allencrane Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Hi everyone! I finally finished my chest this week. I used African Mahogany and Ebony, and a 3:2 ratio of General Finishes Medium Brown to Cinnamon, followed by the lacquer finish, and the color came out great. The color matches our living room furniture perfectly, but I have to admit that all those ebony plugs (and all that work!) are a little more subdued that I would have liked. That said, even though the base color is a deep brown, the afternoon sun simply makes it glow like a fine cabernet. This is my first "real" piece of furniture, and I'm very happy with the results. I've only been acquainted with Greene and Greene for about 2 years now, and I've always hoped to do a project that is worthy of that level of craftsmanship. Thanks Marc for a terrific project and series, to Aaron for another masterful set of plans, and to all of you who posted and shared your inspiration along the way! All the best, Allen 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Olsen Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Well done ! Great to see more peoples finishing this project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisphr Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Looks awesome! Fits in well with your other decor. I know a lot of folks don't like the look of the ebony plugs but I think the finish options you chose really compliment the the complete design of the chest, ebony and all. Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allencrane Posted November 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Thanks Carl and Chris! At first I was thinking I had got it too dark, but it's really growing on me, especially with the other furniture. I probably just wanted the plugs to pop more, but the fact that the proud and polished surfaces of the plugs actually do provide a visual distinction, in addition to the subtle color difference. When I watched the video on finishing, Marc said he put "2 coats" on. After re-watching the video, I think that Marc meant that he went around twice and made sure that it was double-covered with the dye stain. Instead of asking (which I should have done), I allowed the first coat to dry, then sanded it smooth, then applied a new coat, sanding between each layer of dye and the 2 coats of lacquer. I think my "second coat" was really more like 3 to 4 coats, by the time all was said and done (I used about 1 3/4 qts of stain combined). I applied the inside second coat by brush, since I did not have enough in the bottom of my quart spray can to feed the sprayer, so it went on even darker on the inside too. Nevertheless, it all worked out. My wife asked me today - "Hey, when are you going to put furniture polish on it?" Polish? We don't need no stinking polish! Anyway, she was right...you can see in the above photos that it brightened up even more when I used a little Murphy Oil Soap on it. It truly warms up the room. And now you know the rest of the story! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slachammer Posted November 4, 2013 Report Share Posted November 4, 2013 Looks great I like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbeaulieu Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Congrats Allen. Looks great. How long would you say it took you? Just curious to see if I'm the slowest in the group! Also, how do you like the magnets? I'm seriously considering something more secretive and necessarily more complicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayasTeo Posted November 8, 2013 Report Share Posted November 8, 2013 I hadn't check the forum in a while , I am glad that this project is being finish by more and more woodworkers.....yours turn out very nice , I really like the cinnamon shade.....congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allencrane Posted November 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2013 Congrats Allen. Looks great. How long would you say it took you? Just curious to see if I'm the slowest in the group! Also, how do you like the magnets? I'm seriously considering something more secretive and necessarily more complicated. Well, I guess you could say that I was approximately 1 month delayed from the pace of the videos. I certainly doubt that you are the slowest...I actually wished that I had gone slower, the reason being that I would have lowered the floor of the chest and used more of the dead space in the bottom. I opted to do just one side with the hidden drawer, and no magnets yet. That's a pretty easy detail though, if I do want to do that later. Speaking of secretive, I actually thought about doing a hidden drawer that would require me cannibalizing parts from my Barska biometric safe, and utilize that hardware here. But I haven't gone forward on that, at least not yet. If I did, I may want to do a "ground up" design change, including something that seals off the bottom really well. Otherwise, there are a lot of leverage points from the underside that could be pried off, given sufficient force. Please post the finished product! Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noyak20 Posted December 9, 2013 Report Share Posted December 9, 2013 I absolutely love that finish! I had my wife and mother-in-law looking through different guild builds. If there was a piece they liked, I was going to have them Bell Forest me some wood for the project. The favorite piece from everything they saw was your chest! Well done. I've got a pile of African Mahogany just waiting for deer season to get over:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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