Secretaire campaign chest - now finished

[gasman]

The little walnut box has had 2 coats of Liberon finishing oil and is starting to look lovely
I am up to 88 hours in total now - but this includes 6 for the little box
Jobs still to do include:
Fitting the other 12 brass handles - maybe an hour in total
Cutting the lock into the righthand locking piece - maybe another hour in total
Finishing the upper secret compartment - maybe an hour
Cutting and fitting the plywood back - an hour or so
Final finishing and fitting the main drawers - might be a couple of hours
Final finishing and fitting the small drawer cabinet - an hour
Final glue up - an hour
Sanding sealer and finishing oil followed by waxing - couple of hours total in divided doses
So I think still possible to sneak in under 100 hours but that did include the extra box I had not planned
I have one other problem I would love some help to solve:
The fall front needs a mechanism to keep it shut. It is easy to open with the brass handles - but needs some way of holding it shut. I know Peter you kindly pointed out the secretaire catch - but I cannot see how I get to the catch to release it as surely it will be behind the fall front - I wonder if I should have made the fall front not as wide - but too late for that now? Confused
I could easily just do it with magnets but not very traditional so not ideal
Thanks for help
Cheers
Mark

 

[gasman]

Ahhhh just had another look at the secretaire catch and I think it might work if the mechanism was mounted such that the button was only revealed by taking the drawer out above - is that how they work?
Also just realised where I have gone wrong. The original secretaire catch would have been mounted inside the fall front but was accessible because that whole cabinet slid out by a couple of inches when you pulled the handles. I have not got that sliding mechanism so need to find another solution. mmmmm any ideas welcomed!

 

[xy mosian]

Hi Mark, Your cabinet is looking mightily impressive!
As for a catch, how about a Ball Catch or even a Lock?
xy

 

[gasman]

Yes maybe ball catch good idea thanks xy. A lock would be visible from the front so not so good I think
Thanks again

 

[Peter Sefton]

You are right the Secretaire catch is released when the sliding drawer construction is pulled out to reveal the pigeon holes as yours is not a moving one but only a fall flap it won't work for you. As mentioned a ball catch may be your best option, the ball tends to mark the timber as it is pulled out so you may wish to fit it into the cabinet so the door suffers rather than the cabinet you can use the brass catch plate they are supplied with but they are a bit basic. You may wish to use rare earth magnets but they are not traditional so you can bury them under veneer or leather to hide them.
Cheers Peter

 

[gasman]

Thanks Peter
Yes I totally understand what you are saying about the ball catch marking the wood. I will investigate - and yes good idea about hiding the magnets
More this weekend
Cheers
Mark

 

[Fishandchips]

How about a secret mechanism activated by pulling the drawer above slightly to release and unlock the drop door?

I did a quick google image search for secret locking mechanisms and there was loads of ideas.

It would serve to hold the drop door closed and also lock it without spoiling the immaculate work you did.

 

[gasman]

Thanks FishandChips I like the idea of a secret mechanism but I think on balance too fiddly and time consuming. It has already taken too long - up to 90 hours now and I think the brass button catches will look fine as long as polished up like the rest of the brass work
Last night I got all the drawer fronts finished, chopping out for all 14 brass handles. It took a bit longer than I thought but then I got into a rhythm and it was OK. After routing out the surface 3mm, I used a 1" forstner bit, then a 5/8" forstner bit, then chopped out for the hinge by hand

Then I chopped out the cabinet side ready to receive the lock for the locking side piece

I have done some work on the 2 secret compartments. They are not terribly clever but suit purpose I think
The first is in the base and is very simple

There is a panel cut to fit this exactly with very little gap around but which has one edge which is bevelled

When the panel is in place (and remember you have to remove the lower drawer to even see this), it looks fairly plain

But if you push down on the left hand side of the panel it lifts like this

The upper panel is similar but done with rare earth magnets on the inside edges of the frame and on the edges of the hinged panel

Here, with the top removed, is that panel, held in place by 6 x 6mm rare earth magnets

The magnets are strong enough to hold the box which fits exactly into the rebate for the panel

I will cut an access hole on each side to allow finger pressure to push the panel down and reveal the box (again once the top drawer is removed)

I need to cut those holes and add a rest to stop that hinged panel swinging down too far
More later
Cheers
Mark

 

[gasman]

Another 10 hours this weekend which takes me to 100 hours in total and it is nearly finished
The smaller cherry cabinet got 2 layers of hardwaxoil, then polished and waxed once with briwax

