Shaker Style Cherry Coffee Table
This Cherry coffee table design is inspired by traditional Shaker style, but veers from this style through inclusion of castle joints to connect the apron to the legs. This intentional joinery choice replaces the traditional dowels seen in most Shaker style furniture with cleaner, rectangular end-grain accents which highlight the tapered legs.
This custom designed table was modeled in SketchUp. It was built using absolutely no power tools at the client's request to stay true to Shaker tradition.
In addition to aesthetics, these castle joints are stronger than standard draw-bored tenons.
A center support was sliding dovetailed into the apron for additional support. The client did not want breadboard ends, so this center support also provided extra support to keep the tabletop flat. This center support was bolted to the table top, with slots to allow the two outer bolts to float.
Handmade traditional wood buttons were made to attach the tabletop to mortices in the apron to allow for seasonal wood movement.
