedroom set, but I think the resulting table stands alone quite nicely. The cloud-rise pattern on its rails, along with the rosewood pull on the drawer, give this nightstand a look reminiscent of Chinese furniture. The basic design can be adapted for an end table, but keep in mind that if you change proportions in one area, other dimensions will need to change as well.
Since it was designed as a nightstand, the first parameter for establishing dimensions was the 20-in. height of the bed's mattress, to which the stand would be a partner. I decided on a height of 23 in. and then proportioned the stand's width and depth to complement this height and allow enough space on top for a lamp, book and cup. The flaring legs add visual weight to the base of the nightstand, while the cloud-rise pattern on the rails softens this effect and lightens the load. The rails are inset from the legs to provide depth and shadow play, and the overhanging top is beveled to give the entire piece definition and a certain oriental grace. The rosewood drawer pull is the final touch and gives the stand its own personal character.
The nightstand is constructed following the same methods I use for larger cabinets or chests. The carcase frames are joined with haunched tenons in routed mortises and the panels that fill these frames are glued up from solid cherry. The bottom shelf and the nightstand's top, which are also solid wood, are mounted as shown in the drawing to allow for seasonal expansion and contraction. The drawer parts are all joined with sliding dovetails and the 1/4-in. plywood bottom is slid into grooves in the sides and front and screwed to the bottom of the drawer's back. Although simple in design, the nightstand is a challenge to build because of its joinery and details.
Joining the carcase–The nightstand requires about 4 bd. ft. of 8/4 cherry for the legs and about 18 bd. ft. of 4/4 cherry for everything else including the drawer parts. I mill the parts for the entire piece about 1/8 in. oversize and let them sit for about a week in the shop, so they can warp or cup if they're going to, before final dimensioning. The 1 1/2-in. by 2 1/4-in. legs are then milled and cross-cut to length, and all the mortises and panel grooves are routed in them before the outside face is tapered. Similarly, the rails are milled to size and the tenons tablesawn on their ends before the cloud-rise pattern is bandsawn. The top rails, drawer glide rails and side panels can be milled now as well. The panels are only 3/8 in. thick, so I resaw them from full 4/4 stock and sticker them so the interior and exterior moisture contents can equalize for a few days before I glue up the book-matched boards. The nightstand's 3/4-in. top and its bottom shelf can be glued up somewhat oversize at this time.
I use a plunge router with a 3/8-in.-dia. bit to cut all the mortises, and then chisel the ends of the mortises square to accept the square tenons. You could round the tenons to fit the radius of the router bit instead, but on a joint this small I figure the more gluing surface the better. The mortises should be about 1/16-in. deeper than the tenons to ensure the tenons don't bottom out and to provide space for excess glue. When the mortises are complete, cut the tenons on the ends of the rails on the tablesaw. First, cut the shoulders with the rail flat on the table and the miter gauge set to 90°. Then, make a simple tenoning jig to hold the rail vertically as you run it along the rip fence and trim the tenons to fit the mortises. Finally, bandsaw the tenon to create the haunch. I'm partial to haunched tenons because the haunch allows the tenon to run full width to resist twisting, while the main portion of the tenon can extend deeply into the leg or stile without weakening this member.
The top rails above the drawer in the front and back of the nightstand are dovetailed into the top of the legs. I cut these dovetail-shape mortises and tenons with a dovetail bit on my router table. The mortises are cut first, and then the fence is moved over so it exposes only a small portion of the bit to cut the tenon on the ends of the top rails (see the top and center photos on the facing page showing drawer construction).
When all the mortises and tenons are cut, dry-assemble the frame to check for fit and to see that the tenon shoulders pull up tightly. Disassemble the parts and fine-tune the tenons if necessary. At this time you can also shape the rails. Because the same cloud-rise pattern is repeated at the end of each rail throughout the piece, I make a full-size template from 1/4-in.-thick Masonite and use it to draw the shape on the rails. I bandsaw just outside this line, attach the template to each rail with double-stick tape and trim to the template with a flush-trim bit on my router table. I stop just short of the end of the curves to prevent tearout and finish up with very light cuts with the router. Clean up the final shape and remove the router marks with a spokeshave or file and then sand the curves smooth.
With the side frame clamped to the workbench, Rogowski routs the panel groove with a bearing-guided slotting bit. A 1/2-in.-thick board is laid atop the shaped rail to fill the setback between the inside surfaces of the rail and leg, providing a consistent surface for the router base.
