# Alternate Challenge Machinist Chest



## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

I decided to go with reclaimed wormy american chestnut panels with ebony pulls and a boiled linseed oil finish.I may do the drawers in poplar to lend contrast..opinions?

I started by reading the entire article 10 times so as to get a real good idea of the build process the author is offering. As for the build design I really cant say as I approve but if we are staying with the joinery called for I will follow it.

But I will state now that I dont like:
1. The rabbit joint that holds the top and back on....as this chest is small and the handle is on the top it would lead to idea that it could be picked up from the handle but I just dont see a few brads and spot gluing holding the lid board on....my handles will be on either side.
2.drawer divider panel seems to just float at the front edge...seems to me that this would be a good place to warp and/or promote a vibration (the slide action being wood on wood) that would over time cause a failure.
I think that by shrinking the bottom drawer hieght 1/4 inch I could install a 1/4 inch guide frame just under the divider and lend support to whole cabinet as the till front rail is the only thing to keep the front from racking when open...any thoughts on this are welcome

I started with:








now I dont usually do this and *dont *recommend it at all but I cut the entire cabinet cut list at once. the reason being that I have enough wood to cover it and I wanted to see just how close it is to right. I left most of the parts oversized by a 1/4 and did refigure the face side to allow for portruding knobs. 7 pieces resized in all.
till panel
case sides(2)
case bottom
lid sides(2)
lid panel
just added 3/8 to the width
what I have so far is the case cuts scraped and sanded









to be continued

took me longer to type this then it did to do it...LMAO


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Looks like a great start man. Looking forward to following this one.


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

tooka lil time to build the finger joint jig and decided to go ahead and run them










was going real good till I split one of the sides










oh well maybe it will heal, if not I'll cut another
all and all they fit good although I had to refigure the tab size because the original was on 1/4 in and that doesn't work to get to the changes from the knobs without a partial finger in it and 
I just didn't want that...3/16 in works well for me. glued some 220 grit to a thin piece so I could smooth the sides a bit and make it come together a lil easier ( I was beating on it when I broke the side)










will be tight and right....I hope

to be continued


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## PaperJam (Jul 31, 2010)

Looks good so far. Can you show your setup and process for cutting the finger joints please?


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

PaperJam said:


> Looks good so far. Can you show your setup and process for cutting the finger joints please?


 
download this and it has an article in it about it and alot more goodies

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cecf5f7/n/WS_#183.pdf

it is a whole mag so kinda big


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Looking good so far Lawrence. :thumbsup:

Maybe you should ask one of the mods to move this to the Project Showcase area. That's where Kenbo and mine are... just saying.

Question, the links you post to that filefactory site.. I never seem to get the file, just a bunch of advertising wanting me to join the site. Is there another thing that I don't know?


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

who are the mods here?


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

at the bottom of the download page there is a speedometer deal.....click where it says slow...fill in the captura and hit slow again....wait for the page to load and hit download at the bottom

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cecf564/n/WS_#182.pdf http://www.filefactory.com/file/cecf5f7/n/WS_#183.pdf
http://www.filefactory.com/file/cecf4c2/n/3tier.pdf
http://www.filefactory.com/file/cecf4ca/n/toolchest.pdf

182 is the issue with the inbox and 183 is the issue with the toolchest


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Good deal... Thanks for the info on downloading.

To be honest, I really don't know who the mods are.... but I'm pretty sure they're around here somewhere....


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

lawrence said:


> who are the mods here?


If you go to the main page:
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/
At the bottom there are two groups of members. The first group are online, and the second group are members that have been active in the last 24 hrs. The mods are the guys with the *boldface usernames*. Click on any of them and send them a PM.












 







.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

lawrence, a great start. I really appreciate your design comments at the top too... that's just the sort of thing I was hoping to see in these build threads. I look forward to seeing the final project!


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

got side tracked a bit..be back in a day or two


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

OK finally back in the shop...but gotta share it with 3 house loads of furn and crap...been a long week...I hate moving..specially other people....

Anyways as I left off I was to the dados that hold the till bottom and front.
normally I would cut these as two stop dados but they dont really stop they just turn a corner...so...so did I.

I set the fence on the router at 2 in from the back side of the bit and made marks at 3/4 from the bit









I have a groove at the bottom of my fence that allows me to put a square up to it and hold it securly so I can just push up to the fence making the face dado








then slide the square out the way and push to the side








, finishing two stop dados in one cut








pic is warped..dado isn't...lol
good sharp chisel works a lil magic in the corners








and since the router is set right I went ahead and ran the till front through too








now I needed an extra dado in mine for a cross piece I decided to put in under the draw divider to add just a bit more stability to the divider which as i said above just kinda hangs there.
mark off the table, set a guide and a stop mark and get to it








and then there is this








I then decided to hand cut the rabbits in the till front so I could get a dry fit








and then put it together(dry)








I m happy with it so far


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

I cut the width of the till bottom and decided to wait on the depth till I got the back ready








now came the part I was dreading, laying out the draw slides,








landed up being easy even with the changes where I added the cross piece








TBIII and some ringshank nails...








