Here’s a super project that’s quick to cut out and even quicker to assemble

We know….today, everybody has a cell phone attached to their belt, the side of their purse and even the dashboard of the car. After all, this IS the “mobile society”, isn’t it? Well….yes….but there are always those “hold-outs” who prefer to have a number of hard-wired phones distributed conveniently around the house.

Question is….where do you put them? Not every room has a convenient place for a phone…and even fewer yet have room to keep a phone book and notepad in close proximity. Enter this dandy little stand from the ’80’s. Even if you decide not to try and market these stands for use with the telephone, they’ll also make great Side Tables for a small lamp and some reading materials.

So….before we get started, let’s talk briefly about three things:

DESIGN

As you can see, our stand is really quite simple…almost “Shaker-Like” in its design. However, with just a few simple changes, its appearance can be altered completely. Change the handle cut-outs to a heart shape for a “Country” look…or even use a more elaborate fretwork design of your own. Create a “Mission” look with tapered Sides and re-designed “legs”. Cut the Sides off flush with the Top Shelf for a more contemporary look. Change the appearance of the Shelf Facings. Add a shelf for more utility. The options are endless.

JOINERY

The second of these three points has to do with the way this project goes together with sliding dovetail joints. In our example, we used “stopped” dovetails that are only visible from one side of the project. However, these could just as easily be full “through” dovetails where the joinery shows prominently from both sides. You might even consider making the Sides of maple and the Shelves of walnut to give your dovetail joinery a contrasting look. Another (much simpler) option would be to use straight dado joints instead of dovetails.