Amish Blanket Chest - Cherry & Awesome Maple

[joseph j shields]

I just finished this Amish blanket chest for my son's school auction. It sold for $1,700

Details about the project:

• All solid cherry construction
• I did use "frame & rail" construction, but I was concerned about the strength (the box weighs ~50 lbs) so I also used pocket screws to add some extra strength.
• The cedar lining hides the pocket screws When I cutting/installing the cedar... all I could think of was my childhood pet hamster... his cage was always lined with cedar shaving.
• The cedar lining is the tongue & groove stuff for closets... bought it at Menard's for $19! (it was about 1/4" thick)
• The maple inserts are 1/2" Baltic birch veneered with some truly awesome maple... all from one piece of veneer (which was 13"x8ft!) The photos don't do it justice, but it is covered with bird eyes (equal density throughout) with quilting throughout the entire piece! Very 3-d!
• I used water-based lacquer on the maple... I find oil finishes make the maple too yellow for my tastes. The cherry is finished with Min-Wax wipe-on poly (4 coats)
• The closure was the great surprise. I bought it at Rocklers for $29 (it is very high quality and made in Japan) You can push the lid closed and the the little closure gracefully slows the lid down and closes with a very slight "thump".... very NICE!

Comments welcome!!!










THANKS for looking!!!

-jj

[Dave Anthony]

Very nice, clean lines. That maple is amazing. I like the contrast with the cherry.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Cool. I like the arched stretcher - did the same on my Walnut + QS Sycamore chest.....but the scalloped detail on the legs - that never occurred to me. Wish it had, but now it is stored away in brain cells for next time.

Well done.

[gary Zimmel]

Beautiful work on the blanket chest Joseph.
And congrats on auction. I bet your son was very proud...

[Thomas love]

Nice use of the maple and cherry, That is one nice chest.

[Mike Willeson]

That is one beautiful blanket chest. Love the contrasting woods!

[Bruce Page]

Somebody got a deal on that!

Very nice

[Paul Murphy]

Beautiful! I like the wood, workmanship, and design. I love the grain continuity, that really adds a lot to the piece.

[Roy Wall]

Absolutely fabulous work Joseph! It is beautiful.

[Joe Shinall]

Great job Joseph. Love the maple. Really inspired by that piece.

[David Keller NC]

Really nice job, Joseph, and a really nice design. And finally, you're to be congratulated for your generosity for going to that amount of work for a charity auction.

One comment if you decide to make one for yourself - no doubt the under-lid battens will be enough to keep the top flat enough, but remember that the screw holes in the battens will have to be slotted to prevent the top from splitting (you might already know this - your description doesn't say). I've used several of those lid-closers (I bought mine from Lee valley, but I'm sure it's the same - same price, and same appearance as well as made in Japan) - they're really, really cool. Enough so that I spent several minutes just opening and closing them to watch them work.

[Mark Ball]

Very nice work. Is that based on the plan from Wood Mag? I made a similar chest a while back from western red cedar and birch, nowhere near as nice looking as this beauty.

[John Thompson]

Excellent design and well carried out Joseph. It is quite beautiful wtih it's clean look of cherry and maple which contrasted well. And extra Kudo for doing it for the school auction..

[Van Huskey]

Simple and gorgeous!

[Tom Rash]

Very nice looking. Did you get the plans from anywhere? I would be interested in making something similar for my wife for our first anniversary. Thanks