WAALAA that wasn't to bad...lets put that carcass together...starts with masking tape to the pins








put on plenty of glue, I find it helps the put the acid brush in the slot and give a twist, gets all those lil nooks and cranies. this is no time to be a slacker....you dont want this to get tacky. now I cut my pins very tight on finger joints so to help close them up I cut an extra board when I cut finger joints,I can then use it to drive the pins together and get a totally gap free joint








(I dont know where I picked up those black blotches but I am glad they are on the bottom)

I used urethane to hold the till front on....gonna let it sit awhile








gonna try to prepare the stiles and rails for the front and back
the rails went fine...single blade pass , reverse, pass again.. perfectly centered dados









ok guys, Im a two finger typer and both are wore out....I will continue in the morn and maybe they will deliver my dado set so I can try them out on these rails...........


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Wow, you really jumped back into it. Fantastic work. I like your idea of the supporting shelf for the drawer divider. I'll be watching this thread so keep up the good work.


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## Handipants (Jul 31, 2011)

lawrence said:


> download this and it has an article in it about it and alot more goodies
> 
> http://www.filefactory.com/file/cecf5f7/n/WS_#183.pdf
> 
> it is a whole mag so kinda big


Probably a dumb question here but... How do I open these filefactory PDFs?


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## Handipants (Jul 31, 2011)

Handipants said:


> Probably a dumb question here but... How do I open these filefactory PDFs?


Never mind. Just having Mac problems here. Thanks


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

Today I started slow and got slower as I went.........I sanded off the finger joints and got that out the way 








I got the stiles and rails done but cant find the pics:thumbdown:
so lets talk about the raised panels.....I did them the way the mag suggested with a box bit










and the practice run looked pretty good










but the real thing just burned a line down all 4 sides










I then used the TS to remove the rest, leaving it a lil proud so I had room to use the rabbit plane to remove those burn lines










the rabbit plane worked wonders:thumbsup:
but just the idea that I had to use it makes me think this way sucks for raised panels....maybe a router speed issue?


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

so on to gluing these panels up...most important thing is to make sure they are square









the panels were a bit loose so I taped them to keep them still while a bit of TBIII in each corner dries









after the back panel was dry I routed the the dado for the till bottom to slide in









I then rabbited all 4 sides on the panel before I remembered I was only sposed to do 3 sides..DUH...ok ,no prob....Ill fix it later









I installed my till bottom and center divider and prepared to glue the back on









plenty of glue and clamps and we finally have a box


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

when the glue was dry enough I start to tend to the divider and the chestnut strip for the extra divider I put in. I would have installed the divider as plans show but with the changes Ive made it had to be cut to fit then two brass screws in from the top and a brad from the bottom , along with TBIII on both and it is not moving








as you can see here the front panel just fit like a glove , but........








the tongue that is supposed to keep the bottom in place just didnt seem like it was a good idea as brittle as this wood has been so I put a lil pressure on it and sure enough off it came


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

so I sanded it flat and put SS pins in the bottom and the top of the front panel to keep it closed

















I then cut a patch spline to put where I cut the extra rabbit by accident









when it was dry I did my sanding and here we are









to start the top I cut the finger joints on the 1 1/2 in pieces for the sides and front and back









I then put them together dry and tested to make sure they fit the rim of the lower half...perfect fit...measured the inside height and got 3 inches......hmmmm.......so I threw them in the scrap barrel and cut some 4'' pieces......









now one thing about finger joints.....cut the pieces adjacent to each other the same way and you will have little problems....lose track and mess up and you cut a whole new piece....there is no repair here except to change the height.









these turned out perfect and i like the height better









next I took the piece I picked for the top and put a rabbit all the way around it and cleaned it up with my lil shopmade rabbit plane









and again with the glue and clamps









while that dries I took this time to rout all the edges of the lower unit except the front bottom as I dont think there is enough there to hold if I do. Im not gonna put anything on the corners so I routed all the way across.


