Building a Semi-Circular Etagere Table (or Half-Moon Console) in Chestnut Wood (by Mariobrossh)

Do you have an empty corner at home and want a stylish yet functional piece of furniture to fill it? A half-moon console table, or semicircular étagère, is the perfect solution! In this article, we’ll show how to build a wooden console using chestnut wood, with a classic design featuring a shaped top and legs. A step-by-step guide (with photos) for DIY enthusiasts who want to create a custom and elegant furniture piece.

Introduction

This time, I want to show you a rather unique project I was commissioned to create, unique both for the cabriole legs (with their curved design, also known as 'deer legs') and the rounded front apron. The entire piece will be crafted from solid chestnut, except for the aprons... but perhaps it’s better if I show you the photos.

The project sketch

First of all, I created a sketch of the project to get an idea of the final result of the work.

Preparing the template to shape the table legs

First of all, I printed the shape of the leg onto a sheet of paper, which I glued onto a plywood board to create the template that I will use to shape the table legs, ensuring all three are exactly identical.
The template is cut out using a jigsaw, trying to follow the edge line of the glued paper sheet. However, since the jigsaw cut is rather imprecise, it will need further refinement with a rasp and sandpaper until the plywood edge is smooth and perfectly follows the glued design.

Preparing the table legs

At this point, the plywood template can be used to prepare the table legs one at a time.
First, I attached the template to the chestnut strip using double-sided tape. Then, using the jigsaw again, I roughly cut along the shape using the template as a guide, making sure to never let the blade go over it.

Then, using the router table, I fitted the cylindrical bearing bit and adjusted its height so that the bearing was positioned correctly to rest against the template. This allowed me to trim the excess left after cutting with the jigsaw.

Finishing the table legs

At this stage, the template is no longer needed. The three table legs have been trimmed and are now all identical to the original design. To make the leg contours more harmonious, I mounted a concave bit (also with a bearing) on the router table and used it to round off the outer edges, which would otherwise have been too sharp.
NOTE: If you are interested and want to learn more about the use of router bits and the router, you can check out this interesting article (also by mariobrossh) that covers the topic in greater detail: Basic Guide to Using a Handheld Vertical Router (by Mariobrossh)
Thank you
Luciano (Capitan Farloc) 

To finish, I gave it a thorough sanding, starting with 120-grit sandpaper and working my way up to 400-grit.

Preparing the template for creating the two semi-circular aprons

The next step was to build the template for creating the two semi-circular aprons, which will be placed below the tabletop on either side of the front leg.
To make this template, I cut two semi-guides from two scrap pieces of chipboard using the jigsaw and trimmed them with a compass router to give them the rounded shape (a circular arc, to be precise) that I needed for preparing the front aprons.

However, the given shape would not have allowed me to clamp the pieces to hold them in shape on the template. For this reason, I cut away the excess at the back.

Next, I cut small blocks of scrap wood, which I screwed between the two previously cut semi-guides to assemble a template that matched the desired thickness for the semi-circular apron I intended to build.

Preparing the two semi-circular aprons

To achieve a thickness of 20 mm (the desired thickness for the semi-circular aprons), I used 5 strips of 4 mm plywood.
From some initial tests, I found that the plywood was sufficiently flexible and bent well without needing to be moistened beforehand. So, I glued the 5 strips together using wood glue and held them in place on the template for 24 hours until the glue was fully dry, using carpenter's clamps as shown in the photo.
Of course, where the clamps could not grip properly and slid off the template because they weren’t perpendicular to the surface, additional wooden blocks had to be screwed to the template, if necessary, to secure them and hold them in place.

Here is the semi-circular apron removed from the template after 24 hours.
It’s worth noting that, of the 4 plywood strips used, the fifth (the outermost one) was made from a sheet of chestnut plywood, unlike the others.

Preparing the tabletop

To have a sufficient surface for cutting out the tabletop, I glued two chestnut wood planks together. To reinforce the joint, I used a biscuit joiner and beech biscuits, but of course, nothing prevents you from using the traditional round beech dowels.

The two planks, once glued, need to be held in position until the glue is completely dry. To do this, I used four standard carpenter's clamps, which I employed to keep the two planks level by pressing them against the table saw surface. I also used three additional clamps to hold the two planks tightly together.
In this case, not having clamps long enough, I improvised with handmade carpenter's clamps. These were made using three sufficiently long wooden strips, to which two smaller wooden pieces were loosely screwed. By carefully hammering the clamps into place with a rubber mallet, they tightened sufficiently well for the purpose, as can be better understood from the photo.

Now, using a compass (also handmade), I mark the semicircle to be cut out for the tabletop.

Cutting the aprons and dry fitting

The two semi-circular aprons previously assembled now need to be cut to size and, most importantly, at the correct angle so they fit properly against the legs.
Once the correct cutting angle was determined, I set up this 'contraption' to hold the piece firmly against the table saw guide and make the cut at the precise angle.

I then carried out a 'dry fitting' by simply placing the legs and apron onto the wood previously marked with the shape of the tabletop to check if everything aligned well and... not bad at all.

Assembling the base of the table

Now the real challenge is assembling the legs and aprons. I’m not entirely sure what to invent for the joints, but I believe that once again the most versatile option might be biscuits.
So, I set up the biscuit joiner to create the slots for the biscuits perpendicular to the surface, and in this way, I prepared the slots on the aprons.

The final effect of the routing can be seen in this photo.

Before moving on to the gluing phase, a dry fitting is a must..

Since the dry fitting went well, I can proceed to gluing the pieces.
Once again, as the apron is semi-circular, I don’t have a perpendicular surface to secure the clamps. Therefore, I had to screw small triangles made from scrap wood to act as supports for the clamps throughout the gluing phase.

And here is the base of the table, now fully completed.

Preparing and assembling the tabletop

Now it's time to prepare the tabletop. Of course, cutting the tabletop with a jigsaw would be too imprecise, so I opted to use a compass router, as can be clearly seen in the photo.
It's always best to proceed in stages, lowering the router bit by a few millimetres each time to prevent it from overheating and risking burning the wood.

The tabletop was then rounded on the router table using a convex bit and attached to the base with wooden strips secured with screws.

And with that, the woodworking phase can be considered complete.
Here is the final result of the assembled table.

Finishing the table

For the finishing, after various tests on scrap pieces, I proceeded as follows:

1. Staining with walnut + cherry wood stain
2. One coat of water-based pore filler
3. One coat of water-based wax-effect finish
4. Wax polishing

Here are the products I used:

Final effect of the finished table

And here is how the table looks once completed and polished.

I hope, as always, that the article has been appreciated and, most importantly, that it can be useful for anyone looking for inspiration for their own creations.

Thank you all, Mariobrossh

P.S. If you have any questions, need advice, or simply want to let us know that you enjoyed the article, you can visit the Forum from which this article was taken by following this link: Tavolinetto Etagere Semicircolare

Thank you
Luciano (Capitan Farloc)