Blanket chest completed

[Trigs]

So before lockdown I started my first attempt at a proper furniture piece for the new house. We decided on a blanket chest to sit in a bay window, so I set about milling up some 30year old Ash I got for a ridiculous steal.

I went through the usual milling of the boards through the bandsaw, planer thicknesser and final hand planing for the frames and book matched panels. Its now I regret taking more photos

8 panels in total all book matched and hand planed to fit into the frame rebates which took some time as my router table is not great. Made a few mistakes along the way and id give the overall fit a 8/10 but they should stand up to the test of time.

For the finishing of the panels I wanted a contrast to the frame so I used a Walnut dye then rubbed it back before coating with a Cedar danish oil if i remember correctly. Im sure there's better ways to finish but I wanted the whole experience to be a big learning curve.

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For the lid I also wanted to try some epoxy as a panel filler so I used Glasscast 50 and a metallic copper which I think worked out pretty well. Unfortunately I had to order new hinges so no pics of the lid in the open position and in my haste I missed a couple of saw blade marks from the side of the lid. Also the first time I used a breadboard end and dowels to pull it tight, again not perfect but I'm happy enough for a first go.

The final finish was a simple wax which really brought the colours out, again Im sure there's better ways but I just used what I had to hand. As you can imagine it was a big build and I've missed a heap of photos but any questions you have fire away. cheers

 

[MikeG.]

That's rather nice. Well done. You seem to have dealt with some rough old bits of wood rather effectively.

Your finish is easy to touch up or re-do, so why not whip the lid off and plane off those saw marks on the end, otherwise you'll see them every time you go in the room.

 

[Trigs]

Cheers Mike, yeah once the new hinges arrive I'll be planing those edges clean.

 

[maznaz]

I think it looks great, and quite a bit like something I'm still planning out at the moment. Would you mind telling me a bit more about how you put the panels together into the frame? Did you bevel the edges with a plane?

Edit: looking closer it looks like you used a shoulder plane to narrow the tongue on the panels, is that right?

 

[Trigs]

I actually used a plough plane initially to get the depth /width and a shoulder plane to do a little clean up. I left a small expansion gap each side and bevelled the face edges. The panels are 18mm which i divided into 3 for the tongues . Hope that helps

 

[maznaz]

That's wonderful, thank you!

 

[woodbloke66]

Nice job: I finished one recently and used three 65mm brass butts to hinge it. Once the hinges have been fitted in the chest, the difficult bit is then holding the lid vertical in the right position to mark out the position of the leaves on the underside. There is an easy way though......- Rob

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Also the first time I used a breadboard end and dowels to pull it tight, again not perfect but I'm happy enough for a first go.

For an early or first significant project I'm impressed.

I'm curious about the bit I've quoted above. I'm not sure how to read it and a little clarification would be appreciated.

Do you mean you used dowels to align the edges of the panels in the lid, or are you saying you used dowels to join the end of the panels (end grain) to the long grain of the clamps (breadboards) running perpendicular to the panels? Slainte.

 

[Trigs]

Also the first time I used a breadboard end and dowels to pull it tight, again not perfect but I'm happy enough for a first go.

For an early or first significant project I'm impressed.

I'm curious about the bit I've quoted above. I'm not sure how to read it and a little clarification would be appreciated.

Do you mean you used dowels to align the edges of the panels in the lid, or are you saying you used dowels to join the end of the panels (end grain) to the long grain of the clamps (breadboards) running perpendicular to the panels? Slainte.

No, i meant that used twin mortice and tennons and a dowel through the BBend to pull to a tight fit.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Ah, right. Now I understand what you said. Thanks. Slainte.