On a personal level, years ago, if you told me to paint a piece of hardwood I would look at you as if you had insulted my mother. Now, I see a place for painted wood in furniture making. (But not too much, please!) In the same vein, my personal taste did not combine metal legs or accents in my woodworking projects. I didn’t even care for metal hardware on my cabinets … so, OK — I was a bit extreme in my views. Now there are some really cool metal legs and other components that I fnd attractive. Who knew?

A couple of years ago I built a table using 3″-thick red oak lumber. I was unconvinced as I started the project, worried it would be crude and clunky, but at the end of the day, I liked the piece and have it in my house right now.

My point, perhaps over-made here, is that I have learned to try new things and see how they go. Which takes me back to slab lumber. It is all the rage right now, and I can see why. It breaks the dominion of the 3/4″ board (as Ian Kirby sometimes calls it), gives us new stuff to try out and can produce some beautiful pieces of furniture.

But it does offer some challenges as well. For example, if you want to keep the waney or live edges of the wood, you can’t really affect the shape of the piece that much. What you see is what you get. So the design elements you have control of are those that you will add to the organically shaped slab.

Here we selected a super-cool looking slab of myrtle to make an end table. The next questions were: How would we finish the slab? and What sort of legs would we use for the table? (More on that later.)

Preparing the Top

The piece of wood here has spectacular figure as a result of being sliced from a root section of the tree. Irregular shapes like this often bring with them large voids in the surface of the slab, bark inclusions and surface checks. To turn this rough chunk of wood into a practical tabletop, I started by sanding the top and bottom surfaces using a SuperMax 19-38 sander. While that sander is the clear deal when surfacing slabs, I could have done the same job by combining a 4 x 24 handheld belt sander and an 07 hand plane. (I like the SuperMax better — just saying.)

There is no mystery to getting the top ready to finish. The primary task is to sand the surface smooth, removing all the sanding lines from the grit previously used. I set the SuperMax up with 80-grit paper for the initial passes. Once the top was smooth on both faces, I needed to decide which one would be the “top” and, with that fgured out, to fill certain voids that remained.

Selecting the Legs

As mentioned earlier, there is only so much that you can choose to do with a natural edged piece of wood. Whatever shaping you will do to it will be minimal. You can decide to leave the surface rough, sand it really smooth or a compromise between those extremes … but not much more. Where your design choices come into play are with the rest of the project.

In this table, we looked at three different styles of legs that would give the table three unique looks. First off, we looked at hairpin legs. They come finished black but also could easily be painted if you wished for another color. Simple to install, they just attach to the slab with the provided screws.

If you look through furniture catalogs these days, the retro-industrial look is clearly in vogue. We gave this style a try using 1″ black pipe straight from my local hardware store. I cleaned the pipe using naphtha and a soft cloth, put the pieces together and used floor flanges at the top of the legs to affix them to the top. I did wipe them down with low-gloss polyurethane to make them easier to clean.

Finally, I turned a set of what we called Mid-Century Modern legs from soft maple (another style that is all the rage). I formed what I think is a pretty clever tenon attaching system to mount the legs. Initially, I was certain that I would prefer the wooden legs out of the three variations. But after looking at the legs “in real life” I surprised myself by preferring the hairpin legs. My second choice — the pipe version — also surprised me.

So, as the styles and rules of woodworking continue to change and grow, after giving this a go, I can heartily recommend working with slab lumber. It’s a nice change of pace from your run-of-the-mill 3/4″ woodworking. And, prepare to be surprised by the results.

Hard to Find Hardware

16″ Hairpin Legs (4 pk.) (1) #48624
Slab Lumber

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I decided to use wine glass molding from Rockler to hold glasses under the wine rack. The molding is made from red oak, and so I used red oak for the rest of the wine rack, too. It is a hardwood common at home centers and easy to work.

Starting with the Stock

The first step is to mill your lumber square and to the proper thickness. I chose to mill up a little extra so that I’d have scrap pieces for setting up the sliding dovetail cuts. After thinking it over, I decided that 11/16″ thick stock would be perfect for this rack. We see so many woodworking projects that are the standard 3/4″ thick that even a little variance from that norm visually sets this project apart. In order to get a piece of wood wide enough for the bottom shelf of the rack, I had to glue up two pieces. So the first day was taken up with going to the lumberyard, selecting my wood, milling the stock, and then gluing up just those two pieces.

