2018-05-22T09-28-58

While the finish on the knitting tote is curing, it is time to start a new project. I am really liking my frame saw for cross cuts even though using it on a 13”-wide board is pushing its capacity. Sawing on the line and perpendicular to the board seems so much easier than with my panel saw. The only drawback is the 18 tpi blade, borrowed from my miter saw, is really too fine (slow) for these cuts, but I had a hard time finding a supplier in Canada and was hitching to try; I think this Summer I will build a turning saw with a more appropriate blade. What’s the new project? A 16/17th-century sea chest in Red Oak, inspired by a photo in Jim Tolpin’s The Toolbox Book. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #FrameSaw #Woodworking

2018-08-03T11-19-42

I just received the sea chest hardware from Matt and Karen at #CloverdaleForge ; they did a fantastic job and even included hand forged nails for the corner straps and a lovely thank you note! It will be a few weeks before I can start working on this new chest and can't wait to see the result with this beautiful hand-forged hardware. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-09-27T13-25-38

I finally started working on the sea chest project; weeks ago I had sawed the pieces to rough length and hand planed a reference face and edge on each piece; they moved some, so last week I re-planed the references; this week I took them to #LaRemise and passed them through the surface planer (yes, I cheated a bit to spare my hands), getting to about 1/16” from final thickness; overnight, the pieces cupped and twisted a little bit again; I had to sharpen my bench planes three times to get everything to final dimensions! I am sure sailor’s chests in the 16th century would have been much rougher, but I just could not resist! Now I taped the parts together to decide whether I like the proportions; I think squatter would look nicer, but at the current height I could even sit on it :-) #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-09-28T10-55-55

Inspired by the sea chest described in #JimTolpin The Toolbox Book, I have decided to use simple angled rabbets and nails for my sea chest. I chopped most of the waste with a chisel and then refined the slope of the rabbet running my shoulder plane against my 78° sliding dovetail guide, clamping the whole thing to my saw bench; that leaves some waste next to the rabbet shoulder that is easily pared away with a chisel. The end pieces are ready; next are the angled rabbets in the side pieces. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-09-28T11-04-39

Inspired by the sea chest described in #JimTolpin The Toolbox Book, I have decided to use simple angled rabbets and nails for my sea chest. I chopped most of the waste with a chisel and then refined the slope of the rabbet running my shoulder plane against my 78° sliding dovetail guide, clamping the whole thing to my saw bench; that leaves some waste next to the rabbet shoulder that is easily pared away with a chisel. The end pieces are ready; next are the angled rabbets in the side pieces. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-09-28T11-16-01

Inspired by the sea chest described in #JimTolpin The Toolbox Book, I have decided to use simple angled rabbets and nails for my sea chest. I chopped most of the waste with a chisel and then refined the slope of the rabbet running my shoulder plane against my 78° sliding dovetail guide, clamping the whole thing to my saw bench; that leaves some waste next to the rabbet shoulder that is easily pared away with a chisel. The end pieces are ready; next are the angled rabbets in the side pieces. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-09-28T14-30-20

Inspired by the sea chest described in #JimTolpin The Toolbox Book, I have decided to use simple angled rabbets and nails for my sea chest. I chopped most of the waste with a chisel and then refined the slope of the rabbet running my shoulder plane against my 78° sliding dovetail guide, clamping the whole thing to my saw bench; that leaves some waste next to the rabbet shoulder that is easily pared away with a chisel. The end pieces are ready; next are the angled rabbets in the side pieces. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-05T12-53-29

After cutting a knife wall, I am cutting the shoulder of the angled rabbet for the sea chest side panels with the aid of a 90° guide. I found that it was easier to clamp the guide to the piece on top of my saw bench rather than on the workbench, but I had to add a box of scrap wood to weigh the saw bench down and make it more stable while sawing. I tried using my cross-cut backsaw, but its handle did not clear the fence; my tenon saw was better, but it tended to bind in its kerf; in the end, my fine-tooth frame saw worked beautifully. BTW, while sawing I hold the small wood block (the one on top of the guide in the photo) against the saw blade with my free hand to make sure it follows the guide and my knife line perfectly. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-11T11-54-42

I have never stained a project before, but wanted to try it on the sea chest to give it a bit of an older look. I decided to stain the interior before the glue up, hoping it will be easier to get a good finish. The General Finishes Antique Oak really brought out the figure in my Red Oak pieces. I am planning to add a few coast of shellac to the interior, but am going to try something more complex on the exterior. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-11T12-21-38

I have never stained a project before, but wanted to try it on the sea chest to give it a bit of an older look. I decided to stain the interior before the glue up, hoping it will be easier to get a good finish. The General Finishes Antique Oak really brought out the figure in my Red Oak pieces. I am planning to add a few coast of shellac to the interior, but am going to try something more complex on the exterior. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-11T15-35-17

