jewelry chest in progress

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Oliver Springs, TN
Here's a couple of pics of a jewelery chest I've been working on for my daughter for WAY to long. It's been one of those work on a few hours then it sits for a few weeks. I've decided it's time to get this thing finished.

The two pics are with the doors leaned against the case and the second is with the drawer fronts just stuck where they go. The two drawer panels where book matched, but when I planed them the color changed.:dunno: I've got the drawer parts cut and will start on them tonight. It'll have 3 drawers in the bottom. The wood is mahogany and ambrosia maple. When I get ready to hang the doors I'm planning on using knife hinges. I've never used them before so I'll be asking some questions. The big gap at the top of the bottom drawers isn't really that big, it's because I have the fronts pulled forward.
 

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I have those projects to. That is going to be striking. Mahogany and spalted ??? You may have just inspired me to go finish a couple small items that have been ignored for too long. Thanks!
 
John this is going to turn out sweet , and great choice on woods > the door insert is real pretty . Well done :thumb:.............Marshall
 
john , i learned in a history class, that rome wasnt built in a day, but that it was something spectacular:) so do fret the time frame on your project.. and when you do book matching with spaulted wood or in this case ambrosia the bugs dont go the same way each time its just the nature of it so your panels are book matched just the bugs had different ides while en route:) that is gonna be really nice when you get the finish on it,, :thumb::thumb:
 
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Here's a couple shots of the drawers finished and fitted.

Thanks Larry for suggesting the wooden runners, once waxed they'll work like a charm.

The dovetails weren't perfect, but they'll do I guess.

I was planning on using 3/8's brass knobs for the drawer pulls. I have several ebony pen blanks and I'm now debating on making the pulls from the ebony. How do you think the ebony would look?
 

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looks like you made alot of head way there:):thumb: and i think a contrasting knob of ebony might go well with your chest.. make just one and let us see what it would look like..:)
 
That is going to be really nice John. Simple brass knobs would be a nice touch. The ebony may be too dark depending on the coloration and the shape. If really black and round the knobs could look like bullet holes. If the ebony is more chocolate and your finish on your drawer faces darkens the pigmentation you could find a nice blend.
 
john has a good point i dont have ebony and after i wrote that i realized that ebony is black:eek: so glenns idea of a simple brass knob would be better..an if you can ask the recipient what they want? it worked for me:D
 
Life's been busy so I haven't had much time to work on the chest. I did get a few hours today though. I've been kind of dreading installing the knife hinges. But following David Knipfer's http://www.woodworkstuff.net/DKnife.html instructions it wasn't bad. I dry fit the doors and I have a little planing to do for final fit. I left them about 1/8" wide for this reason. Here's a couple shots of the hinges.

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I'm going to stain the cabinet for a better contrast with the door panels. I stained the door parts before assembly so I wouldn't get any on the panel. I also put a coat of shellac on the panel before I inserted it into the door. This picture is close to what the final color will be. The color isn't that uneven in real life. It must the the camera.

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I've got everything sanded and ready to start staining when I get a chance.


That is going to be really nice John. Simple brass knobs would be a nice touch. The ebony may be too dark depending on the coloration and the shape. If really black and round the knobs could look like bullet holes. If the ebony is more chocolate and your finish on your drawer faces darkens the pigmentation you could find a nice blend.

Glen and Larry thanks for the reply. It got me thinking about the ebony and I think your right. I think the ebony would be too dark. I'm going to go with brass. I've been looking at 3/8 or 1/2 inch. What size would you go with? Does anyone have a source for small solid brass knobs.

Thanks for all the help and the suggestions.
 
I love the ambrosia maple with the mahogany, its an absolutely perfect choice of woods. This is turning out to be a fantastic jewelry box.
I didnt have any maple that fancy, but I had some decent figured wood when I made my daughter a lingerie chest, used the mystery wood and mahogany, sapele(and some spanish cedar).
Would have liked some of that maple though... really sharp.
 
Thanks everyone for the comments and help.

I put the stain on the rest of the parts this afternoon. I'm going to let it dry overnight and start with the finish probably tomorrow.

I'm going to line the drawers with blue velvet that my daughter picked out. I'll probably start on that tomorrow also.

I've been looking for ring inserts. They're either too big, too small, too much, or the wrong color. Has anyone ever made their own?

Thanks again:thumb:
 
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