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Arts and Crafts style in a contemporary table. Table 153, produced around 1910 by the Charles P. Limbert Furniture Co., of Holland, Michigan, was an Arts and Crafts standout. Now expert Kevin Rodel updates it as a stunning coffee table, with prominent exposed joinery, including tusk tenons and corbels. The Rodel coffee table embodies a number of elements that distinguish original Arts and Crafts furniture, including:

• Solid wood construction throughout in quartersawn white oak
• Prominent exposed joinery, including tusk tenons and corbels
• Pure lines, flat planes and a solid stance

Grids and cutouts define a practical piece. The cutouts and gridwork - highlights of the design - look complex but are fun to make and not at all difficult under Kevin's expert instruction. Highlights of building the table include:

• Creating crisp cutouts in the end panels by ripping a board apart, cutting out some pieces, and gluing it back together
• Building a gridwork shelf by gluing up dozens of small cubical blocks
• Shaping and fitting long corbels that support the top and wedge the through-tenons, locking the shelf in place
• Cutting the double-dovetails that join the upper rails to the end panels
• Using templates to generate the tapered end panels and the clipped corners of the table top

See how you can build this updated table - certain to be a featured piece of any home.

Kevin Rodel, one of the foremost makers of hand-crafted craftsman furniture, has been making custom furniture in Maine since 1978. He and his wife, Susan Mack, have been operating their own custom furniture business, Mack and Rodel since 1986. Their work has been featured in woodworking magazines and books on Craftsman interiors. Kevin Rodel has contributed articles on craftsman style and techniques to Fine Woodworking and Home Furniture