pkinneb Posted July 22, 2018 Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 Wow that is a lot of work completed right there, looks great! I think black might look better but really just a personal taste thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 9 hours ago, pkinneb said: I think black might look better but really just a personal taste thing. I think I would have to agree with the black looking better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 I'll cast a vote for the grey. If you do choose to color them, I'd suggest a "browning solution" such as used on antique firearms. I think straight black might be too stark in contrast. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted July 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 Well, I spent late afternoon turning knobs for the chest. I should have done this at the start, but thought it would take too long. In all, it required about 2 hours. They are not quite finished, but enough is done so you get an idea. And your thoughts, as always, are welcomed. All along, Lynndy has said, "make the knobs in the same colour as the drawers". She wants them to blend in, and after staring at the chest knob-less for so long, I see her point. So they will be finished in oil and wax, as per the carcase and drawer fronts. The iron knobs are 22mm wide and 21mm high. The new knobs are 18mm wide and 20mm high. The tenon is 3/8" and long enough to extent through the drawer front and be attached with a wedge from inside. Some have a little wax to obtain an idea of the final colour. There are enough here for all the drawers ... The idea is for the knobs not to dominate ... Thoughts? Regards from Perth Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 Should look much better. Slight variations add to the hand made aspects of the whole cabinet. Centering the larger hole on an existing one can be tricky without some sort of jig. I'm sure you are aware of the curved fronts adding to the difficulty of drilling straight too. Do you think wedging aligned horizontally might split a front ? Just a thought that popped into my head. So enjoyable to follow your project ! Thanks for bringing us along. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted July 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 Steve, I originally considered drilling all the knobs to face forward. I even designed a jig to facilitate straight drilling. This is more complicated than it sounds, but I was prepared to do it. However, it also occured to me that placing the knob vertical on each drawer front would flow with the curve and not fight it. I went with this. And no jig needed Regards from Perth Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 24, 2018 Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 I’m just catching up. Curved inside drawer fronts are OCD at it’s finest. Dove tails are impeccable. Wedges on the pulls, tell me it’s not so. This and @davewyo Cabriole Thing will definitely qualify for FWW gallery. If not, I’ll stop my subscription. . Sad part is, they don’t allow enough pics to appreciate the detail and hours spent. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted July 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 The knobs were completed this evening, and a finish coat of Shellawax applied ...Regards from PerthDerek 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted July 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 Shipplapping the back When you see shavings like this ... ... you know a skew rebate plane is at work. Shiplapping is the joining of boards using an overlapped rebate. The advantage of this is to allow for movement while presenting an outward solid and sealed surface. The rebate is on each, but opposite sides of the board. In this case, I have made the rebate 10mm wide. This will allow for an overlap of about 7-8mm. Here I have made use of sections of Black Walnut that would otherwise be considered offcuts ... The boards are 6mm thick, and each rebate is just 3mm high ... Planing take a few minutes with the Veritas Skew Rabbet plane ... When the carcass was dovetailed together, allowance was made for a rebate all around the rear of the chest. This required that the area close to the pins was left uncut ... ... which can be seen at the corners .. The waste was now chiselled out ... The boards could now be cut to length and fitted. The rebate gap between boards was set with a spacer ... No glue is used as the boards are free to expand into the gap. A single screw holds them close to the overlap ... Done ... And no one will see any of this Regards from Perth Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 1 hour ago, derekcohen said: Shipplapping the back When you see shavings like this ... ... you know a skew rebate plane is at Looks like Shirley Temple got her head shaved ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 That turned out great! Nicely tuned plane there as well 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 I think the turned knobs is definitely going to look better. Like you said they should blend in with the project real well. A simple thing like choosing a knob can make or break a project. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted July 30, 2018 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 As requested by a number of people, I have clocked the screws at the rear of cabinet. Gad, some are so OCD! One coat of oil so far .. Regards from Perth Derek 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted July 30, 2018 Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 That’s beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 30, 2018 Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 Your time or ours? