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A very special blanket chest

Started by Dodgy Loner, January 13, 2009, 04:56:08 PM

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Dodgy Loner

I got three orders for blanket chests in the waning days of 2008.  Two of my aunts asked for chests over the holidays, and I'll be able to have some fun with them.  Neither of them were particularly concerned with the details, so I'll get to flex my creative muscles as far as the design and my choice of wood.  The third chest will be a very satisfying project as well, but for a different reason.  Let me tell you the story:

In October of 2005, two of my good friends from the forestry school lost their home and everything in it in a fire.  They were renting an old farmhouse from a professor, and faulting wiring consumed everything they had - most tragically, their two dogs were unable to find their way out.  Even their cars, which were parked near the house, were destroyed.  The outpouring of support from the forestry school got them back on their feet in no time, but of course their are some things that can never be replaced.  One of those things was an old cedar chest that had been in one of the girls' family since the 1800s.  Curiously, there happened to be an old cedar tree growing beside the house that was killed by the fire.  I was able to get my hands on a small 8' log from that tree several months after the fire (Our professor had given the tree to a friend of his, and he had taken the big logs and left this little one behind).  I had the log sawed into lumber with the intention of making something for my friends.  Over the last couple of years, my friends finished school and went their separate ways.  One of them married another good friend of mine from the forestry school.  Last year, he called me up with a proposition: he wanted me to build a cedar chest to replace the one that burnt in the fire.  He didn't even know I had lumber from the house fire.  He was excited to find out that I did.  I was excited to finally get the push I needed to use the lumber.  I only saw the original chest once, but I did my best to design the new one similarly.  The most curious thing was a small, secret drawer in the plinth.  I got started on the chest this past weekend but unfortunately, I'll only get to work on it when I'm visiting my parents, since my shop in Clayton is still "under construction".  I'll keep you updated with pictures as the project progresses :)

Here's the design I came up with:




And here's the log I started with:


First step is to cut the boards to proper length with a jigsaw and edge them on the bandsaw.  This takes a considerable amount of work to make sure I end up with everything I need, especially working with such a limited amount of lumber.


Next, I joint and plane the boards.


Before gluing up the panels, I like to clamp the boards together and edge them with my jack plane.  This way, my edges are perfectly straight, and any error in the angles of the edges is canceled out by folding the two boards apart like opening a book.


After gluing into panels, the boards need to be flattened.  I never end up with a perfectly flat panel right out of the clamps.  I flatten by planing across the grain with my jack plane.


Next, the boards need to be smoothed, as the jack plane leaves a rather rough surface.  My No.4 Stanley sweetheat does an admirable job on this knotty cedar.  The outside faces will be sanded before finishing, but the interior faces will retain the plane marks, just as the original did.


On to dovetailing.  When dovetailing small boards, I like to do the tails first, since I can clamp them together and do two at a time.  With something this big, though, I find it easier to transfer the marks if I cut the pins first.  I use a $20 "Bear Saw" ryoba from Lowe's.  It has a crosscut side and a rip side.  Use the rip side for dovetailing.


After I remove the bulk of the waste on my bandsaw, I chisel the rest out.  I have a set of Irwin "Blue Chip" chisels that I love.  They're cheap and they hold an edge very well.  The mallet is a carver's mallet that I made myself from winged elm.


Well, that's all for now.  In the next installment, I'll be cutting the tails and the groove for the bottom and hopefully gluing the case together.  Who knows when that'll be? :)
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

metalspinner

That's a great story and project.  I'm anxious to see it through to completion.  Now, go get those tails cut. smiley_whip
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

SwampDonkey

Looks like a great project Dodgy.  ;D  Lots of work with those hand tools.  ;) Your friends sure are lucky.

These things take time eh? ;)

My chisels look just like yours Dodgy, only mine are Sheffield's. Nice mallet I might add.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Dodgy Loner

Marples manufactured these chisels up until recently, and their company was located in Sheffield, England.  I've seen several tool tests that looked at bench chisels, and these blue chips always finished at or near the top.  You can get better chisels, but you'll have to pay a lot more for them.  I like a deal :).  I've made several different mallets (at least seven), and this is the one that always ends up in my hands.  It's the best design I've come up with as far as comfort and utility.  I've always had trouble using a traditional cabinetmaker's mallet for striking chisels, but some people swear by them.
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

thedeeredude

Love that red cedar!  I especially like the design, too.  And the millers falls jack plane ;D  Keep us updated.

pineywoods

Hey that log is ugly enough to make some real nice boards. Ugly cedar logs are the best kind::)
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

WDH

I have a set of the "blue" marples chisels.  They are great.