Next, dry-assemble the legs and the shaped side rails to form the side frames. However, leave out the drawer glide rails because they'll be in the way as you rout the panel groove on the internal edges of the frames. Clamp the frame to the workbench and use a 1/4-in. slotting bit to cut a 7/16-in.-deep groove centered in the edge of the rails. The bearing of the slotting bit follows the curve of the rails but you'll need to place a 1/2-in.-thick board on the rails, as shown in the photo above, to bring the rail's surface flush with the legs. The panel is 3/8 in. thick, so I reset the bit's depth and make two passes to cut a 3/8-in.-wide groove. Repeat this procedure to rout the groove on the back legs and rails for the small back panel that covers the drawer opening. After the panel grooves are cut, disassemble the frames and draw the taper on the outside surface of each leg. Then, bandsaw close to the line and clean up the face on the jointer.
With the base of the stand assembled, the top of the stand and the bottom shelf can be ripped and crosscut to size. I rout slots in the upper side rails with a 1/8-in. slotting bit for the tabletop fasteners that hold the solid top in place. The bit's depth must be set properly so the fasteners will hold without too much strain or slop, so I first cut a practice piece to check this setting. I bevel the edges of the top, as shown in the drawing, and then I apply three coats of my oil/varnish mix to the glued-up carcase frame and to the top and the bottom shelf. When the finish dries, I fasten the top and the bottom shelf in place.
Making the panels and gluing up the carcase–Now, turn your attention to the panels. Glue up the side panels and cut them and the back panel at least 1 in. longer and wider than the inside dimensions of their respective frames. After the glue is dry, plane the panels 3/8 in. thick. Then, lay the appropriate frame on its panel and trace around the inside edge of the frame to define the panel's shape. Add 5/16 in. around the entire perimeter of this line so the panel will fit into the groove, and then bandsaw the panels to size. I check the fit of the panels in the grooves and handplane the panels to fit snugly. Then, I finish-sand them and apply the first of three coats of a mixture of equal parts Danish oil and polyurethane varnish. I wait a day in between coats and finish both sides of the panels the same. Prefinishing the panels ensures that no unfinished wood peeks free of the frame if the panel shrinks during an especially dry season. It's also much easier to wipe on and rub out the finish before assembly.
After the third coat of finish on the panels is dry, you're ready to assemble the side frames. Use just a little glue on the tenons to prevent excess squeeze-out onto the legs or panels, and brush a more liberal coat of glue into the mortises, especially at the mouth of the joint. Don't forget to glue in the drawer glide rails. After the frame is glued up and clamped, check to see that it's flat and hasn't been twisted out of shape by clamping pressure. When the frame is dry, pin the panels in place with 1/8-in.-dia. dowels drilled from the inside of the top and bottom rails and centered in the middle of the panel (see the drawing on the previous page). These dowels keep the panels centered and prevent them from rattling too much if they shrink in dry weather.
The front and back rails can now be glued into the side frames to form the carcase. In order to simplify the glue-up as much as possible, set aside the dovetailed top rails and back panel. It's not necessary to glue these parts in place at this time because the panel can be slid in place and the rails glued into their mortises after the rest of the carcase is glued up. I get the clamps ready, one for each of the rails that I'm gluing in place, plus a couple extra to square up the clamped-up carcase if necessary. Because it's difficult to clamp to the tapered legs, bandsaw angled clamping blocks and tape them to the tapered surfaces so the clamps won't slip.
Lay one of the side panels flat on the workbench with the mortises up, and glue the front and back rails that are below the drawer, the back bottom rail and the shelf support rails into their mortises. Then, with the other side panel laying on the bench with its mortises up, spread glue and fit all the tenons of the five rails into their mortises, and force the joints home with bar or pipe clamps. Then, place the nightstand upright on a reliably flat surface and, if all four legs don't make contact, clamp diagonally across the front and back of the carcase frame to square them up. Test-fit the top rails into the dovetail mortises to see that the carcase hasn't been distorted out of square in the horizontal plane by uneven clamping pressure. Now, you can insert the back panel and glue in the top rails.
With the base of the stand assembled, the top of the stand and the bottom shelf can be ripped and crosscut to size. I rout slots in the upper side rails with a 1/8-in. slotting bit for the tabletop fasteners that hold the solid top in place. The bit's depth must be set properly so the fasteners will hold without too much strain or slop, so I first cut a practice piece to check this setting. I bevel the edges of the top, as shown in the drawing, and then I apply three coats of my oil/varnish mix to the glued-up carcase frame and to the top and the bottom shelf. When the finish dries, I fasten the top and the bottom shelf in place.
