My grandson wanted a locking toy box to keep his little sister out of his treasures. After viewing several photos of potential designs he settled on a mission style blanket chest he found on the internet but wanted drawers. I decided to do raised panels rather than the flat panel design so there would be some detail to carry over to the drawer faces. The joinery was done with a Festool Domino on all the panel glue ups. Battens were added to the lid to insure it stays flat and the hinges are Rockler’s new torsion hinges which are a dream to install and work great. The face, ends, and back are classic panel construction. The legs are 6 quarter so provide a nice masculine feel the to overall chest. The drawer joinery is through dovetails and the drawer boxes have quarter inch Baltic birch bottoms. The two drawers on the back of the chest have gravity toggles that latch into mortises when the drawer is pushed into the cabinet. The latches are released with a special key that is inserted into a release hole inside the main compartment of the chest and the drawer pops open with the assistance of springs behind it.
May 15, 2012
Lawrence’s Blanket Chest
Hey Lawrence, I was curious what kind of hinges you used for the top? I am having a really hard time finding hinges that work with this cabinet because of the reveal on the back edge, please respond asap as we are needing to order these hinges for our entire class as this was a project that we all built!
fines-property-carpentry@hotmail.com
Hi Lawrence. Did you have any plans for his project? It looks great!!
Email me back please, thanks!
Very nice … and it must make you feel good to make this for a loved one. Well done.
Very nice work Lawrence! Looks like a great piece that you should be very proud of. I, too, like David, would like to know more about the gravity toggles, locking mechanism, and springs. Thank you for sharing and keep up the great work.
Very nice Lawrence. I would love to hear more about the drawer gravity toggles and spring system?
The gravity toggles are nothing more than a block of wood with a pivot screw mounted off center so the block will swing down perpendicular to the top edge of the drawer. Inside the drawer compartment there is a mortise in the top panel of the drawer compartment. By rotating the block parallel with the drawer you can close it and when pushed home the block rotates toward perpendicular and the short side drops into the mortise. To unlock it there is a hole in the mortise socket that is accessible from inside the large compartment of the chest. By pushing a dowel “key” into the hole the toggle rotates to parallel and springs behind the drawer pop it open. The springs are needed since there are no pulls on the drawer faces.
Awesome! Beautiful blanket chest, Lawrence! I really like the style and finish you used.
If I might ask, is this a purchased plan, or is it your own drawing plan? I would like to get
plan and make one if plan available.
Great work!
Thanks for posting.
I actually made the chest from a picture my grandson provided with the overall dimensions and the list of things he “didn’t want”. I didn’t take the time to draw up plans but rather scratch padded details where I needed to. I don’t do well constrained by plans and I have yet to do a second of anything so paper plans don’t exist. I do use Cut List once I’ve defined the parts to get the most out of the materials.
Awesome work, Lawrence! I just finished a blanket chest, myself. I am glad to see I am not the only one building a blanket chest to hold things other than blankets (we use it for board games).
That is very nice! I really like it. Great job!
You’ll have to make the granddaughter something spectacular now or she’ll be jealous, lol.
I did, a dressing table complete with stool, mirror, and jeweled drawer pulls. Cabriole legs on the table and round stool, white milk paint finish with a clear poly top coat. Delivered along with the chest. I’ve submitted the project but it hasn’t been posted yet.
I also like the spring loaded drawers. It turns a regular chest into something special. You wouldn’t happen to be in Centerville OH would ya? Great work on the chest…
Dave
Matter of fact I am a Centerville resident.
Top notch work Lawrence. While it’s a blend of styles, I like the arts & crafts influence. That nice quarter-sawn oak should get even prettier as it darkens over the years.
DD
wow! that’s a very nice chest and i really like the drawers.
This is gorgeous! Great job, Lawrence! I especially like the woodgrain on the top and the drawers built into the base. Most blanket boxes don’t have those drawers. Adding the spring-loaded drawer mechanism is something else that add to this project. Thanks for sharing.