The next day, I started by sanding off the glue squeeze-out. Using the table saw, I ripped everything to width and I used a miter gauge to cut them to length. When making multiples that I want to be exactly the same, I will stack them and align them to make the final crosscut. A stand-off block clamped ahead of the blade allows you to safely creep up on the exact dimension desired without trapping your stock between the blade and the fence. With the parts cut to size, it’s on to the next step.

It’s Router Time!

I chose stopped sliding dovetails to assemble this project. They are a strong joint that are actually pretty easy to make. I make the slot cuts frst because I find it easier to fit the tails to the slots rather than vice versa.

Start by making two different fence guides that will locate your cuts on the top and bottom shelves. Since these are stopped sliding dovetails, you have to start on the left of each piece and rout to the right. This requires two different scrap spacers. Mark the width of the bottle holders so that you will be able to see where to stop routing. As shown in the photo, I found the distance from the center of my dovetail bit to the edge of the router base. Then I cut the two “spacer fences” so that the dovetail grooves would be located where I needed them (see the Drawings). In use, both the shelf piece and the scrap fence are butted up to a taller fence.

As you rout left to right, maintain solid pressure against your fence because the router will want to pull away a little bit. One at a time, rout just up to the line that marks the width of the vertical pieces. Now carefully chisel the ends of your slots so that you make them square so your vertical pieces will slide in all the way without a gap.

I cut the sliding tails on the router table. Set up your router table with the same dovetail bit, and lay a slot piece face-down to set the height of the bit exactly the same as the depth of the slot. Set your fence to where the bit will remove slightly less than the amount you need to take off to make the same size dovetail as the router bit. This way you can creep up on the exact size. Using a tall auxiliary fence for support and safety, run a test piece first. Then adjust the fence accordingly, rerout and check it again until you get the dovetail to fit. A good fit for this joint means that you can tap the sliding dovetail into the slot lightly with a mallet.

With the sliding dovetails cut, grab one bottle holder and mark the centers for the large bottle holes. I used a wing-cutter to form those large openings. Check the speed on your drill press and set it to a low rpm (mine was 500) to prevent burning. Using double-sided tape, stick the two boards together. This way, you can use the piece with the centers marked to locate the holes in the second piece. The mandrel will penetrate the second piece at each hole location. When the first three holes are cut through the top piece, take the two pieces of wood apart and proceed to cut out the other three circles.

While I was making a mess at the drill press, I drilled the hole in the bottom shelf that holds my wine stopper. I used a 3/4″-diameter Forstner bit with a backer board to prevent tear-out.

The next step is to draw the gentle curve onto one of the shelves. I used a thin strip of wood fixed into a curve to draw my line. Since the pieces are already cut to width and length, simply align the fronts and ends of the top and bottom shelves so you can cut the curve on both pieces at once. I used double-sided tape to hold the pieces together during cutting and subsequent edge sanding.

To mount this rack on the wall, I made a French cleat for the top and a wall mount for the bottom for extra stability. Using the French cleat on the top makes it easy to get the rack level. At my house, I used toggle bolts to mount the rack to the wall, because there weren’t studs available. The blank used to make your French cleat should be sized so that you can make both beveled parts from the same workpiece (see the Material List). Trim the blank to fit between the bottle holders and then rip the 45˚ angle down its center. Drill countersunk holes sized for your toggle bolt heads and wooden plugs.

I ripped the wine glass molding in half to make it usable for just one line of glasses. There isn’t an excess of material when cutting these in half, so ripping it on the band saw saves as much wood as possible, and it’s safer. Sand the edges after ripping the parts. Cut the molding to length and then countersink for the screws that will hold the molding to the shelf while the glue dries.

Before I eased all the appropriate edges and sanded everything up to 220-grit, I re-checked the fit of my sliding dovetails. While you have the project dry-fitted together, try to visualize what the project might look like with different edge profiles. I chose to rout a classic roundover for the edges, but this is a place where you can get creative with the edge treatment. Maybe you’ll want to incorporate more hand tools and create a completely unique detail here. It’s up to you!

Combo Cork Screw and Stopper

I love turning. I especially like cool little details like this wine stopper/corkscrew. It adds another customized component to this wine rack. You can start with a very small scrap of wood: 7/8″ x 7/8″ x 4″ is all you need.

Rough out your blank to a cylinder with a spindle roughing gouge, then shift to a standard spindle gouge to shape the handle. When the shape is pleasing to you, use a V-parting tool to incise the handle ends in shallow cuts. I like to sand spindles on the lathe, as you can work up through the grits and get a super smooth surface in short order.

