Tea Chest

[Dave Williams]

It's been quite a long time since I have gotten around to working/finishing any of my many projects, but this is one I got done a few weeks ago for a friend. The tea chest made from mahogany, hard maple, walnut, purpleheart, and paduck. There are 13 compartents for loose tea or tea bags and one large compartment for tea strainers. It's about 13 inches by 9 and has hand cut dovetails and a mitred rail on the top.

[John Timberlake]

Very nice job. Don't let my wife see this - she'll want one. Love the mix of woods.

[John Keeton]

Nice job, Dave! Good plan, simple but elegant, and great construction technique. I love the mahogany and maple combination. Not crazy about the walnut, purpleheart and paduak with it, but that is just me. Seems I have always been reluctant to include different colors and textures, though others do it with success.

You have done a great job with this, and other than my personal tastes, it is excellent! Just a nice idea, as well.

[John Thompson]

Very clean design and looks nice. I really like the lids inside but I also would not have varied up the colors on them as John K. The maple ones with the knobs would have probably been my choice for those. But.. different strokes as many will probably love the mix.

Very well done...

[Roy Wall]

Beautiful work Dave - nice joinery and very precise!
What finish did you use?
That is sharp!

[David Keller NC]

Dave - Very nice job, and an inventive and not-so-common purpose for a wooden box. Most folks (including me) get stuck in the rut of making jewelry boxes. One suggestion - it appears, though I can't tell for sure from the photos, that you've used dovetails to join the corners of the main box. I would recommend for aesthetics that you cut the tails on the front/back, and the pins on the sides. There is no difference, in my opinion, between the strength of a box no matter which way they're oriented.

[Dave Williams]

Normally I wouldn't use so much color variation in the lids but the recipeiant wanted something really colorful so I used just about everything I had. The reason I flip the pins and tails is that it's easier for me to adjust the bottom when I'm putting the thing together. For finish I stained the mahogany with minwax red mahogany oil stain and then put 3 coats of polyurethane. For all the woods inside the box I put several coats of shellac as they will be in contact with food. The only problem with all of this is most of my 5 sisters saw this and now they want one too, but I'm back at college so I'll be safe for a few months!

[David Keller NC]

Dave - just a note, but polyurethane that is cured is perfectly acceptable for food contact, as are the vast majority of cured film finishes sold in the United States. The exception would be a very, very old can of linseed oil, which might have driers based on lead oxide in it (the can would have to be 30 years old). The only thing one needs to be careful about when it comes to food contact and WW finishes are certain paints designed for damp locations, which may/may not contain mercury compounds.

One extreme example of a finish that is quite dangerous in its uncured form and perfectly safe for food contact once it is cured is Urishi laquer. This is a natural resin prepared from a tree in Asia that is related to poison ivy, and the uncured finish can cause exactly the same sort of reaction that one would expect from mowing or weeding the plant.

However, once it is cured it is an extraordinarily durable finish that is perfectly safe for food contact - high end rice bowls in Japan are finished with this compound.

[John Lytle]

Now that's cool. I like the lids for the compartments.

Somewhat related question, don't teas also need the same humidity control as cigars? Or, am I thinking about this wrong?

John

[Dave Williams]

If you only use the tea once in a while it's best to keep it in a air tight container, but if you use it up pretty quickly it doesn't really matter. My firend drinks quite a bit of tea, and with the compartment lids and the chest lid it should be ok.

I've heard that polyurethane is ok for a short time, but after 15 years or so it starts to break down and gives off a bad oder and and can cause asthma. Even if it's not ture I like to be on the safe side and use shellac.

[Irvin Cooper]

Dave,

That is beautiful work!

Do you have any closeups/details of the compartment lids?

Thanks.

Irv