JEWELRY CHEST

[OldWrangler]

I've made this as a birthday present for my soon-to-be 11 year old granddaughter. She asked me at Christmas if I could make her a little box for her jewelry. I don't think she thinks I will remember or that the chest will be this big.

Most of the wood is Tulip Poplar, drawer fronts are Mexican Redheart and trim around bottom is Padauk. Drawers are lined with white felt and drawers slide on felt pads. Top is a basketweave of Poplar, redheart and Padauk. Underside of top is a 5" x 7" beveled mirror and top is held by a lid keeper. Sides open and there are pegs for necklaces. They close on ball catches. Chest is 16" wide, 14" tall and 7" deep.

It was a nice project and easy to build for a granddaughter. I have more than 50 hours in this because mostly I work very slowly on flatwork. Comments are welcome.

 

[CaptG]

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME, and I hope LOML does not see this. Really nice work.

 

[RMB]

Wow, good job. How did you do the top? I can think of a few ways to get that look, but I'm curious how you chose to do it. My only gripe (and it's a nitpicky one) is that the pattern isn't centered on the top, I'm a bit OCD about things like that.
I like tulip poplar though, comes in so many nice shades. I had a board that was black and purple, and some green ones, tan, streaky...

 

[marcruby]

Good work! I'm sure she'll be proud of it for many years to come.

Marc

 

[simomatra]

Beautiful work George I am sure you GD will love it.

Great looking top.

 

[OldWrangler]

To make the top I cut the padauk and the redheart to 1" wide by 1/4" thick. Then the redheart was cut to 1 x 1 squares and the Padauk was glued to the Poplar strips that were cut to 1/8". Next the Padauk with the borders of poplar were cut to 3". Then they were laid out in the basketweave pattern and glued to a piece of 1/4" plywood. It was made oversize so it could be cut back to the best pattern. Once set up I cut rabbeted sides and put around the top. Bottom has more poplar and the mirror which cover up the plywood. It had to be played with a little to get just the right pattern and eliminate any gaps. Top took a couple of days.

It's not that difficult just slow piecing together. BTW, Top has 8 coats of polyurethane, rest of chest has only 3. Thanks for the nice comments, I am pleased with how it came out.

 

[angelofdeath]

That is very very cool looking I am sure your GD will love it. Very nice job with the whole thing.. I really do like the top, and can only imagine what a pain the butt it must have been. Thanks for sharing

 

[george]

Great work. I would never had enough patiente to make something similar.

 

[holmqer]

Absolutely fantastic, particularly the top! The only problem with the whole thing is now she needs enough jewelry to fill it!

 

[leehljp]

Beautiful work! Well done and an heirloom already!

 

[Jim15]

That is a beauty, your granddaughter will love it.

 

[fiferb]

WOW!

 

[VisExp]

Very nice work George. Your granddaughter will treasure that for the rest of her life. You know all her friends are going to be so jealous!

 

[rando81]

Great job I'm sure she will treasure it for years to come

 

[papaturner]

I don`t normally comment on flat work but man I gotta say that is awesome.

 

[workinforwood]

Wow...that's a great looking uh cabinet <edit!>! Hope she has tons of jewelry.

 

[OldWrangler]

You guys are really good for an old man's ego. Thanks!!

Wait til I show you the turned pot I am making out of some Contorted Mulberry. That wood is gorgeous. I may wind up pruning that tree to the ground.

 

[workinforwood]

You guys are really good for an old man's ego. Thanks!!

Wait til I show you the turned pot I am making out of some Contorted Mulberry. That wood is gorgeous. I may wind up pruning that tree to the ground.

Once you hit the ground, go grab a shovel and dig for more!

 

[Glenn McCullough]

What a great jewelry chest! That will be in the family for generations, well done!

 

[Gagler]

That's really nice work, and I know she will treasure it her lifetime....truly a "hand me down" to future generations made by her Grandpa.

 

[stoneman]

WOW! Beautiful job! Sure to become a family heirloom. Your granddaughter will love it.

 

[jkeithrussell]

That will be in your family for generations to come. Excellent.

 

[NewLondon88]

You, sir, have the patience of a saint.
I'd have given up halfway through the 'measure once, cut once, measure
again, swear, throw things' step ..