Often, I will apply finish while the piece is still on the lathe, but in this case I cut the handle free with a Japanese saw and then sanded the ends smooth.

To match the wine rack, I used Arm-R-Seal as my finish. Next, I drilled a 3/8″ hole for the hardware and then epoxied the hardware in place.

It’s Assembly Time!

Because you’ve taken the time for a dry fit, assembly should be easy to do. First, I attached the wine glass molding with glue and screws. Next, I glued the bottom wall mount on using clamps. I let that dry several hours while I made the wine stopper/corkscrew and had lunch. The last step is a little different kind of glue-up because you don’t need clamps to assemble the shelf and bottle holders. I put glue in the slots and brushed it around. Since the glue will be pushed to the stopped ends of the slots, I recommend keeping an inch or so of this slot area free of glue—less squeeze-out will make cleanup easier. Then I tapped the pieces in place, and glued on the top French cleat. When I glued on the top piece of the French cleat, I first clamped both cleat pieces together where I had previously ripped them apart. This provided a square edge on the bottom of the wall mount piece, allowing easier clamping. The next day, I cleaned up the remaining glue squeeze-out with a chisel and sanded the rough spots smooth. Then I chose Arm-R-Seal as an easy finish for this project. Simply wipe it on with a lint-free rag. Sand with 400-grit between coats, and apply three to four coats. The humidity was really high when I was finishing this project, so I let it dry overnight between coats. Don’t forget to finish four screw plug covers, too. Then mount your new rack on the wall.

I think the red oak on this project looks beautiful, and the wine stopper/corkscrew is very handy to have close by. Happy entertaining and, of course — cheers!

Click Here to download a PDF of the related drawings.

Hard to Find Hardware

Wine Glass Moldings (1) #22210
Oak 3/8″ Screw Hole Buttons (1 pack) #20503

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Here’s how I’m making that a reality. In one storage bay I’ve installed Rockler’s 12-gauge extension cord rewinder and an outlet strip to power small corded tools and battery chargers right where I’m working. Next to that is an air compressor, which plugs into the outlet strip. And in the other corner, an air hose reel services my air nailers without a tangle of hose on the floor.

On the cart’s flip side, I’ve loaded the two top drawers with bins of fasteners, biscuits and dowels, plus a drill bit collection and various cordless drivers. Down below, there’s storage space for tool cases and gluing supplies. Short of clamps, this cart holds all of my assembly supplies in one tidy place, ready for work. If this two-in-one convenience looks appealing, follow along to build one of these carts for your shop.

Making the Carcass

I used 3/4″ Baltic birch plywood for the cart’s main carcass parts (pieces 1 through 5); Baltic birch actually measures just 11/16″ thick. Keep that in mind if you use ordinary plywood instead, which is typically 23/32″, or MDF, which is a true 3/4″. Start by cutting the bottom panel to size.

For strength as well as easier alignment of the big carcass parts during assembly, I milled 1/4″-deep rabbets along the longer edges of the bottom panel for the carcass sides, using a dado blade. Then I plowed two 1/4″-deep dadoes into the bottom panel for the center and drawer dividers. A simple slotted routing jig and piloted mortising bit created dadoes that fit my 11/16″-thick plywood perfectly.

Long and short cleats, fastened to the bottom panel, will stiffen it while also building up its edges for attaching the casters with long lag screws, later. Rip and miter-cut these cleats, and attach them to the bottom panel’s bottom face with glue and 1-1∕4″ brad nails.

Next up, cut the carcass side panels to size. (Note: This cart is sized for a saw that’s 36-1∕4″ tall. Adjust part sizes accordingly in the Material List to suit your saw.) Then mill 1/4″-deep dadoes in the side panels for the center divider and fixed shelf.

At this point, you can cut the center divider and fixed shelf to shape, but keep in mind that the exact depth of your dadoes in the other carcass parts may influence the final dimensions of these two components. Choose a bottom face for the fixed shelf, and cut a dado across its width for the drawer divider.

When these parts are ready, dry-assemble the carcass to assess your progress. This also will help you determine the exact width of the drawer divider, which fi ts into two dadoes. Measure carefully and cut it to size.

Disassemble the carcass parts, and finish-sand them with 120- or 150- grit paper. Ease the sharp edges that will be exposed in the final cart to keep them from splintering. Take time now to topcoat the carcass parts while they’re still fl at and accessible, but keep the joinery surfaces bare.