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

now cutting a groove all the way across the back of the till may seem a tad crazy at first, but the hinges Im gonna use can be installed backwards, that is with the pin barrel in that groove, to give it a positive stop at about 35 degrees...so the top leans back from straight up a bit









now here is where I lost about 10 pics, dont know where they went but they are gone. that is what I get for waiting 3 days to post I guess.anyways......

when the top dried I took it and routed it like the lower unit and sanded everything down to 180...I have only been going to 120 up till this figuring I would have to sand again because every time I touch this chestnut it leaves a mark and I hate to sand but some of the pieces are just to small to scrape without handling it to much.
at 180 it looked pretty good but it was just not what I was going for...it looked new...too new...so I beat it up.put on the first coat of BLO and here we are








it may look a lil funny at first with the lid that high but a CD case fits standing up and that it probably what this will get used for
that pic is in full light and this 1 is a lil shaded....like on a shelf or in a corner








well that is the case and next comes the drawers...till then.....good woodworking guys

BTW I didnt do the glue up for the panels..the wood was glued up when I recovered it from a piano and they didnt try to match grain at all and actually Im glad...I kinda like the randomness of it


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Looking good man. Some great problem solving going on there. I like the fact that you've had some problems, but you still keep plugging on and fixing the problems as you go. Good for you. Looking forward to seeing this one completed.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Great work, Lawrence. Looks like you'll have no problem with the Christmas deadline... are you trying to be like Ken? Damn over achievers.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Lets see there Frank.. Ken has finished all three, I finished mine, Lawrence is almost finished with his and longbow is nearly done with the one he is working on over in Sweden.:thumbsup:

Frank (who had the idea in the first place) has not yet started.....:thumbdown:

Lawrence, its coming on nicely. I really like that you are thinking your way through this and making adjustments as you go. Shows great skills to be able to modify things on the fly in order to adapt to the environment and/or available tools and hardware instead of just following the directions.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

In my defense, johnnie, I wasn't home for two weeks and I'm a slow sumbitch anyway. I'll be lucky if I can finish a coaster in the time frame I put out there but I still intend to try. Did some work on wiring the basement last night though, does that count for anything? :laughing:


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Wiring the basement would be a totally different thread.... but I'll give you an A for effort... :laughing:


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

be back at it asap....I have alot of metal parts in me and this change of seasons/weather is taking its toll


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

lawrence said:


> be back at it asap....I have alot of metal parts in me and this change of seasons/weather is taking its toll


 
Should have used wooden parts. :laughing: Get back at it when you feel up to it man. I'll be sitting here waiting patiently for the return of you and your tool chest. I hope you're feeling better.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Take your time. This was supposed to be fun, not a race, or a contest.

We'll be here when you're feeling up to it.


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## Longknife (Oct 25, 2010)

Good things are always worth waiting for so when ever you are ready we will be here. Hope you feel better soon.


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

okay guys Im back...actually Ive been done a few days but really hate typing.

I was gonna go with poplar one the drawers but poplar really doesn't "say" anything...kinda bland...so I went to my old stand by pine









I didnt like the drawer sizes so I changed them up just a tad








after cutting everything to size I started to think about the drawer bottoms and what to use for them when a glint from the far corner caught my eye...I have some sheets of aluminum plate that have been there years...time to use some of it








with that choice made I cut my dados and rabbit om the drawer parts








assembly was really easy with the rabbits....








while the glue dries I will take these piano keys make some knobs








scrape off all the black paint to expose the ebony...make a few cuts on the band saw and I got these








now to mark the drawers so I can get them on straight








after drilling the holes in the right places I needed to sand those pencil lines off








putting the knobs on....that green on the side of the drawer is apple scented wax....the only wax I could find was the wifes christmas candle...oh well...looks like christmas just got a tad darker








here is the first look at the drawer layout








and here she is with 2 coats of BLO on.....may thin some poly onto it but I kinda like the way it has an old look to it....


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

I'm gonna let whoever gets it for Christmas finish the inside in whatever color they want and choose the brass handles or wood handles or maybe no handles...who knows but I don't want to poke any unnecessary holes in it......

Thanks for looking

tools:
tablesaw
bandsaw
dado blade
scraper
planes
belt sander
chisels
masking tape
tape measure
TB1 TB3
brad gun
3/4" brads
3/8" brass screws
mallet
phillips screwdriver
squares
straight edge
router table
router bits. 1/4 straight 1/4 box.. 1/2 cove
dovetail saw
marking gauge

all I can think of right now


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

That was worth the wait. Nice use of old piano keys...


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

That's sharp!

The figure on those drawers looks wonderful.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

What an awesome use of old piano keys! Nicely done and thanks for taking the time to document it all.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Lawrence, this is awesome. I love the fact that you changed the drawer layout. I'm also in love with the way you mixed up materials and used up some old stuf that was in your shop. Awesome job and some great work. I'm glad to see that you are feeling a little better and that you were able to get back into the shop. Well done good sir. Well done.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Way to go Lawrence. I love the use of the piano keys as handles. I am surprised by the pine, it looks a lot better than I would have expected. Very fine final product.


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