Steamer Trunk

pretty darn cool!

A great job and a nice way to re-use materials. Bet that construction company never thought something this nice would come out of their tossed materials.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Nice looking Trunk

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

1. this is stunning and definitely an heirloom for future generations
2. this is amazing how you collected the “scraps” and put them together to create this beauty. How did you “see” this in the wood??
3. this is gorgeous… had to comment on the beauty twice because it is so, well, beautiful.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Nice trunk, good use of discarded material. Very nice worK jockmike

-- (You just have to please the man in the Mirror) Mike from Michigan -

I can’t believe that was considered junk wood. That is exactly the sort of chest I’d like to make someday. Fantastic!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Van Gogh -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

Very nice piece of craftsmanship. I think found wood is an extra bonus, & it makes you feel better after completion.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Super job, gbear. Yes to recycled ‘junk wood’. How about more info on the construction and finish?

It looks like panel frame construction. Is the frame joinery mortise and tenon? What about the way you joined the front and back panels to the sides? How was this done?

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hillsbiblechurch.org/

Great job on the trunk. I especially like the color of stain and the wood decor you used on the top of the lid.

-- There are three types of people in the world, those who can count and those who can't!

Amazingly beautiful work. Don’t let the construction company know where the materials came from. If they find out, you’ll never get another piece.

-- Jesus is Lord!

Great trunk, very nice work, Did you do the trunk from a plan or is is something that you thought up on your own.

-- vlee2@ford.com

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments. The basic box is constructed with tongue and groove joints and the outer slats use rabbit joints. I stained the project with a medium oak stain and finished it with 3 coats of polyurathane, sanding with 1500 wet and dry between coats. I didn’t have a plan for this project only the pictures of trunks I had seen in catalogs. I must admit, planning is my weakness. I often just have a rought idea of what I want and start building, planning as I go. Not a real good idea.

-- gbear, Carmichael, CA

How did you construct the top? Did you use veneer so that it would bend?

-- There are three types of people in the world, those who can count and those who can't!

BassBully- Yes. I used 1/8” oak veneer plywood. I bent it over the struts and glued it to the lid. I then added the knubby trim with glue and brads. The struts in the lid which form the curve are close enough to each other that they provide plenty of support for the plywood even if someone sits on it! It’s somewhat like the hull of a boat.

-- gbear, Carmichael, CA

I truly love it when anyone can make something out of reclaimed materials, and you not only made something…you made something really outstanding!!! When I think about my woodworking skills, and begin to think I’m pretty good at stuff, I see a project like this and realize that I’m an elementary school student in the company of doctoral candidates.
Way to go, Doctor!
-SST

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