These are a loose & kinda dumbed down interpretation of the reproduction blanket chest Tommy MacDonald did for his first episode of rough cut. I haven’t had a chance to check out the show yet but did read the companion article in Fine woodworking #217. The red oak & poplar chest were done for a mild profit & the cherry & BEM one was for fun. Construction is pretty much the same minus the tapered integral legs & carvings. I decided to go with bracketed feet instead & the sides are simply joined with loose M&T’s. The Cherry & Poplar ones have rabbeted 1/2” panels. The RO panels were resawn & book matched from one piece of 8/4 stock & ran horizontally so i could wrap the grain around the entire case. The red oak one was a commissioned piece intended to be a toy box that could be passed down to the clients son when he grew up(hence the initials in the lid). The finish is trans-tint mission brown/general finishes brown mahogany gel stain & a poly topcoat. The cherry & birds eye maple(veneer) was finished with BLO & several coats of amber shellac. The 1st two picks are just BLO & the 3rd has the final coat of shellac on it. I still need to rub out the finish & give it a coat of wax. The poplar & MDf one will eventually be painted by someone with spray equipment. Don’t know if Tommy still has time to peruse this site, but thanks for the inspiration.
10 comments so far
thejosh
home | projects | blog
563 posts in 739 days
#1 posted 736 days ago
One incredible blanket chest wasn’t enough, was it!? You had to go and make THREE incredible blanket chests. Ok, ok, I see how you wanna be.
-- "Come to me, all YOU who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." ---Matt. 11:28
Vince
home | projects | blog
670 posts in 1599 days
#2 posted 736 days ago
Very nice work, how did you carve the letters on the lid?
-- Vince
58j35bonanza
home | projects | blog
378 posts in 862 days
#3 posted 736 days ago
Real nice work.
I would have a hard time making just one.
The carving is a fine addition, and I am sure that AJJ was happy to get it.
-- Chuck
yokel
home | projects | blog
66 posts in 1595 days
#4 posted 735 days ago
LOL, i guess the old adage, if your gonna build one you might as well build two(or three in this case). The Cherry one is intended for my nephew if his parent have room in their already cramped apartment. The Initials were routed out with a 1/8” core box bit. I made some templates to guide the router. I can’t recall what font i ended up going with.
Roz
home | projects | blog
1567 posts in 1956 days
#5 posted 735 days ago
Very nice! I to believe in building a few while the shop is set up for it. Did you make the feet or purchase them?
-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."
yokel
home | projects | blog
66 posts in 1595 days
#6 posted 735 days ago
I made the feet. Probably the most enjoyable part of the build. All the hand tooling gave me some time to just relax & get more intimate with the wood. Apart from the cove cut everything was done with hand planes & scrapers.
Konquest
home | projects | blog
169 posts in 1614 days
#7 posted 735 days ago
I know the point of the “Rough Cut” show is to showcase some traditional reproductions, but I know I am probably not alone in saying that I prefer your Cherry/BEM chest to the carved panel one on the show/FWW cover. It would look good in any room regardless of the decor. You’ve got skills.
-- 9 3/4 fingers remaining.
brian88
home | projects | blog
108 posts in 939 days
#8 posted 725 days ago
How did you do the “flutes” in the face frames ?
-- "thats all I have to say about that..."
yokel
home | projects | blog
66 posts in 1595 days
#9 posted 722 days ago
I did the beading with this bit: http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2082697/33059/Whiteside-Blanket-Chest-Beading-Bit-10382.aspx in the router table. Whiteside made this profile to aid in reproducing the blanket chest in FWW #217. Otherwise you’d likely have to make your own moulding plane & cutter to get that specific profile.
sotomike
home | projects | blog
20 posts in 2112 days
#10 posted 634 days ago
very impressive yokel all three chest are just stunningly beautiful great job!!!
-- Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, or Do Without
Have your say...