I chose water-based poly for a durable, quick-drying solution. Next, install the long drawer slides on the side panels and drawer divider for the two short bottom drawers (those under the fixed shelf). I centered them vertically. You’re now ready to glue and clamp the carcass together.

I brad-nailed the joints to help make this big glue-up easier, then reinforced the center divider and fixed-shelf joints with countersunk screws. Make sure the carcass is square before the glue sets, and adjust clamping pressure carefully to correct for any racking. Then flip the carcass over and attach the casters with 5/16″ x 1″ lag screws. I installed two rigid casters on the end that would be closest to the table saw and two swiveling, locking versions opposite those. If you plan to install a cord and/or hose rewinder, now is a good time to bolt those fixtures onto the center divider. Wrap up the carcass construction by mounting the two pairs of short drawer slides to the cart’s other side, up on top, for the full-length drawers.

Plug Revamp

Cord reels come with a three receptacle “female” plug on the long rewinder end and the pronged “male” plug on the shorter fixed cord. The author reversed this confi guration by splicing on new plugs so the long cord extends and plugs into wall outlets without moving the cart. The short end energizes the outlet strip.

Building a Heavy-duty Laminated Top

The top of this cart is a sandwich of two layers of 3/4″ MDF substrate chosen for flatness and heft, topped off with a sheet of plastic laminate to make it slick and impervious to spills. Notice in the Drawings and photos that I milled 1/4″ x 1/4″ rabbets around one edge of each of these MDF substrates.

It’s an approach I’ve used many times before to give the edging on a worktop like this a self-aligning “tongue” to fit around. I milled the rabbet along the bottom edge of the bottom substrate after cutting it to size. I screwed that sheet to the carcass so it overhangs the cart by 1-3∕4″ on its open sides and one end (the other end overhangs by 11-1∕2″ to make room for the saw’s rear dust port hose).

I cut the top MDF substrate about 1/4″ oversize, gluing and tacking it to the bottom layer (If you plan to cut miter slots in your cart’s top, be sure to keep fasteners out of these slot areas.) Once the glue dried, I routed the top substrate fush with the bottom layer before installing a sheet of plastic laminate on top with contact cement. Trim the laminate fush, then rout the other rabbet around the cart’s top edge to complete the “tongue” for the edging.

The top’s solid wood edging adds durability and hides the MDF/laminate core. It can be any solid stock you want — I used cherry. Rip long strips of it to width, and plow a groove into one face that’s just wide enough to wrap around the tongue you’ve just created.

Ease its sharp edges with a 1/4″ roundover bit in your router. Miter the edging to length, glue and nail it in place, and round over the sharp corners. Wrap up the top by sanding the edging and applying finish to it.

Constructing the Drawers

A workaday cart like this deserves sturdy drawers, but dovetails are just plain overkill. I built the boxes using simple, durable rabbet-and-dado joints. After I had my stack of drawer fronts, backs and sides cut to size from 1/2″ Baltic ply, I started the joinery by cutting 1/4″ x 1/4″ dadoes across the inside faces of the drawer box sides at the table saw.

When that dust clears, use the exact same saw setup to mill drawer bottom grooves into the inside faces of all the box parts from end to end, 1/4″ up from the bottom.

Then reset your saw for cutting rabbets into the ends of the drawer box fronts and backs, aiming for a snug, push-ft of these rabbets in their dadoes. Now cut the two sizes of drawer bottoms from more 1/2″ ply, and trim a 1/4″ x 1/4″ rabbet all around one face to fit the drawer bottom grooves.

Dry-assemble the four drawers for a final check with the bottom panels in place. Then break them down for sanding. After that, glue and assemble the boxes, and apply two coats of fnish when the clamps come off.

Wrapping this Project Up

You are now in the homestretch! Install slides on the drawers to hang them, and add drawer faces with countersunk screws driven from inside the drawer boxes. Top off the drawers with wooden knobs. You’ll also need to decide if miter slots would be useful enhancements to the top. Then load this cart up with your compressor, assembly tools and plenty of fasteners!

Click Here to download a PDF of the related drawings.

Hard to Find Hardware

4” Polyurethane Casters, Swivel (1 pr.) #23030
4” Polyurethane Casters, Rigid (1 pr.) #23802
16” Heavy-Duty Full-Extension Slides (2 pr.) #46899
18” Heavy-Duty Full-Extension Slides (2 pr.) #46277
2” Cherry Face Grain Knobs (6) #61719
Retractable Extension Cord Reel (1) #20323

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