Cherry Hallway Console (Proposed)
A proposed build — fully dimensioned and detailed, but not yet cut. A narrow wall console for an entry/hallway: drop keys and mail on top, baskets or shoes on the lower shelf. Solid cherry, hand-tool build (stock ripped and thickness-planed by machine; all joinery cut by hand).
- Overall size: 42" W × 14" D × 34" H
- Top overhang: 1" all around the leg frame
- Lower shelf: ~10" off the floor, resting on the lower rails
- Joinery: mortise-and-tenon frame, drawbored; floating solid top
Why these proportions
The shallow 14" depth is the point of a hallway piece — it hugs the wall and stays out of the traffic path. 34" tall sits at about waist height, comfortable for setting things down (anywhere 30–34" works; taller reads more console-like). 42" long gives presence without dominating a corridor. Legs are 1½" square — slender but honest for this span; go to 1¾" if you want it chunkier. The lower shelf earns its keep both as storage and as a structural tie that stiffens the whole frame.
Materials
Species: solid cherry, clear finish. Cherry darkens dramatically with light over the first few months (pale pink → deep reddish-brown) — plan around that (see notes).
| Stock | Used for | Rough qty (approx) |
|---|---|---|
| 8/4 (2" rough) | Legs only | 5–6 bd ft |
| 4/4 (1" rough) | Top, aprons, lower rails, shelf | 18–20 bd ft |
Only the legs need stock heavier than 4/4. A finished 1½"-square leg cannot come out of 4/4 — rough 4/4 only nets ~¾" of flat, clean stock after jointing and planing out cup/twist. Buy 8/4 and keep the legs seamless. (6/4 is too close to 1½" finished to survive jointing unless you drop the legs to ~1⅜".)
Lamination alternative: two face-glued pieces of 4/4 make a ~1½" blank, but on a 1½"-square leg the glue line lands on two visible faces and will age to a slightly different shade. On a clear-finished cherry piece, 8/4 is worth it. If you do laminate, orient the seam to a back corner.
The 4/4 estimate leaves margin for grain-matching the top and shelf glue-ups and for working around cherry’s gum streaks and sapwood.
Cut list
Dimensions are thickness × width × length. Cut to the length in the table — the tenon lengths are already baked in.
| Part | Qty | Stock | T × W × L (cut to this) | Tenons / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legs | 4 | 8/4 | 1½" × 1½" × 33¼" | Mortised on two adjacent faces |
| Long aprons (front/back) | 2 | 4/4 | ¾" × 3½" × 39" | 1" tenon each end, mitered tips |
| Short aprons (sides) | 2 | 4/4 | ¾" × 3½" × 11" | 1" tenon each end, mitered tips |
| Long lower rails (front/back) | 2 | 4/4 | ¾" × 2½" × 39" | 1" tenon each end, mitered tips |
| Short lower rails (sides) | 2 | 4/4 | ¾" × 2½" × 11" | 1" tenon each end, mitered tips |
| Top | 1 | 4/4 | ¾" × 14" × 42" | No joinery; floats on frame |
| Lower shelf | 1 | 4/4 | ¾" × 12" × 40" | Notch corners 1½" × 1½"; rests on rails |
Key reference dimensions
- Shoulder-to-shoulder (what actually keeps the frame square):
- Long aprons & long rails: 37"
- Short aprons & short rails: 9"
- The extra 2" on each part = two 1" tenons living inside the legs. Set your shoulder gauge to 37" / 9" and the tenon length falls out on its own.
- Mortises: ~5/16" wide × ~1" deep. Two tenons meet inside each leg corner — miter their tips at 45° so they don’t collide.
Build sequence
- Mill 4/4 down to a true ¾" in stages, resting between passes — cherry moves as internal tension releases. Leave leg blanks a hair oversized off the planer and take the last shaving by hand.
- Lay out and cut all mortises and tenons. Fit each tenon to its mortise before any glue-up.
- Glue up two end units: each = a pair of legs + short apron + short lower rail.
- Connect the two ends with the long aprons and long rails.
- Dry-clamp the whole frame and confirm the 37" and 9" shoulder distances land square before committing.
- Drawbore the tenons — pins pull the joints tight without clamping across the 42" span.
- Drop the shelf onto the four lower rails.
- Attach the top with figure-8 fasteners or wooden buttons so the solid top can float (expand/contract seasonally). Do not glue the top down.
Hand-tool & cherry notes
- Tear-out: cherry planes beautifully but tears where grain reverses (near figure or the pith). Keep the smoother sharp and finely set, read grain direction before each pass, and keep a card scraper handy for the top glue-up and any tricky patches.
- Color / clamps: don’t leave clamps, tape, or stickers on exposed surfaces during glue-up or curing — cherry tans unevenly and you’ll get pale patches that never catch up.
- Squeeze-out: scrape off all glue squeeze-out before finishing. Finish over dried glue blocks the darkening and leaves permanent ghost lines.
Adjustments to consider
- Stretch to 48" long, or drop height to 30".
- Add a drawer in the front apron (would change the front apron to a rail + drawer pocket).
- Bump legs to 1¾" square for a heavier look (still cut from 8/4).