Arts & Crafts Gentleman's Chest

Nice looking chest. Don’t feel alone with the trials and tribulations of changing the thickness of one part then having to deal with all the subtle changes in other ways. I’ve done it & made the same “duh” mistakes you did. Lots of work, but you did a fine job, one that you can be proud of.

-- http://www.grandprairiewoodworks.com http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6453794

Nice! Did you buy the plans?

-- Chuck, Pullman, WA

Great job!

Thanks for the post

Callum

-- For wood working podcasts with a twist check out http://thetimberkid.com/

Yeah, I bought these years ago. I actually have the entire set. I’ve just been waiting for the cash flow and skills to tackle these projects.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

A fine investment indeed! This is one for the favorite list. Excellent Work!

-- Ciao, gth.

Very nice, Great job.

-- Glenn, New Mexico

As a A&C furniture lover, you got my attention. The gentlemans chest looks great, I think you did a wonderful job on it. I do have to admire your patience. I am not one who can build furniture based on somebody elses plans. Give me a picture, and let me start cutting wood :)

Thanks for posting

-- MISSION FURNITURE-My mission is to build furniture

Very nice.

-- Bud, NY, http://tpww.libsyn.com/

That’s a beaut! Correction on the fly is the brain food of woodworking, and you certainly came out looking great.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

working on building a piece right now that is pretty much the same look. Maybe even the same plans. You are ahead of me though. Been working off and on for a year. I am pretty slow : )

-- Kevin, Blue Springs, MO

Awesome job. I think it’s great to share these stories of how challenges are overcome. You’ve now got an heirloom piece! Nice finish, too!

-- -- Jim E., Oswego, NY. Create, have fun, and work safely!

wow, The chest looks great. I’ve so far made the bed and nightstands that match your set from plansnow.com plans. I had to modify the bed plans to make them king sized and I modified the plans for the nightstand considerably to have three drawers instead of the single drawer. My next piece is going to be the gentlemen’s chest and I’m looking forward to starting it. A couple of questions abou the finish you used:

Is the Transtint dye you used a non-grain raising dye with a denatured alcohol solvent? If so, did it work well by mixing it directly with the poly? (I’m assuming you used a wipe-on poly since you said “hand-rubbed”)

The door looks lighter than the drawers in the picture. Is this just due to glare from the flash photo?

Cool! My girlfriend suggested I make the matching night stands next (before I tackle MY bow-arm Morris chair). Yes, I mixed the TransTint Reddish Brown #6003 with 91% isopropyl from Costco. The mix was half the bottle of tint to the entire quart of alcohol (minus a dab to make room for the tint). The ratio isn’t that critical, but if you want a lighter finish, err on the side of less tint. You can always add another coat to get a darker finish if you want. This finish is cumulative, meaning that if you touch up a light spot (like from sanding a bit of glue squeeze-out), it will stain the fully stained parts around it even darker. This can cause some interesting issues, especially if you’re pre-staining the panels so no seasonal movement shows, as the directions suggest. I rationalized the stain differentials as to give the piece an antique look. Nothing 100 years old still has the perfect “Restoration Hardware” finish, but then who would want that? Also, different grain densities absorb the stain at different rates (especially when you glue up the large drawer faces), so if you want a flat finish, paint it (just kidding). The alcohol has almost no noticeable affect on the grain, and you can apply several coats with little prep work between coats. I’ve had luck with 000 steel wool, but it’s not that critical. I’ve touched many Stickley pieces, and they now feel like rough hewn wood. The hand-rubbed poly is after the stain has reached its desired depth. I use at least three coats on the entire piece, and a couple more on the work surfaces.

One word of caution: I was emminently careful about the dadoes in the case, and they still came out +/- 1/16th, which could’ve caused major problems. I eventually tailor fit each drawer to each slot, making fabricating the drawers considerably more complex than need be. If I were to do it over again, I would lay the case parts side by side and index them off each other and use that when making the dadoes instead of just setting the fence to the required distances. I’m rapidly learning that Klausz’s method of joinery that is based on existing dimensions, not on measurements is considerably more accurate. I even use a sliding caliper, and it still gets off!

As you guessed, the lighter portion of the dresser is the flash reflection. The entire dresser is a very dark, rich, reddish brown, which is the best I could come up with on my $70 purchase of various test finishes. After visiting the Arts & Crafts Expo in San Francisco a few weeks ago, I can tell you that it is very close in tone to a Stickley finish, its just a bit richer, deeper, and brings out the flake better, which to me is a plus. The headboard I made months ago looks better and better every day, and when the morning sun catches it just right, it actually sparkles.

Congrats on the bed. I was lucky enough to need a queen, so no mods were needed.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

Outstanding work! I really like this piece. It’s going on the “to build” list for my son’s room(albeit I won’t be using $600.00 worth of QSWO, lol) The finish looks a little more reddish than I generally see on Stickley and other A&C style furniture(at least from the picture,) but still looks good on this piece. Your narrative project description was top notch. I’m sure some might find it wordy compared to other postings, however I quite enjoyed it. You would do well writing articles for one of the wood working magazines. :-) Keep up the great work. -Mark

-- Looking for free wood working plans? Visit us at www.AwlFreePlans.com

Thanks for all the kind words Mark. Yes, the finish reflected the camera flash very red. The TransTint #6003 Reddish Brown finish is really a dark brown with a subtle red undertone. It gives the bedroom set a very warm tone and complements the mica lamp shades on the night stand lamps. I’ve got some #6002 Golden Brown to try on the living room or dining room furniture (thanks to another LJ), and I’m going to get the Mission Brown to just try that. I’ve also ammonia fumed some pieces af red oak (not recommended), so I’ll probably try that on quartersawn white oak (widely recommended).

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

So what do you use the large compartment on the left for?

-- Derek, Bremerton WA --

The large compartment on the left is used for jeans and pants that don’t need to be hung up.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

Nice job. Looks great. Thanks for sharing your experiences with everyone. Sometimes I feel that I’m the only one having problems in the work shop. Good to hear from people like you that share their stories and how they adjusted their work as they went along. Thanks.

Yours is great! Got your hint and came to see. Very nice! Beautiful wood excellent workmanship. That is a nice design.

-- mtnwild (Jack), It's not what you see, it's how you see it.

Beautiful cabinet. I may have to add to my ever growing list of projects.

Given the issues with obtaining nice QSWO locally, this may be an opportunity to use up some of the figured cherry that I have been stashing at the bottom of my wood pile ;-)

Thanks for the inspiration.

-- APLJaK Woodworking, Okanagan Valley, BC

well done Cap

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon