Maple Bedside Table

Here is the third piece I made for my daughter’s bedroom set.  It is made of maple, with a small drawer and a lower shelf.  My daughter likes the look of “wormy” soft maple, and hand selected some nice pieces laying around in my shop.  The term “wormy” refers to the dark streaks found in this species, although these streaks are actually caused by the ambrosia beetle, and not a worm at all.  Still, they do add an interesting character to the piece.

To tie the design into the rest of the bedroom set, the lower shelf has an insert of cane webbing and mitered corners, and the top has rounded corners like the bed frame (and the other side table).

The legs are tapered on the inside and rounded on the outside, with the bottom of the leg screwing into the top of the leg by means hanger bolts and insert screws.

I wanted to drawer to disappear into the apron, so there is a hidden apron behind the drawer front, which allows the drawer face to extend the full width and height of the apron.  The back of the drawer front is beveled to keep it tightly sealed with the legs and table top when closed.  The drawer glides are customer made – a simple runner slides along a rabbet on the inside of the drawer.