Over the 20+ years that I’ve been a staffer on this magazine, I’ve never had the occasion to use hickory for project lumber. So when the decision was made to make these minimalist nesting tables from one of America’s sturdiest lumbers, I was excited by the prospects of using it. Turns out, hickory is no more difficult to saw, plane, rout, glue or finish than any other native hardwood. If you’ve worked with ash or hard maple before, you’ll be right at home with hickory. Notice that the smallest table includes a drawer, which could be handy for storing TV remotes or other little stuff. You can include the drawer if you like or build the small table without it.
Preparing Rough Parts
Get these tables underway by jointing and planing enough 4/4 stock for the three tabletops, and glue up three slightly oversized panels. Hickory is a variably-colored hardwood, with a mixture of both creamy colored and darker brown areas. I decided to compose the panels to take full advantage of this beautiful color variation. When the panels come out of the clamps, trim them to final size, according to the Material List on page 39. Set them aside for later.
Each table has a pair of leg frames that consist of front and back legs connected by top and bottom rails. There’s also a back brace to help prevent the tables from racking side to side. The legs, rails and back braces are all made of 1¼"-thick x 2"-wide stock. I crosscut some
