Towel Chest from Red Elm and Ash

[scott spencer]

Here's my first project of the season. It's a towel chest for our bathroom made mainly of red elm. The doors and drawer sides are ash. The drawer has handcut dovetails, the sides are frame and panel...nothing too fancy. The stain is a combination of golden oak, cherry, and early American. Some of the pics look a bit more red than it really is...the pics of the top and dovetails are more realistic of the actual color.

[Ed Sallee]

Scott - that is a fantastic looking piece! Not sure what else I can say other than Nice Work!!!!

[John Thompson]

Very nice, Scott. I like the arch on top of the cabinet door and that is a very nice piece of grain on the drawer fronts. It's been a long time since I have seen elm used on a piece. The finish is very nice.

[Garth Keel]

Great job!

[Jim Pritchett]

Great work Scott,
I loved the color. Can you possibly post the exact proportions of the 3 stains you used?

[Jim Pritchett]

Great work Scott,
I love the color. Could you possibly post the exact proportations of the 3 stains you used?

[scott spencer]

Great work Scott,
I loved the color. Can you possibly post the exact proportions of the 3 stains you used?

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Jim - The process was no where near scientific enough to use as a guide. It was purely trial and error. I had a color in mind that I was trying to achieve that was kind of a cross between golden oak and early American. I basically used Minwax spray golden oak, then noted the big color differences and reached for a combination of early American and cherry stain. Elm has some good natural red color but also has a lot of color variation that includes some brown and pronounced blond areas, so different boards required a different mix to get them to blend the way I wanted. The ash also stains differently than elm and took more cherry to get it close.

[Mark Valsi]

Very nice job ! I like that ash !

[John Keeton]

Very nice! Elm has such a unique grain pattern, and in a piece like this, it really shows well and blends nicely with the ash.

[Jim Hill]

Beautiful!!!

Jim

[Keith Christopher]

Outstanding !

[Brent Ring]

Inspiring!

[Roy Wall]

Scott --

There are many beautiful little details in this cabinet -- terrific work! It's quite a show piece.......

[Todd Young]

Beautiful. I love the piece as a whole, but of it all, I really like the feet. I know that may sound kinda wierd, but I love how they accentuate it. Anyone that hand cuts dovetails is an inspiration to me. Great work.

[scott spencer]

Beautiful. I love the piece as a whole, but of it all, I really like the feet. I know that may sound kinda wierd, but I love how they accentuate it. Anyone that hand cuts dovetails is an inspiration to me. Great work.

Todd - You and my wife must think alike. I was uncertain about whether or not to include the feet. My wife (who usually takes forever to make a decision), took one brief look and gave the feet a nod and a smile.

Thanks...