Sideboard/End Tables - Design Feedback + Bottom Panel Needed?

I'm designing my first pieces of furniture and looking for some feedback on these pieces. They're quite simple in style, inspired by the clean look of shaker furniture. I figure this might not only fit in a lot of spaces, but it would also be easier to build. Joinery for most pieces would be mortise and tenon. The drawers might use dovetails for the corners, if I'm feeling ambitious. Otherwise some simple glue-and-screw action is likely.

I had initially anticipated attaching the tops with pocket screws. Dowels with glue could also work. But, then I was thinking about wood movement. I figured maybe a center screw or dowel and some figure-8 fasteners at the corners might be best for the longer sideboard table. Probably the same for the end tables.

I'm curious if I should add a bottom panel to cover the drawer. I know it could keep out bugs and such. It may also add some rigidity. But it would make the design more-complex to execute for my very-green woodworking skills.

Any thoughts on these designs? Good/bad? Any recommendations or suggested tweaks? Do they need a bottom panel, or will the attached top make things plenty rigid? And is the plan for a center screw/dowel + figure-8's the right route to take on fastening the tops?

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I made a similar hall table and coffee table for my daughter about 25 years ago. I did not enclose the bottom. Unless you are looking up from the floor no one will see it and a bottom isn't needed IMHO. The mortise and tenon joints make the box type frame pretty rigid. Both are still in use and doing well.
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On the smaller table, there isn't a visible rail for the middle of the top to glue to. I generally attach the top with glue at the middle of the endgrain ends, and figure 8s further out on the endgrain ends.

I have made tables like this without a bottom below the drawer. They worked. But if you want to include one, it needn't be "more complex". Put a rabbet on the inside edge of all the rails. Glue up the rails and legs. Make a plywood bottom panel. It is a rectangle to fit to the rabbets, notched at the corners to clear the legs. The notches don't have to be precise. Drop the bottom in, and glue in place. Easy peasy.

I generally use full extension ball bearing metal slides - Blum undermounts. They may not be traditional, but they work so well, for so long.

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Originally Posted by Lee Schierer

I made a similar hall table and coffee table for my daughter about 25 years ago. I did not enclose the bottom. Unless you are looking up from the floor no one will see it and a bottom isn't needed IMHO. The mortise and tenon joints make the box type frame pretty rigid. Both are still in use and doing well.
Attachment 519094Attachment 519095

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That's great to hear, thanks for sharing!

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Originally Posted by Jamie Buxton

On the smaller table, there isn't a visible rail for the middle of the top to glue to. I generally attach the top with glue at the middle of the endgrain ends, and figure 8s further out on the endgrain ends.

I have made tables like this without a bottom below the drawer. They worked. But if you want to include one, it needn't be "more complex". Put a rabbet on the inside edge of all the rails. Glue up the rails and legs. Make a plywood bottom panel. It is a rectangle to fit to the rabbets, notched at the corners to clear the legs. The notches don't have to be precise. Drop the bottom in, and glue in place. Easy peasy.

I generally use full extension ball bearing metal slides - Blum undermounts. They may not be traditional, but they work so well, for so long.

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That does make sense. Just route a rabbet to set the bottom panel in place. That would be pretty easy to do.

I just tried my first set of Blum slides for a dual waste basket slide in the kitchen. They are SO NICE compared to other slides I've used, even some budget heavy-duty full extension slides. They just glide in and out, and the soft self-closing just feels luxurious. If I need slides for something nicer, I will happily pay for Blum slides now that I've experienced them.

I learned a unique approach for this style of furniture from an old FWW article by Eric Keil in issue #149. I make a web frame above and below the drawers. The web frame connects directly to the end panels with biscuits or dominos. The top attaches through elongated holes front and back.
I glue up the web frames first, add the central vertical dividers and the back, and then glue the ends on. I've made desks, tables, dressers and sideboards with this method.


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Very nice design Eric.

I personally would use z-clips to attach the top. The design you have there is quite similar to a typical table with apron. It's a tried and true technique that will work well here.

I personally would cover the drawer bottoms and user Blum under-mount drawer slides and make the boxes out of maple, ash, etc. to up the level of quality.

