Top of the world to you!

[DaveinOhio]

It turned out beautifully, after much effort on your part. Thanks for all the pictorial and written documentation of not only the work, but the thought processes involved at each step as well.

Looking forward to your next challenge!

Dave

[Herebrooks]

I've followed the build for, forever it seems. I love and appreciate how you chose to make it subtle. The curves don't slam you, more like seduce you. You could have overstated things, but you didn't. Restraint won out, thank goodness. What psychological workings make you tackle such difficult pieces, I wonder. Do you ever just carve a spoon or whack together a picnic table?
All the best Derek, you're one of a kind!
Bill

[Rob Lee]

Once again, you walk the walk....

Beauty job eh?

Cheers -

Rob

[John Clifford]

Clearly a labor of love. Great job Derek. It's very impressive to see someone stick with a project so long and still maintain a very high level of focus.

Good on ya,
John

[Derek Cohen]

Thank you all for the kind words, and suffering through my many posts over so long (as you remind me, Bill! ). The real reason this has dragged out is because my next project is the paint the house and build new kitchen doors ...

To answer an earlier question, the finish for the Makore caracase was Livos oil (from Germany) and the Jarrah drawers (inside and out) was UbeautWhite Shellac (from Australia). All then waxed.

Curt, using Photoshop Essentials, I removed a lot of the blue rinse on a few pics, and this came up ...





Regards from Perth

Derek

[hbmcc]

48-inches.... Wow! It didn't seem so petite, even though the mirror precludes something much taller. Unless you both are basketball players.

It all looks great. Thanks for sharing.

Now if it was my wife.... Drawers would never close, etc..

[Derek Cohen]

48-inches.... Wow! It didn't seem so petite, even though the mirror precludes something much taller.

Hi Bruce

Yes, photos do not help with proportions. My wife is 5'4", and the height was determined by her ability to comfortably look into the first drawer. The angle of the mirror is just right for a standing bureau.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Aram]

Stunning chest, Derek, and it's been a lot of fun following along. Seems like a very enjoyable, challenging build!

[Arlin Eastman]

You did a swell job there!!!

[Derek Cohen]

There were a few comments about the brass stay.

I probably have the largest range of brass stays in the history of mankind, collected in the course of research ... Oh, I think that will do it! Cha-ching (sound of me paying for another stay) .... darn, too large to fit!

Originally, I had planned to situate the stay to the right side and inside the tray. This has a depth of about 1 1/2". It was this that was too shallow for all the stays I came across. Here is what I came up with ...

I was wandering around the local hardware store looking for inspiration when an idea formed around these door closers (front) and (at the rear) box hinges ..



I managed to find brass pipes with a 5mm hole and 5mm brass thread. The brass thread fitted the pipe to create a strong brass rod.

The "catch" (female) was modified: the wings with screw lugs were removed (needed to reduced the width and make a neater fitting), a screw hole was drilled in the centre, the springs were removed and shortened (re reduce tension), and the case ground back by about 2mm each side.

The "lug" (male) was also modified: shortened and rounded (as it needed to fit at an angle. The existing square shape only permitted entry if all parts were square with one another). The brass thread was tapped into the lug ....



Here is the end with the box hinge ...



This was also 5mm diameter .... see how it was meant to be?

Once the lower section was epoxied together, the lid was morticed for the catch (to prevent it moving on the single screw) ...





Once this was done, the stay was attached (clicked in), and the position for the pivot could be marked for drilling ...



And the rest (drilling, grooving and morticing for the stay) is, as they say, history.



Regards from Perth

Derek