Constructing the drawer–One of the nice things about using sliding dovetails to join the drawer sides to the front is that I can use the same setups to join the back of the drawer to the sides. The secret to a good-fitting sliding dovetail is accurately milling the parts. The drawer sides and back must all be the same thickness and their ends and edges must be square with the planed faces. I use a 3/4-in.-thick front with 1/2-in.-thick sides and back. Rip the drawer parts 1/16 in. over their finished width so any chip out resulting from routing the dovetails can be jointed smooth. Crosscut the back a little long so you can cut it to fit after you've routed its mortises in the sides. Before routing, carefully hand-sand all surfaces with a sanding block because surface-sanding the mortised parts after routing them will spoil the fit of the dovetails' shoulders.
In the photo above, the author cuts the dovetail mortise on the drawer front. He holds a scrap block against the workpiece to prevent chip out and as he proceeds through the cut, he moves the scrap to the back edge. A 1/4-in.-deep groove, visible on the free end of the workpiece, is cut to remove most of the waste from the mortise prior to a single pass with the dovetail bit.
In this photo, the dovetail tenon on a drawer side is being cut. The fence has been moved to cover most of the bit, leaving just enough of it exposed to result in the right size tail after making a pass on each side of the workpiece.
The sliding dovetails on the drawer sides are pressed into the mortises in the drawer front with a clamp, as shown above. Then, the drawer is reversed and the back is pressed into the side mortises.
The top and center photos at right show the two setups for routing the mating parts. Before routing the dovetail mortises, I like to rout or dado 1/4-in.-wide slots centered where the mortises will be so the dovetail bit doesn't have to remove so much wood in a single pass. Then I rout the mortises with the fence set for a 1/2-in. setback. I hold a scrap block in front of and behind the drawer part to reduce the possibility of the bit tearing out the edge as it enters or exits the cut.
After cutting the mortises, unclamp one end of the fence and move it into the spinning bit so it cuts into the fence. When only a small portion of the side of the bit is exposed, as shown in the center photo at right, reclamp the fence. I've found that I get the best fit by lowering the bit just a hair when I cut the tenons. However, to avoid a chance of lowering the bit too much and losing all reference to the original height, you can use a thin paper shim under the ends of the workpieces as you cut the male portion of the dovetails. To set the fence for a snug-fitting dovetail, make a test pass on both sides of an off-cut from the drawer sides that has been sanded to the same thickness as the drawer parts. The test dovetail should slide into the mortise without excessive pressure, but without any slop. When you've got the fit just right, cut the tails on the front ends of the sides, and then slide them into the mortises in the drawer front and measure between the sides to get an exact measurement for the length of the back. Trim the back to length and rout the tails on both ends. Now, joint the edges of the parts to remove sawmarks or chip out, and rout the grooves for the drawer glides in the sides. Finally, rout the bottom grooves in the sides and front, and rip the back piece narrow enough that the bottom will slide beneath it.
I shellac my drawer parts on all sides, except the drawer face, before gluing them together, taking care not to get any finish into the joints. Shellac is a quick finish to apply and by adding a few drops of your favorite scent, the drawer will smell much sweeter than an oil-finished drawer. The outer face of the drawer front is finished with the same oil and varnish mixture used on the rest of the nightstand.
When gluing up the drawer, spread glue only in the mortises to avoid excessive squeeze-out. Begin by gluing the sides into the front one at a time with the drawer front standing right-side up near the edge of the bench, as shown in the bottom photo at right. Start the dovetail into the mortise and then press it home with a bar clamp spanning from beneath the bench to the top of the drawer side. Keep the side moving once you start or it will freeze up and you'll need a great deal of force to break it free. Have a piece of 1/4-in. plywood handy to check the alignment of the bottom grooves. When both sides are in place, turn the drawer around and clamp the back into the side mortises. Then, slide the bottom into the side grooves and screw it to the bottom of the back.
The two drawer glides are screwed to the drawer glide rail, as shown in the drawing above. The glides must be about 3/4 in. wide to span the 1/2-in. setback between the rails and the drawer sides, plus extend into the 1/4-in.-deep grooves in the drawer sides. To install the glides, predrill and countersink screw holes in them and then, with the glides in the side grooves, slide the drawer into the carcase. Pull the drawer out little by little while holding the back end of the glide against the drawer glide rail from below, and screw the glides to the rails as you go. Then, wax the glides and grooves for a smooth, sliding action.
I always save designing my drawer pulls for last because I like to see the completed piece from all directions and play with a number of options. I make models in cardboard or alder and paint them black, to provide contrast, and then try them on the drawer face until I find a design that is complementary to the piece and easy to handle. The drawer pull for the nightstand is made of rosewood and screwed to the drawer face from inside the drawer with brass oval-head screws and finish washers.