I have never stained a project before, but wanted to try it on the sea chest to give it a bit of an older look. I decided to stain the interior before the glue up, hoping it will be easier to get a good finish. The General Finishes Antique Oak really brought out the figure in my Red Oak pieces. I am planning to add a few coast of shellac to the interior, but am going to try something more complex on the exterior. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-12T12-11-39

After applying a second coat of stain, I finished the interior of the sea chest with two coats of shellac, brushed on. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-15T14-59-27

They say you can never have enough clamps; for the sea chest, I used ten clamps; I am glad I took the time to saw a number of wedges so I could do a good job clamping the canted sides of the chest. Given the angled rabbet joinery, I did not really need clamps to pull in the end pieces, but it is always better to err on the cautious side :-) #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-19T09-03-42

Here is the sea chest with two coats of General Finishes Antique Oak stain and three coats of light yellow shellac. Before attacking the chest, I tried a few combinations on scrap pieces from the same boards I used for the chest: natural, with one or two coats of stain, with and without a glaze coat of Dark Walnut gel stain; I decided to forego the glaze coat because it changed the overall color too much, even though it did pop the grain a lot. When I got to staining the real thing, I was still hesitating so I tried some extra combinations on the chest skids (they ended up different from one another) and went with two coats of stain on the chest carcass and three on the lid and its cleats. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-19T15-25-12

Here is the sea chest with two coats of General Finishes Antique Oak stain and three coats of light yellow shellac. Before attacking the chest, I tried a few combinations on scrap pieces from the same boards I used for the chest: natural, with one or two coats of stain, with and without a glaze coat of Dark Walnut gel stain; I decided to forego the glaze coat because it changed the overall color too much, even though it did pop the grain a lot. When I got to staining the real thing, I was still hesitating so I tried some extra combinations on the chest skids (they ended up different from one another) and went with two coats of stain on the chest carcass and three on the lid and its cleats. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-19T15-25-57

Here is the sea chest with two coats of General Finishes Antique Oak stain and three coats of light yellow shellac. Before attacking the chest, I tried a few combinations on scrap pieces from the same boards I used for the chest: natural, with one or two coats of stain, with and without a glaze coat of Dark Walnut gel stain; I decided to forego the glaze coat because it changed the overall color too much, even though it did pop the grain a lot. When I got to staining the real thing, I was still hesitating so I tried some extra combinations on the chest skids (they ended up different from one another) and went with two coats of stain on the chest carcass and three on the lid and its cleats. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-22T13-06-19

I started installing the hardware on the sea chest. The corner straps are attached with square-cut nails that go all the way through the panels and are clenched on the inside of the chest. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-22T13-07-22

I started installing the hardware on the sea chest. The corner straps are attached with square-cut nails that go all the way through the panels and are clenched on the inside of the chest. #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-24T11-06-17

Here are a few beauty shots of the finished sea chest (although I should have dusted it before taking the photos). I had a really hard time clenching the massive staples (hasp) and cotter pins (handles) on the inside of the chest, but really have to thank Matt and Karen at #CloverdaleForge for their beautiful work: it makes all the difference on this chest! #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-24T11-06-40

Here are a few beauty shots of the finished sea chest (although I should have dusted it before taking the photos). I had a really hard time clenching the massive staples (hasp) and cotter pins (handles) on the inside of the chest, but really have to thank Matt and Karen at #CloverdaleForge for their beautiful work: it makes all the difference on this chest! #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-24T11-06-56

Here are a few beauty shots of the finished sea chest (although I should have dusted it before taking the photos). I had a really hard time clenching the massive staples (hasp) and cotter pins (handles) on the inside of the chest, but really have to thank Matt and Karen at #CloverdaleForge for their beautiful work: it makes all the difference on this chest! #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-24T11-07-27

Here are a few beauty shots of the finished sea chest (although I should have dusted it before taking the photos). I had a really hard time clenching the massive staples (hasp) and cotter pins (handles) on the inside of the chest, but really have to thank Matt and Karen at #CloverdaleForge for their beautiful work: it makes all the difference on this chest! #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-24T11-08-58

Here are a few beauty shots of the finished sea chest (although I should have dusted it before taking the photos). I had a really hard time clenching the massive staples (hasp) and cotter pins (handles) on the inside of the chest, but really have to thank Matt and Karen at #CloverdaleForge for their beautiful work: it makes all the difference on this chest! #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking

2018-10-24T11-10-27

Here are a few beauty shots of the finished sea chest (although I should have dusted it before taking the photos). I had a really hard time clenching the massive staples (hasp) and cotter pins (handles) on the inside of the chest, but really have to thank Matt and Karen at #CloverdaleForge for their beautiful work: it makes all the difference on this chest! #SeaChest #Chest #HandToolsOnly #RedOak #Oak #Woodworking