chest on a chest

[Gus Dundon]

Well thought out design and wood selection and the craftsmanship execution are perfect.

[Jim Matthews]

You're talented, skilled and determined.

How I hate you.
(Bet you've still got all your hair, too.)
Kudos

[Pat Barry]

Sweet job on this project! I'm sure that will become a prized possession for many generations. Simply beautiful work!

[Bill Gugel]

Wow! That is a beauty. With the compound angles I understand the cussing.

[Allen Jordan]

That is an amazingly complicated piece that came out beautifully. I liked the use of hand tools in your video... those compound angle dovetails look complicated as crap. Which planes did you use to achieve the side and drawer contours?

[Evan Patton]

Stunning. A very challenging design nicely executed. Great job!

[Brett Robson]

That is an amazingly complicated piece that came out beautifully. I liked the use of hand tools in your video... those compound angle dovetails look complicated as crap. Which planes did you use to achieve the side and drawer contours?

Hi Allen

First after using the table saw to remove the bulk of the waste, I used a scorp to hog off the little steps the dado blade left. Next I used my #10 jack rabbet to bring the convex curves in line with the patterns clamped on both sides of the blank.

For the concave curves, I used the scorp and spokeshaves to fair the curves, followed by card scrapers and finally a little sanding.

It was time consuming but not terribly difficult to shape the sides. I just worked slowly and continued to check my progress with a straightedge laying it across the patterns to see when I had removed enough material.

The drawer sides were easier to shape. I made a pattern of the contour of the inside of the case the full height of each drawer opening, then traced that contour onto the sides and planed the waste away with my #5, followed by a smoother.

The second drawer down on the bottom chest has sides and front that have an inside (concave) curve. That one I had to shape using a large round plane to plane the long hollow, then work it down with a round bottom spokeshave before scraping and sanding.

The drawer fronts were pretty easy. After assembly, I stuck them in their openings and traced the side contour onto their edge and planed away the waste.

The compound angle dovetails were a pain. After I had made several botched attempts, I finally figured out the process but it was still pretty challenging. I had to make the pins wider than I like to as the angle made then run across the grain. I broke several of them in the process and had to start over with wider pins.

Thanks for the comments!