Dodgy, I have to say to all here, that you are a class act.  This is a project that will enrich the people that you are building the chest for as well as enriching yourself.  The only thing that would be better is if I had sawn those boards for you.

I really admire your work with the hand cut dovetails.  That is real craftsmanship.  I cheat and use a dovetail jig.  Those pins in the pics look every bit as good as the ones I make with the jig.  That is real skill.

What you are doing with this project is a real inspiration to me, and I am sure, some others here on the Forum.  I take off my hat to you.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Larry

Cool 8) 8)  a blanket chest with a story...there the best kind.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Norm

Great story and project DL. They are sure lucky to have you as a friend.  :)

Burlkraft

Can't wait for some pictures Dodgy  ;)  ;)

Nothin' better than red cedar. It's going to be great project.

I am in the process of building a desk...well me and my resident artist  ;D  ;D  ;D

While he's burning the graphics I am going to start the drawers today. I'm gonna break out the set of Blue Marples and have at it.

I prolly need to get a lesson from you or Pigman  ;)  ;)
Why not just 1 pain free day?

pigman

Steve, we both need to go south to Dodgy's to get a lesson on dovetails. ;)  Since it is warmer down there, I think it will take me a least three months to master dovetails. :D
I like working with ERC, it is light for this old retired man to handle.
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

Dodgy Loner

Thanks for all the kind words :).  I haven't been this excited about a project in a long time, and it's killing me that I can't get out and work on it every weekend.  Pigman, you and Burlkraft are welcome to come down for a lesson, but I can't promise it'll be any warmer than Kentucky.  18o this morning, supposed to be 10o tomorrow.  Warmer than Michigan I'm sure, though ;).

Quote from: thedeeredude on January 13, 2009, 08:19:06 PM
Love that red cedar!  I especially like the design, too.  And the millers falls jack plane ;D  Keep us updated.

The jack plane is actually a Craftsman, but they certainly have the same pedigree.  Is is possible that Millers Falls made Craftsman planes the same way Stanly made Winchester planes (among other tools)?
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

thedeeredude

Yes, Millers Falls, Sargent and Stanley I believe made tools for the craftsman label.  That red frog is a dead giveaway that it is millers falls.

HOOF-ER

Don't dead frogs on a plane smell bad. I think I will be driving. :D :D
Nice project DL. Can't wait to see it.
Home built swing mill, 27hp Kawasaki

SwampDonkey

I was in error as to the name of my chisels, they are Marples as well. Sheffield's have a yellow translucent handle and more expensive.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Dodgy Loner

Got to work on the chest for a few hours last weekend.  Here's the progress so far:

I was disappointed to find that the panels for the front and back, which I glued up a couple weeks ago, had warped badly in the meantime.  They required some serious flattening before the tails could be sawn.  They ended up closer to 5/8" thick than 3/4" thick, not that it really matters.  The chest will just be that much lighter.


I've seen some pretty fancy jiggery that people have come up with to trim the ends of large panels square on a table saw.  I chose a rather simple route.  First, I scribed a line on the end of the panel using a framing square.  Next, I trimmed the ends of the panels very close to, but not touching the scribe line with a bandsaw.


I trimmed the rough ends down to the line with a low angle block plane.  Simple and effective.


To transfer the pins to the tail boards, I clamp the pin boards to the tail boards with a couple of F-clamps and scribe them with a marking knife. You can see where I wrote detailed info about the boards in this photo.  Don't want to get messed up here!


The scribe lines show up quite clearly...


Next comes the sawing...


And finally, the chiseling.


The result is a tight, clean fit.  Because cedar is a soft wood that compresses easily, I cut the dovetails rather tight.  I had to tap them together with a mallet to force them together, but the joints are not so tight that it split the boards.  Just right :).


