Re: A Project For Miss T

[BrokenOlMarine]

There was a lot more work between but we got to the point where the sides, ends and the top rail got stained.
They are beautiful at this point, and things are progressing rapidly.  The design had undergone a number of changes on the fly,
brought on by various things encountered along the way.

Flexibility is the buzzword.

   

   

After the Watco Oil was applied and dried, the assembly was test fitted and marked, and pilot holes were drilled into the end panels.  Then the
chest was reassembled, and the holes were redrilled thru into the side panels using the end panel holes as guides.  I used a drill bit the size of 
finishing nails.  (There was a rhyme to this thinking.)

   

   

I disassembled the chest one last time, applied glue to the rails and then inserting finishing nails thru the end panel holes as guides, 
I reassembled the chest.  As soon as the clamps were in place and alignment was verified the nails were removed to prevent them 
from becoming glued into place. 


After 24 hours, I used a 1/4" forstner bit to counter sink the holes, dipped screws into a touch of glue and secured the assembly.  With a 1/4" plug
cutter, black walnut plugs were cut for accents, and they were glued into place.  Left overnight they were trimmed flush and treated with watco oil the 
next morning. BAM, they popped just as I had hoped.

[BrokenOlMarine]

The next step was cutting an insert to fit across the inside of the ends, and drilling and countersinking to secure it.  In this case, the plugs were cut from spalted maple, and blended perfectly, becoming near invisible as planned.  The inserts were drilled to accept a dowel, fitted to the feet.  Now the Chest was nearly completed.  Needing on the bottom panel and the wing doors.

The wing doors were trimmed and shaped, stained to match and the hinges carefully spaced and fitted.
We were done.



   The Wow factor was achieved.

Here is the completed chest.  Not quite pine huh?  Note that the wing doors are SUPPOSED to fit like that, it's NOT an oversight.  Miss T wanted them to rest on the side rails and have a half inch overhang to act as the handle for easy access.  I had originally intended to put a decorative wooden knob of some sort on each side.  I think her idea works out better, especially since I found since highly figured woods.

   

Didn't take the boss long to fill 'er up with yarn.  It will hold eight large skeins standing on end.

   

When set up to use you can see the strands of yarn coming out the holes in the top rail.

   

In this shot you can see the book matched grain on the inside of the wing door.

   

Here is the chest standing duty beside the boss's chair.  She can pull the color or colors she needs when crocheting, and change colors simply by dropping the one she is using and switching to the next color.  It will keep the yarns needed for the project at hand neat and protected.

Miss Tina says it's prettier than the Pendulum Cradles I made for the grandkids.  I won't go that far, but I think it turned out well.

[hbmcc]

Wow! Gorgeous figure ... On the wood!  And, .... Oh, nevermind....


The box is bigger than I was expecting.

[BrokenOlMarine]

Thank You.  As you might have guessed, there was a lot more work involved than I described here, a huge number of steps left out and as I said, the process was an ever changing flow of design as the boss decided this and that along the way.  We have been married a long time and she knows that if she catches me early, I can bend.  At a certain point, I become rigid... or the whole thing gets scrapped and I have to start over.  I don't do half azzed. 


The handle I so carefully hand shaped out of black walnut?  Not needed when she decided that the Chest could sit beside her chair all the time, and not be moved back and forth to the den when not in use.  (I think the wood grain had a LOT to do with that. 
 )  I decided to use the handle as the stretcher between the pedestal legs.  I had planned a pair of maple turnings about 10" tall on each end, feeding into a sandwich of walnut/maple/walnut feet with beaded edges.  I had the shape all drawn out in my head.  The width would match the shoulders of the end pieces. 
  You know, for stability.

Then I remembered to check, just in case, on the height she wanted the top bar of the chest in relation to her chair arm.  "Oh, about here," she said, holding out her arm. 
  Tape measure in hand, I checked.  Twenty two - ish.  "Anywhere around there would be perfect."

So, we were at eighteen with the chest sitting on the floor.  Feet, two to four inches. 
  I put the 12 inch turnings back in the drawer, and ... wait.  Maple ends for those 2" curtain rods... the big wooden ones.  Perfect.  I set up the forstner bit, cut a matching hole in the fancy end for the wooden curtain rod, and we had feet to mate to the hole already drilled in the special bases mounted on the chest.  All I needed was a 1- 1/2 length of the proper sized dowel.  Luckily I keep a couple dowels of the various sizes on hand.  I was golden.

   

As I said,  A lot more work.

No need for a stretcher.  So, Tina sees the "Handle/Stretcher" laying on the corner of the workbench... "Beautiful," she says.
"It was the handle you didn't want."
"Would make a nice Whackin' Stick." she said laughing. 
 
I love country women.

There was a lot of work with the Jointer making the panels fit together seamlessly.
I used sawdust and CT glues to fill some cracks and stabilize some knots.  I let others go untreated, as character.
I used the band saw and the table saw a good bit, but the hand saws and the molding planes a good bit as well.
Lot's of hand work.

It was a great project, and I enjoyed it.
I think there is either a vegetable bin, or another Tina project in my future.

[AHill]

Very nice. If Miss T is happy, everything's all well in the world.

[BrokenOlMarine]

Very nice.  If Miss T is happy, everything's all well in the world.

If not, she has a beautiful new black walnut whackin stick. 

[JohnnyEgo]

Beautiful work, Jim! I love the contrast of maple and walnut.

[BrokenOlMarine]

Beautiful work, Jim!  I love the contrast of maple and walnut.

Thanks Johnny, I usually try and pair the maple with the walnut or mahogany.  The results are normally worth the effort.