Build thread : Cedar Blanket Chest for a Client an its got a couple Nice twists to it

Roy Millsaps

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399
Location
St. Mary's, Georgia
Well my client said I can do a build thread on this Cedar blanket chest just can't say there names

So the first thing I did was get all my Cedar I had together an put it in the shop here, so it will accumate . (Sorry Canny Spell)
Measurements for this chest is 50" wide x 20" deep X 20" tall Its that's big
I got 4/4 an some 8/4 cedar
This build is going to take some time to do so bear with me on this thread
So here some pictures of the cedar I am using for this blanket chest

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I have been letting this sit in the shop for a couple weeks now so tomorrow I will Joint the 4/4 an make the panels
 
Well I planked it out using the Jointer an table saw, so far I used some of the 4/4. Once the jointing was done I cut over size an made the panels up just the front , back ,an sides.
Then ran them thought the drum sander. Next I wanted to put 45s on them so measured out an pulled out my table saw sled an did the 45s making sure my table saw was se true with some scrap :thumb:

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After the 45s I did a dry fit-up with some straps :thumb:

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Tomorrow will be doing the dados for the bottom panel an glue up
 
Looking good so far. :thumb: How do you like those band clamps, Roy? I've not used them much, but when I did, it seemed I needed about 5 hands to hold everything in place and get them tightened up evenly.
 
Well the carcass is glued up an nice tight joints, :thumb: I used 1/2 inch Baltic Burch Plywood for the inside bottom there is a reason for that. One of the twist to this chest is a hidden compartment an I didn't tell the client so its going to be a surprise for her :eek: so no telling on me
but here is some pictures of the glued up carcass


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8 (1).jpg



Now tomorrow I will start one of the twist for this chest , its the hardest part of all the twists in this project
 
New day an time I'm ready to start the hardest twist its going to be a dimensional Inlay, below you can see the pattern an materials I'm going to use Walnut from Mike1950 an some nice tiger Maple, Mahoney an paduck ( Sorry Canny Spell )

Inlay1.jpg

Here is a better picture of the pattern

Inlay2.jpg

And Last picture is where the Inlay is going

Inlay3.jpg

So in the next part of the thread I will go step by step on the Inlay
 
Well to start the Inlay, have 11 copies of the pattern because each piece is getting cut separately. (IMPORTANT NOTE HERE you can see on the pattern I numbered each piece an used arrows to show grain direction an species) I used an exco knife to separate the pattern I start in the middle. Before you cut the pattern set one aside to lay out all the pieces when you are cutting.

Inlay4.jpg

Here you can see I use a piece of cardboard an 3m Super 77 spray . I spray the back of each piece of the pattern

Inlay5.jpg

As I said I start in the center here the species of wood used is Walnut an Mahoney

Inlay6.jpg

As you can see in the picture the arrows are following grain direction , Just remember to do this each time even on the board mark the boards for the arrows to follow. You can see also I use clear tape to cover the pattern pieces this helps keeping the blade clean an helps also from pattern coming lose .

Inlay7.jpg

Next set up your equipment an blades you are going to use . I'm using a scrowsaw machine an 3/0 blades due I need 3 teeth touching the wood at the same time, makes for a better cut

Inlay8.jpg

As you can see I'm using Excalibur scrowsaw an its a good one to :thumb: but any scrowsaw is a good one when it is setup right an you have plenty of practice so you know your machine. I set the speed to about 3 for all these cuts :) so its a little slow

As you can see below I started cutting the first pieces an yes I broke a blade :(

Inlay9.jpg

As you can see below I use a block of wood with 320 grit sand paper on it, when you cut pieces on the scrowsaw you get a few ruff bottoms an its also a good way to clean up the sides :thumb:

Inlay10.jpg

Next Put it on the sheet you should have put aside an check fit up

Inlay11.jpg

Next start the next level using the same process as before

Inlay12.jpg

Once these are cut an cleaned up fit them up :thumb:

Inlay13.jpg

SO if everything go great back tomorrow to continue with this Build Thread :type:
 
I got 2 nice boxes from him this month an all of it is Maple Quilted to an some tiger letting it set in the shop here for a while, so looking forward to working with it I know he got some beautiful Amboyna burl from me on the trade
 
Well guess what I did today :bang: made more small pieces :eek: yap but we added a new spices today the Tiger Maple

Here is the pieces to be glued up using the 3-M spray again

Inlay 14.jpg

Yap the on with the clear tape again ready for cutting

Inlay 15.jpg

Yap got them cut out an clean them up an put them in place , just making sure I didn't lose any :doh: its happen before

Inlay 16.jpg

Now I'm down to one species an it get a little slower, an you can get easily get lost if you don't take your time, so I cut out the pieces for the next layer

Inlay 17.jpg

So I cut them out of the pattern an ready to glue

Inlay 18.jpg

I went ahead an glued them up an ready to cut

Inlay 19.jpg

So I'll be back tomorrow with a update :thumb:
 
Well can you guess what I'm doing today, cutting more pieces :rofl: and they're small pieces too, but they're cut and here is an update on how they're coming along

Inlay 20.jpg


So now to start the next level, here's where it can get hard some. With parts missing already off the cut pattern's sheets. So the best thing now is to cut the pieces and put them where they go on the main pattern

Here is what I'm doing

Inlay 21.jpg

But it's time to add another species again its Padauk ( Sorry Canny Spell )
so I cut out those pieces of the pattern and set them on the pattern too

Inlay 22.jpg

SO I put them in a pile ready to glue up for cutting, I took those pieces and glued them on the wood so they are ready for cutting

Inlay 23.jpg

So I got them cut and on the main pattern

Inlay 24.jpg

So stay tuned to the this thread for the next level it's not going to be good at first. Its like a soap show :rofl:
 
Keep it up Roy very interesting and educational to follow along. Is the wood material you using strips of veneer or are you re-sawing and preparing strips from thicker boards to use?
 
What a great thread. It is instructive to watch your methods of work; how you orient grain direction for effect and so forth.
 
Hello again I'm back with an update, in the last art I added a new species to the Inlay, so here we go with the next part
I had cut the pieces of the pattern an set them out on the main pattern to make sure I had them all, that's the Maple ones an Paduck ones also ( Sorry canny spell)
Here is a picture for you of the Maple Pattern pieces

Inlay 25.jpg


an here is the paduck ones

Inlay 26.jpg

So next I took them to the wood for glue up but I have a problem.:huh: I forgot about rule one ( Have enough Material on hand ) as you can see in the picture below I missed out on the Maple :bang:

Inlay 27.jpg

Well I figured I will get more Maple an use the drum sander to take it to size

Inlay 28.JPG

Then I remembered this pattern I made over 12 years ago with some others I was trying to make a flower using the cube effect so I changed my mind again Lets use Yellow Heart. So after resawing an sanding I think I got enough to make the flower

Inlay 29.jpg

Well I'm back it last night, I went ahead an glued the pattern to the yellow heart an tape the pieces

Inlay 30.jpg

I got them cut on the Yellow Heart an Paduck, started to clean up the cuts

Inlay 31.jpg

Next set them on the pattern an making sure you got them all

Inlay 32.jpg

I will be back on later tonight got take care of the wife now
 
So interesting Roy, fascinating process. How do you clean up the cuts so accurately? I can't wait to see the final results. It looks like you have now reached the interesting part, trying to get the stars fitted in there. Great stuff, thanks for sharing the process.
 
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