# Raised panel hope chest.



## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

This is my third time posting a chest on this site so I apologize in advance but they are popular with the family and I keep getting requests to make them. My mom wanted something to keep her genealogical research in. Old pictures, files, etc. She gave me open leeway to use whatever wood or design I wanted. I had some ipe that has been laying around for awhile and a bunch of reclaimed pine I got for free. I decided to combine the two for sharp contrast and put raised panels in it. It's a simple box, but what was new to me was it was about 75% handtools. M&T's and all grooves, smoothing, and all crosscutting was hand tool only. I still ripped, drilled, and thickness planed with power tools. I will say I hate the ipe. My handplanes, even razor sharp, had a lot of difficulty with it. Too hard and dense. I used scrapers for most of the smoothing then 220 grit hand sanded to blend any scratches. Finish is oil based poly. The ipe is also oily so I had to wipe it down then poly it and it still is a slow drier. So anyways, here it is, I haven't posted a project in awhile. Let me know what you think. 
-Adam


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

Some more.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*sweet!*

The walnut....... Yipe, it's Ipe.... looks great. Nice proportions also... :thumbsup: bill


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

ACP said:


> I will say I hate the ipe. My handplanes, even razor sharp, had a lot of difficulty with it. Too hard and dense. I used scrapers for most of the smoothing then 220 grit hand sanded to blend any scratches.



The chest looks great. I really like the panel look. I felt the same way about Ipe the first time I encountered a project using it. I got it for free, so I figured what the heck. I will say it's a PITA for furniture making, but if you need a real hard surface, it's ideal.








 







.


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## The Everyman Show (Jul 10, 2009)

Very nice project Adam. I really like the contrasting woods and the panels look very proportionate to the size of the box. 
I have a small length of Ipe that I have yet to use so thanks for the heads up about the working properties.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

That looks great Adam. The contrast really pops and very interesting to see ipe used. I have some leftover ipe deck boards in the garage that I inherited when we bought the house. Been thinking about what to do with them - largely avoidance since I know it is so difficult to work. This chest is an excellent use and kudos to you for hand working it!


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Very nice :thumbsup:


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Very nice, Adam! What's even better is that you used all hand tools :laughing: 

Seriously, though it looks great. I really like the contrast.

EDIT: I was teasing about the hand tools then actually saw that you used 75% hand tools... AWESOME!


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## CasinoDuck (Jun 15, 2011)

Looks great! I'm a fan:thumbsup:


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

Thanks guys. 

This was just the project to really break in my Veritas small plow plane which I used for all the grooves. The ipe is really hard to use the bench planes on, but I will say that my plow chugged through it like a champ. I had to clean the thing a lot because of all the green/yellow powdery crap and the oil in the wood made a cake like mess on the blade of the plow, but other than that it really didn't have issues with this. I'm glad I used the pine panels too for weight reasons. The ipe weighs a ton. I don't have a good shot, but the bottom is ship lapped pine that I used my #78 for cutting the rabbets on and slick plane to give a 1/8" radius on the edge to accentuate the shiplapping. I can't wait to deliver it to mom. I think she'll be happy.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

I think she'd be happy with it. Very nice project.


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

Mom should love it! I do like the mixing of soft and hardwood. You have a great contrast of color and texture. Kudos on the hand tooling.


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## craigwbryant (Jan 22, 2012)

*Attaching the bottom*

Just curiously, how did you attach the bottom? I was looking to see if there was a ledger or anything built in but didn't see one. I am finishing up my first blanket case (long project that got delayed because my wife decided to get pregnant and the Army decided that I needed to move) and I've been asked by a friend to do one for him, but I wanted to change up the design a bit for his, looking for new ideas/techniques.


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

craigwbryant said:


> Just curiously, how did you attach the bottom? I was looking to see if there was a ledger or anything built in but didn't see one. I am finishing up my first blanket case (long project that got delayed because my wife decided to get pregnant and the Army decided that I needed to move) and I've been asked by a friend to do one for him, but I wanted to change up the design a bit for his, looking for new ideas/techniques.


Hi, I initially was going to groove the vertical panels and seat the bottom in it like a large frame and panel construction. I even went so far as to cut the grooves. My small plow only goes up to 3/8" (for now, that'll change Monday :thumbsup. After making a solid panel at 3/8" I decided it wasn't going to be sturdy enough so I went back and took some blocks and cut a rabbet to fit in the grooves and glued in the blocks. I then glued the shiplapped bottom into place and used brads at the ends inside the rabbets, like you would installing flooring basically.


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## johnjf0622 (Feb 8, 2008)

Looks great nice work:thumbsup:


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Absolutely stunning chest! (first time I've said that to a man)


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