I have wanted to make a blanket chest for our bedroom for many years. I finally felt that my skills were up to the task. The design is based largely on an article from Fine Woodworking (#129) with customizations. I added a curve on the bottom rails to break up the hard horizontal lines. I also added a center piece on the front/back panels to break up the large piece of maple and prevent the maple from dominating the entire piece. Frames are African Rosewood, panels are Soft Maple and I added some aromatic cedar to the inside of the chest.
I used four brass hinges and then added three CPSC approved hinges to prevent the lid from slamming down. The joinery is mortise and tenon. The panels float in between the stiles and rails. I added a cove bead to the ends of the panels to create a bit of a shadow line and to soften the piece a bit. I used a spray finish (Earlex 5000) to spray General Finish. I started with two coats of Seal-A-Cell and finished with four coats of Arm-R-Seal. I sanded between each coat, starting with 200 grit and finishing with 600 before the final coat.
The project took almost 5 months elapsed time and probably around 240 hours of actual work. I made a few mistakes, but also learned how to correct them by watching the videos from Marc. It was a great project. I had fun doing it and have greatly increased my confidence in my woodworking skills. Several family members have asked me to make one for them.
Gorgeous! Great choices in wood as they do a wonderful job of setting each other off! And I really love the leg design you chose – great choice for something different
What a beautiful chest! I made a not-so-beautiful one a few months back… Nice to see work from another Marylander as well!
This a beautiful chest, fantastic workmanship :)
Johan,
I’ve created a discussion about bubinga on the Woodtalkonline forum here: http://woodtalkonline.com/topi.....or-stinky/
You’ll have to register there to comment I believe but I thought it better than having the discussion here.
Larry
I can’t see any flaws in your workmanship. Nice piece!
DD
One other thing. There’s a gap between the ends of the middle stile and the top/bottom rails on the front. Was that a style element, or one of the mistakes you mentioned. It works fairly well, actually. Again, a beautiful piece of work. That curve on the bottom really sets it off, too.
Beautiful chest, Earl. It’s the kind of piece you want to put in the front entryway for everyone to see. I’m curious, though, about the frame wood. You say it’s African Rosewood, would that be Bubinga? There are a number of rosewoods from Africa, though most, if not all, don’t go by the rosewood name like African Blackwood.
Like I said, I was just curious about that. Whatever wood it is, it looks beautiful.
Congratulations! You’ve conceived a beautiful chest Earl.
Larry, that is Bubinga. I know it very well, and the pictures shown it is Bubinga or African Rosewood. I live in South Africa, and I get Bubinga relative cheap.
I thought first when I saw the stock, that I struck gold. Tulip wood (that expensive species) and Bubinga looks very much the same. Bubinga even emit a sweet smell when working with it. But after careful research, I know now that I have Bubinga.
Boy is it hard and dense. And heavy.
Johan,
I’ve worked with some bubinga that was anything but sweet smelling. It was wax sealed and still a little wet and when I drilled it it smelled awful, kind of like cow manure. That smell filled my shop and lingered for a while. It even made it upstairs and my wife complained about it. I agree that it’s a beautiful wood and I’ve used it many times but sweet smelling just doesn’t fit in my experience.
Hi Larry.
Your comment is most interesting. The sweet smell I experienced with Bubinga and your experience with it. Now I am not so sure about the wood any more. When I say it emitted a sweet smell, it occurred whilst sawing and routing it. And the smell is pleasant, but not overwhelming. I do have a few picks of the rough sawn planks and a wall clock I completed a few months ago. If you want I can send you picks of it to clear this out. By the way, what kind of smell do Tulip wood emit when working with it?
Johan
It seems every other time I check the viewer projects section, somebody has posted what I’m working on!
Your design is very similar to mine. I got inspiration from random google pictures searches. I went with a bulkier design (3″ thick legs, etc), and I’ve been wondering the entire time what a more streamlined and curved appearance could do for it. The bottom curve definitely looks great.
I also like the horizontal panels. I don’t think I’ve seen that before.
Beautiful chest. Working on the same thing using walnut and maple. Hope mine turns out as well.