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Build a mission side table
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Enjoy the satisfaction of building your own replica of a classic Mission-style table
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By Michel Roy, photos by Roger Yip, illustration by Len Churchill
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Choosing the right boards for the right location, coupled with veneering techniques on the legs, puts this feature on display
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I typically use a dado blade on my tablesaw to cut tenons, but for this project I settled on a three-part process that produces cleaner results by allowing me to fine-tune the joint fit by hand. An attractive joint is important since the tenon end remains visible after assembly.
Start with a tablesaw equipped with a dado blade and mitre gauge to cut the tenon shoulders. I screwed a sacrificial fence to the mitre gauge and installed a shop-built zero-clearance insert in the saw's throat. Both of these precautions minimize chipping of the tenon shoulders. Next, use a bandsaw to cut the cheeks of the tenons slightly larger than needed. Finally, use a block plane and shoulder plane to fit the tenon gradually through its corresponding mortise. I used a backer board against the tenon when planing to avoid chipping the edge.
When the tenons fit properly in their mortises, chamfer the ends of each tenon. Use a combination square and a sharp pencil to scribe lines 1/8" in from the ends, then use the square to mark the end-grain at the same 1/8" point. With the pieces clamped in a vise, use a sharp block plane to bevel the edges until you've cut to both lines. Avoid chipping the corners by planing from the corners toward the centre of the board, angling the plane to deliver a shearing cut. Test this chamfering technique on scrap wood if you haven't tried it before.
Top Assembly
Even a thin smear of errant glue will show up after you apply stain to the tenons that poke through the mortises in this design. To achieve a clean look, begin by sliding each tenon into its mortise, about 1/2" through, without glue. Next, carefully apply glue to the part of the tenon that is still visible from the back. Use the glue sparingly or it will squeeze out at the tenon shoulder. When all the tenons are ready to go, clamp everything up, then check for square.
In order to prepare your tabletop for the tiles, cut a rabbet around the inside of the tabletop frame to accept the tile substrate from the underside. Adjust the size of this rabbet and the thickness of the substrate to the thickness of the tiles you'll be using. I used a router spinning a bearing-guided rabbeting bit to mill a 3/4"-deep x 1/2"-wide rabbet all around the inside edge of the tabletop's frame. Then I cut a matching piece of 3/4" exterior-grade plywood to serve as a tile substrate. Later, you can install it with pocket screws into the tabletop after you've applied your finish to the rest of the table.
Home Basics
Next, turn your attention to the support structure of the table. In order to position quartersawn figure on the two outside faces of the four legs, cut 1/8"-thick veneer from the leg stock on a bandsaw. Glue it to the flatsawn faces adjacent to the nice quartersawn faces on each leg. I used wood glue and MDF clamping cauls to even out the clamp pressure, ensuring a gap-free fit between the shop-cut veneer and legs. After you mill the legs to their final dimensions and cut them to length, put a slight chamfer on the bottom of each leg with a block plane. This prevents splintering if the completed table is dragged.
The long and short apron pieces and the shelf rails are connected to the legs with simple mortise-and-tenon joinery. These mortises are 1/2" wide, 1” deep and 2 1/2" long. Cut the mortises in the legs first, then cut the corresponding tenons to fit. Do not create the arched cutouts on the aprons just yet.
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