It's Done! The Blanket Chest is Done!

[Warren White]

Hi folks,
Well, after many months (Manny Hernandez helped me mill the wood the first week of August last year) the blanket chest is DONE!! Hooray!! My daughter asked for this in Junior High School; she is married with two children.... and has been very patient.

I am very pleased with the results, and I could not stand to count the mistakes I made while I was building the chest. Hopefully I learned from each of the mistakes....that should make me a genius ;)

Thanks for all of you who offered suggestions and encouragement along the way. I literally could not have done this without the Creeker's help. You may remember my cries of anguish during the dovetailing operation that went sour. Again, thank you so much for all of the help!

I hope the pictures do justice to the wood. It is spectacular.

Best to all,
Warren

[Jim Becker]

Very nice, Warren! Spectacular wood is definitely accurate...and great dovetails, too.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Very, very nice work! Worth the wait I'd say!!!

[Richard Wolf]

Nice job, well done. I hope your next project isn't a rush job!!

Richard

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Warren, that is a great looking chest! If this is a sign of things to come, you are going to build a LOT of heirlooms. (Depending on how long they take :D)

[Michael Stafford]

Beautiful! Simply beautiful! ;) :)

[Mark Singer]

Excellent work! Beautiful execution!

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I really like that chest; it's beautiful. At least you got it done before the grand kids graduated college. :)

[Jim McCarty]

Warren, that's just plain beautiful. You've created a family heirloom that will live for many generations. I may have to build one too. My wife has been wanting one for years. Regards, Jim

[Don Baer]

Very Nice. Too bad my wife already has one. Now I don't have an excuse to make one. Oh wait a minute I can make one for the Grandaughter...:rolleyes:

[Effie Lever]

Great looking chest, the wood you choose is magnificent. I'm sure the next one will be a lot easier.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Beautiful work indeed, Warren. The curly maple is exceptional, and I love the jointery.

- Vaughn

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Fantastic work Warren! Beautiful wood and craftsmanship! And the daughter.....now she's old enough to appreciate it!

[Alan Turner]

Very nice indeed.

[Doug Shepard]

Wow - Looks like it was worth the wait.

[Christian Aufreiter]

Wonderful wood, excellent work and clear design. Thanks for the pics.

Regards,

Christian

[Martin Shupe]

Congratulations, Warren! It sure looks beautiful! Excellent mix of woods and I like the style very much. Well done, my friend!

[Bruce Page]

Beautiful!!!

[Corey Hallagan]

I have to agree with the others Warren, very nice work, finish, joinery etc. Thanks for the pics.

Corey

[Mike Scoggins]

Warren,

I love it...and much more importantly, I'm sure your daughter loves it. Great job! It's clearly a piece that shows the uniqueness only a woodworker can add.

Mike

[Bryan Nuss]

A simply stunning job, Warren! Beautiful choice of woods.

[Roy Wall]

Warren,

Your work is spectacular...........I can imagine how your daughter feels!

Great Stuff!!!

[John Shuk]

It is gorgeous! Well worth the wait I'd say.

[Charlie Jones]

Excellent. One feels so good after creating an heirloom...

[Jerry Olexa]

Beautiful wood, dovetails and craftmanship! Great job!!

[Dennis Peacock]

Very nice Warren....!!!! Great choice of wood too!! :D

[Warren White]

I really appreciate the kind words. I am unable to express how much they mean to me. I am just starting out on this journey and I agonize over every detail. I am probably the only person who can't sleep at night because I am stewing over 1) how to do something better, 2) how to fix my mistakes, 3) what design steps do I need to take and when. There were no plans for this chest. It just came out of my heart. Probably because of that, there were many, many mistakes. Right up to making the box to go in the chest. I was routing the dado for the drawer bottom a little at a time and put one of the sides on the router table in the wrong orientation and put a big gouge in the top of the side! I had to mill down each side to match, which made the dovetails too long. I made one end of the base three times because of mistakes in adding the support upon which the base rested.

I took the chest to my daughter tonight. She is a very tender hearted person, and we were both in tears as she ran her hands over the chest. Her daughter went and got two of her dolls to put in the chest, but when we explained they couldn't breathe in there, she said "They don't need to breathe; they are dolls! They just need to sleep there."

Thank you all. You are a great bunch. And, as alluded to in several posts, I hope no one is in a hurry for my next project, whatever that will be!!!
Warren

[Dan Forman]

That's a piece that will be treasure for years to come, a real showcase of your talent.

Dan

[Doug Cowan]

Definitely an heirloom, beautiful woods and first rate craftsmanship!

[Dale Rodabaugh]

Way Kool Man:cool: :cool: :cool:

[John Renzetti]

Hi, Really great job. Thanks for posting the pictures.
take care,
John

[Kent Cori]

Oustanding Warren! I really like the contrasting woods. The joinery is obviously top notch.