Now it's time to cut shelf dados across the width of both side pieces. These grooves receive the tongue on the ends of the shelf. I used a radial-arm saw for this work, but a tablesaw would work just as well. After cutting the dado, set up a 3/8" spiral bit in your router table to create the stopped rabbets on the front edges of the sides. You'll need to set up ends stops to limit the movement of the part on the router table because it will be face down, obscuring the cutter and the layout lines. Make one pass that extends over both the drawer and bin front areas. The bin front is a full 3/4" thick, so you'll need to make its rabbet in two passes.
With all the shaping done, you can now cut the curved edges on the sides using your scrollsaw. Smooth away any saw marks using the drum sanders and files as you did earlier.
Choose which edge of the shelf will be the bottom front edge, then use a bearing-guided beading bit to rout a bullnose profile along this edge.
To allow the shelf to take up just 1/4" of space on the front, while the rest of it is 3/4" thick, the shelf needs a 1/2"-deep x 3/8"-wide rabbet cut on the front and a 3/8" x 3/8" rabbet along each end. Rout your rabbets using a spiral bit.
Bottom profile
Cut the bottom piece to size and pre-sand both faces for finishing. I used a canoe bit and a dish-carving bit to create the profile on these edges. Use the canoe bit centred on the thickness of the board, creating a bead that runs along the ends and the front face. Set up a dish-carving bit in the router table and cut a cove on either side of the bead. When routing adjoining edges like this, always cut the end-grain first, then work around to the edge-grain. This way the splintering and tearout that inevitably happen when routing end-grain will be milled out when you rout the smoother-cutting front edge.
The two spoon holders receive the same edge-routed treatment as the bottom, but first create the slots that each spoon will hang from. Each slot is 5/16"-wide x 3/4"-long, on two-inch centres. The easiest and cleanest way to cut them uniformly is to use a spiral bit in your router. A shop-made plywood jig with a guide bushing works well. If you've gone to the trouble of making MDF templates for the sides and back, then it makes sense to repeat the process for the spoon slots. The final step for the spoon holders is to profile the sides and edges in the same manner as the bottom.
The bin front and the drawer face should be cut from one piece of wood for best effect. After all, these two parts are one above the other. The bin front is a full 3/4" thick, but resaw the drawer face using a bandsaw and mill it down to 3/8" thick. Create a 1/8" roundover on all four face edges of both parts. Sand both faces of the bin front, but only the front face of the drawer front.
The drawer box itself is made of 3/8"-thick stock all around, and I chose to cut traditional dovetail joints to maintain the historical integrity of the design. Use the drawer joinery method you are comfortable with.
Sand and stain the inside edges of the drawer box and the entire bottom panel before assembling the drawer. After the glue has set, sand the exterior of the drawer box and finish all the remaining surfaces except the front.
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