Charleston Double Chest

Hey Chobbs,
Great design, detail, timber, and finish…..real nice job….well done.

-- I will just keep doing it till I get it right.

Wow, another great project. You do some really nice work. I may have taken 7 months, but it will last longer then a life time. Thanks for posting it.

-- Alan, Prince George

That is truly a wonderful piece. The detail work makes it very special. There are many of us out here that dream of one day attempting such a piece. The photos make the handles appear to be almost white, but can I assume that they are brass? Thanks for sharing. -SST

-- Accuracy is not in your power tool, it's in you

I find measured drawings still leave you plenty of room to take credit for not only your interpretation but significant elements of the design as well. You should be proud.

Criticisms?! Where do I start…. Hmmm, let me get back to you on that. What a fine piece of furniture you’ve made. Well executed. Well said Jon3.

-- - In the end, everything will be okay. If it isn't okay, it isn't the end yet.

Absolutely beautiful well done all round beauty.We sometimes caLL this a high boy or a CHEST ON CHEST I think that’s correct.Alistair ps please correct me if I am wrong

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Marvelous work there Cal! It would be quite an undertaking for anybody! I have a short stack of mahogany that was probably cut 60 or 70 years a go, and have been wondering what to make with it, and where to get a match if I need more wood, so your tip about Irion is a good find for me. I’d love to hear more about the preparation of the dentil and other decorative mouldings you used—they look super!

-- SteveL

Wow that’s wonderful! I just love it!

-- -Sleff

A real masterpiece Cal that you can be extremely proud of. Many of us can only dream about building something so fine. The many and interesting details are abundant and understated, a great advantage on this piece. Don’t worry about not having designed it. Just building it is quite an accomplishment! Hope we see more from you.

-- Mike, American in Norway

Cal, all I can say is that I hope to live long enough to be able to turn out a piece worthy of being in the same room with that one.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Absouletly awesome…very nice work!

Thanks for the comments all.

To answer a couple of questions, yes the hardware is brass, of course. Luckily these are the bail pulls and not the bold solid type. Sometimes it would be as common to have as many $$ in the hardware as in the lumber, but not in this case, thankfully.

The fretwork was sawn out on the scrollsaw and then cleaned up with chisels, then applied to the case with hide glue (I used the liquid stuff). The dentil molding was cut by Don Harris on the tablesaw. The tricky part was mitering all the pieces without destroying them. I had to make two new of the small corner pieces of fretwork after they broke apart in my first try.

I have said many times in relation to this piece that it is simply a series of small steps that most woodworkers can do to get you home. Thanks again, Cal

Great looking chest. You did a beautiful job on this piece. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

That is a perfect chest, just gorgeous!!

-- Matt, Houston Texas

OOOOO Cal wonderful classic chest beautiful work wonderful wood and great finish.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Excellent chest. Very impressive.

-- Chuck Bender, period furniture maker, www.acanthus.com