Block front chest

[Brett Robson]

Hey guys,

Here's a few pictures of my recently completed version of a Massachusetts block front chest.

I used some wormy cherry for the bulk of it. I had a stack of it I had purchased a couple years ago but never settled on a worthy project. I figured this chest would be as good a project for it as any so into the planer it went.

I filled the worm holes on the top, sides and drawer fronts but left a few open elsewhere for some character. As the wood was rough sawn and very weathered I guessed it had been air dried for quite some time. When I planed it down from 5/4, I realized it had a large disparity in color from one board to the next which meant I had to scrap my initial plan for just a garnet shellac over an oil finish.

For the finish, I ended up first sealing all the cherry surfaces with some amber shellac. Next I gave it two glaze coats, wiping off the excess, of Zar's antique mahogany stain. Next I gave it two more glaze coats of Zar's cherry stain, leaving more stain behind on the final application. Next step was a spray coat of Sealcoat, followed by three spray coats of satin Enduro-var.

The drawers are made from poplar, which I just gave a couple quick brush coats of Sealcoat inside and out.

This was a challenging piece for me. I roughed out the drawer fronts on the band saw, but all the final shaping was done with my #78 rabbet plane, a card scraper and rasp. The drawer fronts were the hardest part. The dovetails are hand cut, which I'm reasonably pleased with how they turned out.

The brasses are from Horton.

Thanks for looking and as always, comments or suggestions are are always welcome!

[Paul Murphy]

It's beautiful, and a credit to your craftsmanship and to your finishing choices.

A question, did you shellac the outside of the drawer sides? I've always been afraid to try doing so, after being told a finished drawer side would scuff and stick. I'm always willing to learn, and the drawers look great!

[Brett Robson]

I did shellac the outside of the drawer sides. I always do, then apply some paste wax after sanding the shellac smooth. It makes the drawers slide much easier IMO.

[Andrew Hughes]

Really nice work Brett.The color is outstanding.Cherry is one of my favorites so hard to find decent stuff.

[Patrick McCarthy]

Brett, very, very nice. Ouite impressive.

Do you have any photos to post from when it was in the assembly process?

Thank you for posting.

[Cody Colston]

That's a very fine piece of furniture and excellent craftsmanship. The color turned out great, IMHO. Well done.

[Chris Hester]

That's beautiful!

I hope to be able to make something like that some day.

[Mike Wilkins]

Really beautiful piece and fine workmanship. This chest is on my bucket list of projects for the future.

[Jerome Hanby]

Not my favorite color for the finish, but that's just my own quirk, the job on the finish is top notch! Great job on the drawers and the rest speaks for itself.

[Brett Robson]

Thanks for the feedback guys! It's always nice to hear a kind word from those that know and understand the effort that goes into a nice piece of furniture.

[Mark Valsi]

Excellent in all aspects, design, proportion, wood choice, craftsmanship.

I LOVE those hand cut dovetails !!

Great job !

[Brett Robson]

Do you have any photos to post from when it was in the assembly process?

Patrick, I only have these two lousy cell phone pictures taken during construction. I know I took more, but I must have deleted them.

[Dennis Ford]

That is a beautiful chest, the workmanship is fantastic.

[Patrick McCarthy]

Brett, thank you. I am going to attempt something like that one of these days.

[gary Zimmel]

Sweet piece Brett. Thanks for the look see.