Pennsylvania Spice Box- some progress

 I made some progress over the past couple of weeks, that was to build the back panel and to start on the base and crown moulding. I accomplished both but not without some trial and error. I was determined I was going to make these moulding by hand as I don't have a lot of router bits and sure don't have any that match these profiles. I also resisted using the table saw to hog out a lot of the waste material. Material is walnut.

Crown moulding on the left, base moulding on the right

The tools I used to make the moulding are shown below. A pair of #6 and #8 hollow and rounds, a 7/8" rabbet plane, and a Stanley #66 beading plane which came in handy to cut the bead on the face of the crown moulding.

Base moulding shown in the tray held by a bench dog and tail vise.


The back is a splined  panel made of 1/4" Ash and slides up and into the back dadoes and rabbets.

This is an interesting feature. By removing a drawer and reaching in the front, you lift the back and push out the bottom to remove it. This reveals a secret compartment. These compartments were a popular design feature in 18th century furniture.

The mouldings were a challenge to make as I had never tried doing them by hand before. Sometime ago I had purchased the book shown below with the intentions of learning how to do just that.  

This is a very well written and easy to understand book by Matt Bickford and it removed a lot of the mystery of the process of making various profiles with moulding planes. It's not as easy as it looks but not impossible. As with most tasks using hand tools, patience truly is a virtue. 

Next step is to get the moulding attached to the cabinet and work on the feet. After that the door, then the intricate holly wood inlay. Drawers will be the last step. Will share some more at the next milestone.

Pennsylvania Spice Box - Beginning

Summer fun is about over and it is time to get back in the shop and get busy on some projects that were interrupted earlier in the year. These few photos are the beginnings of a spice box following the plans by Steve Latta. Constructed of walnut with poplar as the secondary wood. Overall size is 22"x15"x11" deep and features 11 drawers. This style chest was used among the 18th century Quakers in PA. A small chest but a ton of hand crafted details.  Minimum power and maximum hand tools will be used for this project, I will post progress as it happens. Excited to get this one going.

Case carcass, all dovetails, rabbets and dadoes are  hand cut

Drawer gallery installed

Photo taken from the project plan page

The chest features a number of hidden compartments such as the slot at the top used to store documents. There is a false back to the center drawer for example, accessed  by lifting the back panel and so forth. Another feature of this box is the line and berry inlay on the door. Very thin Holly strips are used for this and the grooves are all cut by hand as well. Hopefully when it is all said and down mine will look as good as the finished product shown above.

Wedding Ceremony Box

A Wedding Ceremony box, something I was not aware existed until I was asked to make this as a wedding gift. During the ceremony, the bride and groom place two glasses, a bottle of wine, and two letters in the box. The top is secured any number of ways, and it opened at a some predetermined time, 1, 5, 10 years and so on. 

 The wedding invitation was printed by Steam Whistle Letterpress, Main St. OTR,  Cincinnati, OH, and inlaid in the top, covered with no glare glass and captured with a thin oak frame.

The glasses and bottle rest in support cradles designed specifically to fit each. The cradles are lined with thin craft foam.

Top is secured with a brass ball on each corner.  

This box is constructed from reclaimed oak estimated to be over 100 years old. A coat of General Finishes Shaker Maple and antique brown wax to highlight the grain. Inside the top are foam pads for the glasses and since the bottle will be stored upside down, a small block with foam to keep the bottle from tipping forward.  

Size is approx. 12x15x6.

A sectional sofa for a condo deck. I was asked by Uptown Interiors in Warsaw, KY to build the framework for a clients sofa. The ottoman can double as a table, or have a cushion on top. Cedar on all of the exposed areas left to age naturally. This was a "design as you go" project. Uptown made the cushions and she will finish the deck in the a beach theme requested by her client.

 The frame work I used standard construction grade material and covered the "show" sides, including the backs, with cedar. No finish as the cedar will age naturally.

Units are 30" x 30" by 25" high (in the back), the unit closest to the door is 38". The ottoman will double as a table with the cushion removed. 

I wanted to get the "rustic" look requested, I tried to use random sized cedar for around the ottoman. Overall I am pleased with the the finished project