Shaker Chest

[Johanna]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-16-05 AT 07:41PM (CDT)

All done except for drawer dividers and lining. I have ordered Pacific Silvercloth to line the bottom of each drawer. Now I am trying to find a local mattress company that will sell me some foam scraps to make ring/earring compartments.



Johanna - in the Land of Enchantment

[JohnP]

Johanna; I don't know much about shaker designs, but I really like what you have done. Very good work.
JohnP

[handi]

Beautiful work Johanna!

Is it mahogany? (hard to tell on my laptop screen )

By the way, did you find that article you were looking for? If you still need it, I can find it for you.

Ralph

[Johanna]

It's walnut. I matched the original Shaker version as closely as I could except I used QS white oak instead of pine as the secondary wood. I figured that the pine we get these days is nowhere the quality of pine they harvested in the early 1800's.

I did find the article on jewelry box dividers, thanks to you. I had to order a back copy because I just could not find my copy -- I think I may have discarded it by accident.

Thanks also to Carol Reed who directed me to Becksvoort's book. That was where I got the correct measurements for the chest.

Johanna - in the Land of Enchantment

[Johanna]

John, the original chest was built by Elder Richard McNemar for his son Benjamin's tools. Elder McNemar was from Union Village, Ohio, and he built this chest in 1808.

I can tell you that replicating his 3/16" dovetails was quite a challenge for me! The book says that both the horizontal and vertical dividers were double through-mortised, but I only did the long center divider that way. All the others are joined with sliding dovetails.

Johanna - in the Land of Enchantment

[Carol the Router Lady]

You are than welcome for the thanks.

Ya done good, girl! I love it. It must have more than made the requirements for your class. I look forward to seeing it in person next time I am through your way.

Carol

[barbsiddiqui]

Your dovetails are admirable! and I especially like the cockbeading around the drawers. It's beautiful; congratulations. -BarbS

[TJ]

VERY NICE, Johanna!!

Great execution - love the dovetails, both drawer & carcass!!

What class is next?

TJ

[PurpleHeart]

Very, very nice. Great job with your adherence to period detail!
What type of finish did you use?
PurpleHeart

[Johanna]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-19-05 AT 12:05PM (CDT)

TJ, the classes for this fall are "Doors, Drawers, and Hardware" (8 hour every Saturday) and Basic Projects (4 hours on Monday nights). I'm going to make my headboard in Basic Projects. Haven't picked a project for DDH -- it's a new class and all I know about its project is that you have to have at least one door and one drawer. I suspect I will make a wall cabinet.

Purpleheart, I used a water-based dye to even out the color differences between boards, then shellac, then Waterlox Original Satin finish (2 coats).

Thanks for all the nice comments. I learned quite a bit making this piece -- mostly about dovetails, of course, but I found there is still quite a bit to learn about drawers -- this next class should be a big help on that aspect.

Johanna - in the Land of Enchantment