Stay tuned for the next edition ;D
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

SwampDonkey

A table sander (upright position) comes in handy to, if your timid with a block plane to get the edge square to the line without tearout. ;D

Looking good young feller. I mark my work pieces with details quite often as well.  ;)

Now, don't you wish you air dried that cedar 3 years? Can't resist a good ribbing. :D Knowing that wood shrinkage gets progressively less with each shrink and expand cycle. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Dodgy Loner

Log was sawed ~Feb. 2006 (3 years ago ;)).  Been sitting underneath dad's barn the whole time, out of the weather.  Sometimes there's just nothing you can do :-\.  I think they warped because I left them sitting flat on my benchtop, so only one side was exposed to the air.  Next time, I'll allow for better air circulation.  Ideally, I would have cut the pins and tails the same day, but due to time constrains, I didn't have that option. 

Regarding the tearout from the block plane, that could definitely be problematic when planing end grain.  I would normally plane a small chamfer on the end grain to prevent this, but I didn't rip the panels to their final width until after squaring the ends, so it was no problem.  Alternatively, I could have planed toward the bottom side of the panel so any tearout would be covered by the plinth when the chest is completed.  I bet I could find lots of uses for a table sander if I ever got one, but I've never used one.
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

metalspinner

How do you have the patience to cut all those DT by hand?

I've removed the cup from a large panel by placing it in the grass in the sunshine.  You cannot forget about it, though because before you know it it will be cupped in the other direction. :D
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

SwampDonkey

Quote from: Dodgy Loner on January 29, 2009, 04:34:34 PM
Been sitting underneath dad's barn the whole time, out of the weather. 

Ground moisture Dodge, put up in the loft with a window or door open for air flow in the summer heat. But still better than nothing. Usually indicates there is high enough moisture that it isn't drying inside very deep and when you plane that dryer wood off.........well. Brings another question, when was the actual lumber sliced off it? 3 years past? Confused whether it was the timber that was sawed into a log or whether the log was sawed into lumber. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

thedeeredude

Coming along nicely!  I read one time that you set a  board cup up on a concrete floor overnight and it will take the cup out.  Didn't believe it till I tried it.  Now that I know more about how wood moves and that I realize it picks up the moisture from the concrete on that side.

WDH

Wow, that is looking good!  When you get that big powermatic table saw ( :)), you can make a jig to cut the ends square ;D.  I believe that if the craftsman of old could have had the use of a modern table saw, they would have jumped out of their skin to use it ;D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

SwampDonkey

Quote from: WDH on January 29, 2009, 11:35:00 PM
I believe that if the craftsman of old could have had the use of a modern table saw, they would have jumped out of their skin to use it.

:D :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Burlkraft

Well Dodgy....

Nice job on the dove tails  8)  8)

They look awesome

What about that shop?

That deseves a picture and a post. From what I saw that's a pretty nice lookin' shop too!  8)  8)
Why not just 1 pain free day?

Dodgy Loner

MS - Cutting the dovetails is the best part.  I don't know how you have the patience to apply a finish without spraying it ;D.  One of the greatest pleasures in the woodworking is tapping together a well-fitted hand cut dovetail joint for the first time.  It only took about an hour per board (four hours total) to dovetail this chest.  The real challenge was keeping my patience as I was flattening the panels.  They weren't cupped so much as twisted.  I've actually used a method similar to what y'all descibed to flatten a cupped panel.  I dampened the concave side with a rag and presto, and hour later the cup was gone!  I suspect the twist in my panels might be attributed to the internal stresses from such knotty wood.  Wood is like a kindergartener...sometimes it misbehaves just because you're not looking ::).

SD - the log was sawed into rough-edged boards 3 years ago. If you look closely in the first picture, you can see the lines in the log from where it was sawn.  It was sitting four feet above the concrete floor in our barn, so wicking moisture from the floor probably wasn't the problem.

WDH - I dunno, I prefer working wood to building jigs ;).  I'm not exactly a purist, but I posted the technique I use because I find it much quicker and easier than building an accurate jig for the table saw.  I guess we all find ways to make it work using the tools we have at our disposal.  I bet the craftsman of old who were unemployed because their job was now accomplished by an unskilled laborer with a machine were not as thrilled as you think they were ;D.

BK - Thanks, but the shop is my dad's :-\.  I'll soon be moving all of my equipment into this cubbyhole at my house :).
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

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