Modern Blanket Chest
This was a wedding gift for a niece. She's more modern than traditional, so I wanted a chest that went along with her style.
The yellow wood is mulberry and will mellow out to a light tan over time. The black elements are walnut that was ebonized with black dye. The inside of the chest is lined with cedar.
I couldn't find any of my design/construction notes, which is too bad. I remember it being fairly complex and I wouldn't mind making another, but I don't relish the thought of figuring out the construction details. The sides are tennoned into the legs and handles along the entire height/width of the side. There is a dado underneath the top cross-piece/handles which allows the boards to expand and contract vertically without showing any gaps or displacement. The top lifts up between the handles and is attached with a piano hinge. The handles are mitered onto the legs which means you have a very weak joint. To solve this there are steel pins running through the legs into the handles which locks the legs to the handles and allows the handles to bear the weight of the chest when it is moved. The interior cedar lining stands vertically and is ship-lapped allowing expansion and contraction without showing the carcass underneath. The tops of the cedar are housed into the box lipping which extends into the box itself and is deeper on the inside than the outside. The bottom of the cedar siding is kept in place with a shoe molding. The bottom of the chest is also cedar.
The yellow wood is mulberry and will mellow out to a light tan over time. The black elements are walnut that was ebonized with black dye. The inside of the chest is lined with cedar.
I couldn't find any of my design/construction notes, which is too bad. I remember it being fairly complex and I wouldn't mind making another, but I don't relish the thought of figuring out the construction details. The sides are tennoned into the legs and handles along the entire height/width of the side. There is a dado underneath the top cross-piece/handles which allows the boards to expand and contract vertically without showing any gaps or displacement. The top lifts up between the handles and is attached with a piano hinge. The handles are mitered onto the legs which means you have a very weak joint. To solve this there are steel pins running through the legs into the handles which locks the legs to the handles and allows the handles to bear the weight of the chest when it is moved. The interior cedar lining stands vertically and is ship-lapped allowing expansion and contraction without showing the carcass underneath. The tops of the cedar are housed into the box lipping which extends into the box itself and is deeper on the inside than the outside. The bottom of the cedar siding is kept in place with a shoe molding. The bottom of the chest is also cedar.