The client wanted all the drawers to have baize bottoms and one drawer to have smaller compartments as follows - this is in sycamore

The quartered top looks lovelier and lovelier with each coat - this is after 2 coats of hardwaxoil

The drawers have all just had the one coat of HWO so far

as has the main cabinet

I dropped a drawer and it landed on its front corner on the workshop floor - tried to steam out the damage with an iron but it wasn't having any of it
I ended up making a small slit behind the face and after cutting a sliver of cherry from some similar wood, tapped this tiny wedge in - it looks worse here than when taken with this macro lens

This is the mark I put on all my work somewhere discreet. This is on the inside of the locking strip which goes up the right hand side - it is a 4mm plug cut in end grain with a square below it.

I am a tiny bit disappointed it has taken so long and there are probably another 4 or 5 hours to put it all together - but the finishing line in site and it has been a very satisfying project!
Cheers
Mark

 

[Peter Sefton]

Mark
I would say you have done well to make it in your spare time in 100 hours, I am sure your customer will be very happy. I would personally set out the Lapped Dovetail drawers differently, I would for instance have kept the half end pins and main pins the same size about 3mm on end grain, people often think a half pin should be half the size it should IMO be just half the angle (one sided)
The top does look fantastic!
Cheers Peter

 

[graduate_owner]

Very, very nice.
I would just love to be able to make a piece of furniture like that. Perhaps one day, before my eyesight lets me down completely as far as woodworking is concerned.

K

 

[gasman]

Peter do you know I have never even thought of that - I kind of assumed al the dovetails were done like I had done them.... I will bear it in mind for next time. Thanks a lot for your comments - and for yours K

 

[gasman]

This has been the longest last few steps I have ever done - the little jobs just seem to go on and on
However, progress continues albeit slowly
I fitted the small drawer cabinet inside the main cabinet after glueing the piece which the fall front attaches to in place after a bit of gaffing to make sure it was in the right position. The small cabinet is fixed with 2 screws from below - but it was a tight fit anyway
Then I fitted a 4mm walnut 'border' around this which serves 2 purposes - one it hides the slight gap to the left and right and top and second it is 18mm from the front of the cabinet so will act as a stop for the fall front

Yesterday I had added a rebated edge in stinkwood to the back of the fall front - I do not think this needs a leather inlaid piece now
This is after 2 coats of hardwaxoil

And the rest of the cabinet here assembled after 2 coats

The small box in the upper secret compartment got some wax all over and and baize inside and on the bottom

Tending towards magnets now to hold the fall front as they will be almost invisible
I have also added 4 small circular walnut 'feet' - 40mm diameter and 8mm thick just to hold it clear of the carpet
One more push and it will be done
Cheers Mark

 

[gasman]

All the brass work fitted - the brass handles took a little while as the holes had quite a bit of the hard wax oil and wax in. Finish so far has been 3 coats of hardwaxoil rubbed down with 0000 wire wool in-between - then 2 coats of Beeswax - looks good it has a nice sheen

Just the baize to cut for each drawer
It needs some good photos taken in natural light to show the contrast between the walnut and cherry
I am happy overall. There are a few little tiny dinks and things which weren't perfect - but my wife who is a very honest critic of mine (!) says it is fine which is the acid test I apply before finishing
Cheers
Mark

 

[liamscanlan]

Simply stunning work and a great WIP!
Thank you.
Liam

 

[DMF]

Wow! That should do it re the cabinet itself it's pointless me trying to do better than that at the moment, but on top of that working on it part time and with a WIP I can't believe how quickly you have progressed with this, work rate must be about flow and to clear your head from work and crack on with it, around a week off etc I know but well hats off to you and a great example for me of what can be achieved so glad its worked out so well and thanks for posting

Dean

 

[gasman]

It's kind of you to say that thanks very much
I always wake early and find my hour or so each morning between 5 and 6am in the workshop invaluable - I find planning etc good then - my head is clear and all the problem-solving needed usually happens then, plus I sharpen all my hand tools so they are sharp later in the day.
Cheers
Mark

 

[Paul Chapman]

Excellent, Mark. Really enjoyed this thread.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[MickCheese]

That's fantastic.

I appreciate the effort this type of project must take but I also appreciate the fact you have documented it for us.

For that I thnk you.

Mick

 

[Peter Sefton]

Mark it looks great, thanks for the WIP that's a big job on top of all the hard work you have put into the making. I am sure your customer will be over the moon and you should be very proud of this challenging build.
Thanks for sharing the experience Peter