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Originally Posted by Michael Roberts

I learned a unique approach for this style of furniture from an old FWW article by Eric Keil in issue #149. I make a web frame above and below the drawers. The web frame connects directly to the end panels with biscuits or dominos. The top attaches through elongated holes front and back.
I glue up the web frames first, add the central vertical dividers and the back, and then glue the ends on. I've made desks, tables, dressers and sideboards with this method.

Attachment 519113

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Looks like I let my subscription lapse, so I can't see the image. I'll do a little searching for that article, thanks for suggesting it!

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Originally Posted by Michael Burnside

Very nice design Eric.

I personally would use z-clips to attach the top. The design you have there is quite similar to a typical table with apron. It's a tried and true technique that will work well here.

I personally would cover the drawer bottoms and user Blum under-mount drawer slides and make the boxes out of maple, ash, etc. to up the level of quality.

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Thanks, Michael. I haven't used z-clips, so I'll have to check them out.

As for the drawer boxes, I'm planning to use some cut-offs of ash I was given by a friend that does trim work, so those will be nice and solid when they're built. :)

I use these and the cool part is you can use your Domino and 4mm bit to create the pockets. And even better news is that if you don't have a Domino, it's a good excuse to get one :D

https://www.amazon.com/Table-Fastene...%2C141&sr=8-11

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Originally Posted by Michael Burnside

I use these and the cool part is you can use your Domino and 4mm bit to create the pockets. And even better news is that if you don't have a Domino, it's a good excuse to get one :D

https://www.amazon.com/Table-Fastene...%2C141&sr=8-11

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Yeah........ this isn't exactly a dedicated hobby for me, like some folks. I tend to get distracted between several directions depending on my mood. I couldn't possibly justify a Domino to my wife, lol.

I've used my biscuit joiner to make the pockets for the clip before. More justifiable than a domino.

Note, one of my worst mistakes, was adding a bottom panel on a table like this. It was neatly set in grooves all around the aprons prior to assembly. What i found was that I had no way to access the inside with a driver to attach the z-clips to the table top. Ouch. Rabbet makes much more sense.

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Originally Posted by Stan Calow

I've used my biscuit joiner to make the pockets for the clip before. More justifiable than a domino.

Note, one of my worst mistakes, was adding a bottom panel on a table like this. It was neatly set in grooves all around the aprons prior to assembly. What i found was that I had no way to access the inside with a driver to attach the z-clips to the table top. Ouch. Rabbet makes much more sense.

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Ouch! Did you end up cutting the bottom out so you could assemble the table?

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Originally Posted by Eric Schubert

Yeah........ this isn't exactly a dedicated hobby for me, like some folks. I tend to get distracted between several directions depending on my mood. I couldn't possibly justify a Domino to my wife, lol.

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Well figure-8 fastener is an option of course. If you have a plunge router you can do it with that too. As pointed out a biscuit jointer also works, which I personally don't need since I own a Domino. As they say, lots of ways to do something in woodworking.

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Originally Posted by Michael Burnside

Well figure-8 fastener is an option of course. If you have a plunge router you can do it with that too. As pointed out a biscuit jointer also works, which I personally don't need since I own a Domino. As they say, lots of ways to do something in woodworking.

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I just recall the figure-8 fasteners being a fairly traditional option for fastening tops. But if Z-clips will be faster, easier, or more-robust (without compromising the piece), I'm all for using them over figure-8's.

I use figure-8 when attaching ply because I worry less about movement and they are pretty easy to install. If I'm using a hardwood top, z-clip is where it's at. They allow for much more movement when properly installed and with one every 12-18" they are very secure. With figure-8 you can still use them, just be careful to install them canted along the width so they can shift back-and forth. If they are perpendicular, they wont' allow the wood to move. They work, but make sure you install them properly.

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Originally Posted by Eric Schubert

Ouch! Did you end up cutting the bottom out so you could assemble the table?

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Well, with a little creative language, I used a hole cutter to make doorknob-sized holes in the panel on each large enough for the driver to fit through. So much for the clean elegant look of a finished bottom. .

Bigger lesson for me, was to recognize that sometimes there are reasons why things are designed the way they are (often for ease of construction), and I may not be smart enough to know why.