Apothecary Chest - final

[Derek Cohen]

Talk about down to the wire. It's 11 p.m. and I've just completed a coat of Howard's wax after the last coat of Livos Universal Wood Oil. The drawers were all finished inside and out with Ubeaut Hard Shellac (dewaxed blond shellac). The inside of the chest (drawer recesses) was given a coat of paste wax. Tomorrow morning I take the chest to the Perth Showground for the annual West Australian Wood Show, where it will take its place among others in the furniture competition. I started this piece 3 months ago. 

I could tell you how the base gave me fits. It was a difficult task to design a stand for a curved cabinet. Probably why Krenov never built an apothecary chest!
  Last night I completed the base, and Lynndy loved it. Compound curves forever. darn sexy. The base, that is. 



But when I placed the chest on it, the combination looked awful ... top heavy ... ugh! I was out of wood, out of time, and it looked like I was out of the competition. 

This morning I woke up and had an inspiration. Cut the legs shorter. This evening, after work, I did just that. And I like the finished piece. I think the balance is right. So does Lynndy, which matters. The dimensions are 1000 high (39") x 460mm (18") across.

Here is the chest, and where it will be positioned in the entrance hall ...



A few pics of the base ...







Much time was spent designing and building the drawers, which curve across the fronts ...





Yes, I changed the steel for brass screws (no slotted ones the correct size, however) ...



And made knobs in the same Black Walnut, and fitted coplanar to the drawer recess (that was a headache before finally coming up with the simplest solution, to use the drill press!) ..



I was very pleased with the drawer stops ...



... and you can see the shiplapped back if you peak ...



It has been a long, but exhilarating build. I hope that you got something from it too.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Alan S]

Do you have any shots of the cabinet on the tall version of the base?  I would be interested to see the problem.

[Derek Cohen]

Alan, close your eyes!




Now burn the photo.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Alan S]

Thank you Derek.  Anyone reading should note that this was not a picture of the final version of the masterpiece.

I see that all the cabinet vertical lines are straight, while the curves are horizontal, and the tall base did not fit that scheme.  There is also the block fill vs outline aspect, where the outlined shape loses some definition in the leg splay.  I wonder if stretchers in the base at the height where the curve begins might have helped by defining a space below the cabinet to echo the shape of the cabinet.  The front stretcher would of course have needed to be curved to ensure that the space below the cabinet has a curved front. 

Your solution used the floor instead of a stretcher, and cut a bit higher.  This focussed attention on the cabinet, rather than letting the legs draw it away.  I just like to think about various options, so thanks again for letting me play.

[gov.cheese]

Bravo! Stunning piece of work and thanks for allowing us to follow along.

[BpB123]

Bravo! Stunning piece of work and thanks for allowing us to follow along.

Ditto!!!  It was a pleasure watching this come to life.  Thank you for sharing your knowledge and the journey

-Brian

[Greg Jones]

Looks amazing Derek, nice work!

[hbmcc]

Hooray!! 

I like the last minute saves. A lip biter (nails, too) the entire way! We couldn't have better drama in the wood shed--or, out. From a buxom lady to a bariatric shorty, she still looks fabulous. [Just to carry on your analogies....] Maybe, prosthesis in the future?

[tshiker]

Derek, it was fun following along. I hope you continue to post videos of your process, I really appreciate it. I think the modified stand is much better although the legs were sexy! Good luck at the show!

[cputnam]

Chris Vesper posted some pics of show entries - tough competition this year!

Another fabulous build-along, and with video this time! I absolutely loved and very much appreciated it all. Thank you again.