Project Information
Gerstner inspired, and loosely interpreted, this chest is of African Mahogany, and flecked, spalty oak which was salvaged from a jobsite, and landfill bound. The drawer faces were originally dunnage for steel sprinkler pipes.
Hardware, from the web, thanks to FWW giving the source for their handles in the "Essential Tool Chest" essay, and ebay for the knobs. Tremont nails for the rose head cut nails on the back panel. (Shoutout to The Old Fart on that source)
Speaking of the back panel, it was also salvaged, and I believe it is sweet gum. (Also very poplarish, but harder to work, and a different looking grain). Some of the pieces were really twisted, but I'm confident that they had ample time to accommodate. I planed those down from 5/4 to 3/4" by hand. That was a chunk of work, in and of itself. Also, you may have noticed some paint on the Mahogany. I left that intentionally as an homage to the guys who felled and milled the lumber. (It was on the rough lumber from the mill. (Presumably a batch identifier or some such). I realize most people won't like that part, but I really do, so I kept it.
This box is another example of design on the fly, inexperience, and attrition. I can't begin to muster the energy to document all the trials, errors, and successes in this little chest. My first foray into hand work alone, but not entirely. I used to router to form the dado for the drawer bottoms. (I did not have a proper plow plane, so I used what I had)
So there she is. The amount of hours I put into this, I can't really say. It was a lot. Most of those hours, were a real joy.
Thanks for looking!
Hardware, from the web, thanks to FWW giving the source for their handles in the "Essential Tool Chest" essay, and ebay for the knobs. Tremont nails for the rose head cut nails on the back panel. (Shoutout to The Old Fart on that source)
Speaking of the back panel, it was also salvaged, and I believe it is sweet gum. (Also very poplarish, but harder to work, and a different looking grain). Some of the pieces were really twisted, but I'm confident that they had ample time to accommodate. I planed those down from 5/4 to 3/4" by hand. That was a chunk of work, in and of itself. Also, you may have noticed some paint on the Mahogany. I left that intentionally as an homage to the guys who felled and milled the lumber. (It was on the rough lumber from the mill. (Presumably a batch identifier or some such). I realize most people won't like that part, but I really do, so I kept it.
This box is another example of design on the fly, inexperience, and attrition. I can't begin to muster the energy to document all the trials, errors, and successes in this little chest. My first foray into hand work alone, but not entirely. I used to router to form the dado for the drawer bottoms. (I did not have a proper plow plane, so I used what I had)
So there she is. The amount of hours I put into this, I can't really say. It was a lot. Most of those hours, were a real joy.
Thanks for looking!