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted July 30, 2018 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 When I attached the metal knobs (too large and not right ... ugh!), I was swayed by Lynndy, who said to place the knobs square to the drawer front, since she liked the idea of them fanning from the front of the chest and accentuating the curve. In practice, this was not a good idea. Opening the drawers felt wierd - one is used to a drawer opening in the directing of the pull. These drawers did not do so. The opened at an angle to the pull. It felt wierd. Lynndy thought it charming. She is wierd. Having turned new Black Walnut knobs to match the drawer fronts, against the advice of some who argued for dark, perhaps Ebony knobs, I know had to decide how I would fit them. As before? No, I did not want that. I wanted to set the square to the drawer recess. There were two issues here: how to drill them the same as each other.? It would look a mess if some varied out of line. And then there was the fact that the drawer fronts curves and angled, which meant that the knobs would go in at an angle. One side would sit in- and the other side proud of the surface. I designed a couple of jigs to drill accurately. Fortunately I did not waste time making them ( I have no time in the kitty to get this piece ready for the upcoming West Australian Woodshow. It is days away). The simplest solution occurred to me last night. Use the drill press. Duh! All that was needed was to ensure the drawer was held vertically, and then use progressively larger bits until the size I needed (3/8"), the tenon of the knob. That went smoothly. The holes were then widened slightly on one side with a step drill bit to allow to seat the knobs evenly. I have begun installing the knobs with wedges. The cabinet and drawer fronts have had a coat of Livos oil, and you can now get an idea of how the knobs blend in (the drawers are proud of the cabinet as the oil is drying) I completed the base for the chest this afternoon, but I am not thrilled with the design. I'll make a decision tomorrow whether to use it or not. Regards from Perth Derek 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted July 30, 2018 Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 I wonder what that would be like, if you took it to a full 180*? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted July 31, 2018 Report Share Posted July 31, 2018 Beautiful work/craftsmanship. I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted August 1, 2018 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 FINAL Talk about down to the wire. It's 11 p.m. and I've just completed a coat of Howard's wax after the last coat of Livos Universal Wood Oil. The drawers were all finished inside and out with Ubeaut Hard Shellac (dewaxed blond shellac). The inside of the chest (drawer recesses) was given a coat of paste wax. Tomorrow morning I take the chest to the Perth Showground for the annual West Australian Wood Show, where it will take its place among others in the furniture competition. I started this piece 3 months ago. I could tell you how the base gave me fits. It was a difficult task to design a stand for a curved cabinet. Probably why Krenov never built an apothecary chest! Last night I completed the base, and Lynndy loved it. Compound curves forever. Damn sexy. The base, that is. But when I placed the chest on it, the combination looked awful ... top heavy ... ugh! I was out of wood, out of time, and it looked like I was out of the competition. This morning I woke up and had an inspiration. Cut the legs shorter. This evening, after work, I did just that. And I like the finished piece. I think the balance is right. So does Lynndy, which matters. The dimensions are 1000 high (39") x 460mm (18") across. Here is the chest, and where it will be positioned in the entrance hall ... A few pics of the base ... Much time was spent designing and building the drawers, which curve across the fronts ... Yes, I changed the steel for brass screws (no slotted ones the correct size, however) ... And made knobs in the same Black Walnut, and fitted coplanar to the drawer recess (that was a headache before finally coming up with the simplest solution, to use the drill press!) .. I was very pleased with the drawer stops ... ... and you can see the shiplapped back if you peak ... It has been a long, but exhilarating build. I hope that you got something from it too. Regards from Perth Derek 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Awesome piece Derek!! Thanks for taking us along. Good luck at the competition!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Awesome piece of fine furniture ! I hope you do well in the competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 That is truly a legacy piece of furniture.. Very well crafted beyond anything I could hope to do. It's a piece of furniture that is a piece of art. That took a lot of faith to cut the legs off of the base so close to the competition. Good luck at the show. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Wonderful result & good luck with the show. Thanks for sharing this with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim DaddyO Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Very handsome piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Beautiful piece of art in a functioning chest. The ride you took us on was and is inspirational. Thank you Derek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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