This sideboard project is made from cherry wood in the Thos. Moser and Shaker styles and built for lots of storage.
Relatively few folks can afford to spring for a complete dining room suite. Newly settled into their first house, my son Jeremy and his wife Tara bought several Thos. Moser Windsor-style chairs, intending to buy a matching table and sideboard at some future time.
For the sideboard carcass diagram and materials listin PDF format, click here.
Well, that sure threw down the gauntlet in a family sort of way, not to mention a woodworking gauntlet for me! Undaunted, I forged ahead, and while Jeremy and Tara may have to wait a spell for their table, the sideboard you see here puts them one big step closer to that complete suite. My design doesn’t copy any Moser piece that I’m aware of, but it does harmonize with the chairs. I think it’s spare and elegant, like the Shaker furniture that inspires many furniture makers. Here’s how to build one of your own.
Preparing Your Stock
The author chose rift-sawn stock for the legs, as the edge grain will be on all four faces, plain-sawn and face-grain stock will display the grain on two.
The first big step toward your new sideboard is gathering all of the lumber, plywood and hardware. You’ll need primary (cherry in my case) and secondary woods in 4/4, 5/4 and 6/4 thicknesses, as well as a chunk of riftsawn 8/4 of primary wood for the legs. You’ll also need a single sheet each of 3/4″ and 1/4″ plywood with face veneer that matches the primary wood.
Prepping the lumber is a big job because of all the stock that must be resawn for the drawers. Resaw 5/4 stock to produce 3/8″-thick drawer sides and backs for the top-tier drawers, as well as bottoms for all the drawers. Resaw 6/4 stock for 1/2″-thick sides and backs for the other three drawers. Sticker and stack your resawn stock with a weight on top so the new faces can release moisture without warping.
