Jewelry Box Curly Maple and Wenge

Just completed this commission piece for a client who had made a previous purchase. The box measures 14"w x 9"d x 6 1/2" h and is constructed from soft curly maple, also known as ambrosia maple, and wenge (wen-gay). The drawer liners are craft foam and worked out surprisingly well. I wanted something different than the traditional felt.

Shown with the lid and drawers closed, note the shape of the front and rear legs.

The curve of the drawer pulls match the curve of the lid handle giving the viewer the impression that there are 3 drawers.

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Now that I have some more time to catch up on projects since I retired 7/1, I finished this chess board I promised my daughter to give her husband as a gift for his birthday. 

Overall size is 16" x 16" x 3 1/2".

The board is constructed of wenge and maple and is set in the frame with clearance for wood movement. There are 2 support rails for the board and I drilled slots in those and mounted the top with screws like a table top. This should allow for wood movement without damage.

The pieces are held in a drawer on both ends of the board. Walnut dividers keep the pieces organized, green felt drawer liners in each.

I applied 2 coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal gloss with a coat of wax. 

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 After a commission job, and a very nice trip to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, I completed the next major step in the bench build, adding the doors and drawers. 

The doors are 1" poplar and are attached with the hinges supplied in the hardware pack from Benchcrafted, the knobs are cherry as is the door latch on the side door. I still need to make two more.

The half blind dovetails on the drawers are hand cut, I used pine for the drawer sides and back, the big reason was I ran out of poplar for the drawers, and I had the pine on hand from a previous job.

Happy with the results of the dovetails, the more I cut the better they look (to me anychoice) and this step was one of the more enjoyable parts of this phase of construction.Next step. Front Leg Vise construction and installation, final fit, and finish, of the drawers and doors, and coloring the cabinet in a yet to be determined color of Milk Paint.

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a small chest of drawers

willl delivered this little piece to shelburne yesterday.  right on lake champlain.  a beautiful house in a beautiful spot.  its a smallish, 7 drawer chest, with sidehung dovetail drawers, felt on the drawer bottoms, and removable low dividers in each drawer.  i think the form is also called a lingerie cabinet and this one will be located in the clients bathroom.  click the photos to enlarge them.

 

 the construction was straightforward.  a ply case with drawer runners routed into it, and solid wood sides, top, and face frame.  the back is a piece of 1/2" plywood, painted on the outside.

  

  standard issue, quartered white pine dovetailed drawers ..

walnut divider grids, with hardware selected by the designer of the piece, michelle holland, an interior designer we have often worked with in the past.

the finish was clear m.l. campbell magnamax lacquer (a nod to the possible moisture in the bath).  a sweet little piece.

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Sabtu, 26 Maret 2016

design matters george walker

theres a lot to read about woodworking in the big old online world.  since i know from their comments that a lot of my readers are woodworkers, i think it only appropriate that i occasionally point out other worthwhile writers to ponder .. george walker is one whose musings i enjoy from time to time ... design matters is his cleverly named and  nicely written contribution to the knowledge stream.  i encourage you to add it to your list.  i was particularly inspired by his recent post on learning to see, a subject i know i have commented on from time to time.  enjoy ...

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