Littleton Console

This is a great project and good learning experience. I have made two. The first with M&T joints. The second was 3″ taller and 6mm Dominos for all joints. Some of my lessons:
– Check the height with your client. The plans are suitable for a bedroom. LOML wanted it taller to place in a living area.
– Key point: Reference all dimensions from the leg inside edges. The legs can be as thin as 15/16″, but thicker looks better.
– Hide glue provides a lot longer working time. It does not need much clamp pressure which allows one to easily and accurately square the case and drawer box.
– Use PVA glue for the tenons into the rails. It greatly simplifies fitup. Trim the tenons as needed.
– Two business cards are 1/32″. Easy to gap to doors and drawer front.
– I like prefinished Baltic Birch for the floor, back and drawer bottom.
– One 6mm Domino tenon was sufficiently strong for the joints. And it fit better than my machine cut M&T on the first project. A drawer with two Sipo Domino tenons looks great. I may never dovetail again.
– Consider the top overhang. LOML already wants the top pushed back to flush against the wall (3/4″).
– The Brusso template makes knife hinge installation a breeze. And one business card adds 1/64″ if one needs to shim.
– Prefinishing the insides, drawer box and shelf with 1# shellac simplified the final finish. I really like the hard wax oil. Enough to consider selling the sprayer setup.
– I bought the templates. Well worth the money.

Nice project. Thanks, Marc.

I made some modifications due to the full sheet paper template undersizing the parts slightly, even though the 1″ reference square proved accurate. As a result, I had to figure out a lot more than if I had purchased the templates directly. I used Padauk and Ambrosia Maple, and I am really happy with the results. Grain patterns follow the curves and add that subtle touch that most will never notice.

I also used undermount drawer slides despite your reasons not to, knowing it would eat at the size of the drawer, but I couldn’t cover the brass pins and ambrosia maple drawer sides. Too pretty for side mount. This was also my first time using Brusso knife hinges, and I am glad you covered that specifically, along with the high level of detail throughout the course and instructions, as it helped me to make the very best project I could.

Changes I would make in constructing another table would be, find a way to import the templates to Shaper Origin and cut them exactly. I would also use solid wood or make a plywood panel to veneer the bottom panel, having made the rest, including the shelf from solid wood. I think it would add to the consistent look of the piece. It’s inside though, and certainly not a deal breaker. I also would not use hide glue again, as it struggled to keep the padauk frame together, and I had to strategically pull the joints apart, clean them, and apply PVA glue. That meant more sanding, but it worked.

All in all, a great project, and one I am proud to have built. Thanks Marc!

I enjoyed the course and especially liked how you laid out the door templates within the frame before making the doors. I was a little annoyed that they fit so perfectly after you put them together. I was also relieved that you talked about the drawer slides, I’m usually disappointed when I see the side guides on nice furniture but you had solid rationale and your choice made sense. The recommendation to hand sand the legs is something that I’m going to do with my next project. I really want to know what hard wax oil you used.

I have one question, did you consider using a grain filler? I use African Mahogany a lot, which is very similar to Sapele, and usually fill the grain to get smoother feel.