# How to build this



## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

I built this awhile back but I took lots of photos so I thought I'd try a tutorial.















This is what I have named "Bombe Chest on Stand". The primary wood is curly soft maple with a bit of black walnut.

It begins with an idea and then a concept sketch using Google "Sketchup"









Then some sample joinery to figure out how it's going to go together. Then a full scale layout with pencil on some scrap particleboard.

The first thin I needed to do was make the curved components for the carcass frame by first resawing some maple into thin (3/16") thick pieces for gluing on a curved form that is easy to make from some old beam scraps. Be sure to make the curve in the form a little tight of a radius then you want to allow for "spring back".


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

*Curved carcass frame parts*









Make a curved fence for the router table so you can plough the groove for the panel.









Just then end stiles are curve laminated, the rails are straight. You will have to curve the tenons on the rails a little by hand for a god fit so cut them a little thick to begin with then pare the cheeks with a chisel or a sanding block or whatever.









It's harder to make this tutorial than it is to build the danged cabinet! Oh my god, The Safety Police will be after me for this this photo. Don't try this at home. Never gang cross cut curve laminated stiles using a miter gauge pinched against the fence on the table saw.









I'm lost. Oh, dry fit the end panel frames and measure for the little panels. Find some nice curly grained pieces for those. Put the raised panel toward the inside so you can round the flat side a bit to fit the curve.









Clear as mud so far? Man I terrible at this. My beer is warm.


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## eigersa (Apr 17, 2011)

this is impressive, keep going please!


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

*One more segment them I done for the night*

The end panels should look like this after the radius is cut on the stiles.









Then make some frames to go between the two ends. Remember we made a full scale layout on the particleboard so we know how big to make those frames, just measure off the layout. Piece of cake.









Now the legs and the stand.









I made some mock up legs to see what it will look like. Not bad, but I'll make some refinements.









I'm lost again.









I'll try again tomorrow. Any questions?

Bret


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

No questions yet, but I'm sure that I will have some. This is a great tutorial. Thanks for taking the time to post it. I will be watching this one for sure.


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

As everyone else said, loving it!


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## UKfan (Nov 16, 2010)

thanks for posting. This is a project I would love to attempt.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

This is a georgous piece. Thanks for taking the time to walk us through making it!


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## Porphyre (Jan 5, 2011)

Thanks for posting the details! All your Bombe work is fantastic. If I had $10k ($20k?) I'd commission one of the tall Alice in Wonderland chests you did last year.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Thanks for showing us how you made this. The final product turned out beautiful. VERY well done.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

That is really nice work, thank you for the step by step.

~tom ...it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I will never build one, but I'm impressed by the quality of the work and am enjoying the write up. Very nicely done.


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

*Where did I leave off?*

Lets build the molding frames for the top and the belly band. My little old Craftsman shaper is just the thing. I'm amazed that it hasn't shaken itself to piece yet, it just keeps on running. I'm saving for a real shaper.









I like to use a little fence screwed to a stable saw sled for cutting nice miters. It works best for me.









Dry fitting the frames. I used the curliest grain I had for these pieces, I want the to pop.









Then with a little sliding jig I cut slots for the miter splines which are for decoration as well as strength.









Clamping the the miter splines. Now it's on to the leg assembly. Oh, notice the baltic birch inset panel on the top, that is the recess for the inlaid top.

Bret


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

*Legs. man*

I apologize. My photographer was very lazy on Leg day. I wanted to show glueing up the leg blanks, routing the mortises in for the apron tenons, band sawing them to shape and how i make the locking corner blocks.









This method of fastening apron and leg together is quite sturdy.

















I'm getting ahead of myself a bit.









Starting to take shape. The top frame and the belly band are a nice touch I think.

Bret


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## mveach (Jul 3, 2010)

I normally don't comment on the projects people build and post. There are enough comments as to how nice they are without my input. but that peace should be on the cover of fine woodworking.


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

*More*

The photographer was missing in action when I was fitting all the drawer parts together. But you an see how I roughed out the the curve of the drawer fronts begining with the table saw and then smoothing it with a hand plane. Fitting the drawer fronts into the frames is a deliberately slow process because once you take off too much....well you've taken too much. I fit the drawer parts together by hand cutting dovetails for and aft. I built a wooden center guide under each drawer to make it slide in and out without binding on the sides. 

Bret


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Bret those duct tape handles aren't gonna' fly for the cover of FWW.... :laughing: Nice step by step write up even though like someone said I'll never make one. I am very interested in making curved surfaces for box tops and smaller projects. Thanks, bill

BTW I have the same old Craftsman shaper. I got it free and use it for a table.... I have some great router tables, but the shaper is a very cool machine. Smooooth


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## crosley623 (Dec 14, 2007)

On the table legs, you have what looks like 2 dadoes with the curve of the saw blade still inside. Do you then just grind off the tenon to match this radius?

Oh and that is one unbelievably Beautfiul cabinet.


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## haugerm (Nov 19, 2009)

I always love your work. Well beyond my abilities, but a man can dream. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I can only hope that means you'll be doing this for other projects!?!?
--matt


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

Crosley, Correct, the legs are ploughed with a dado head and then I cut a shoulder on the tenon with the band saw. Sometimes I do it with a router bit. I think when I did this all the router bits I had for that size were broken.

Bill, It's actually 2" blue tape. Don't get me wrong, I love duct tape but I think it leaves a residue on the wood.

I don't know if I'll get around to another post tonight or not.

Bret


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## cody.sheridan-2008 (May 23, 2010)

thank you very much for sharing this! I am thoroughly enjoying the read and the pictures!


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

*Where were we now?*

Now that I've got the drawers all duct taped together........ I mean Dove Tailed together we can now have fun inlaying the top, at least I think it's fun.









I am always collecting oddball scraps of wood with interesting grain that I might some day do inlay work with. I'm inlay is the correct term for what I doing, Parquetry may be more correct terminology.









Remember that I recessed the sub-top down about 3/16" to allow room for my inlay pieces. I dug out a walnut crotch piece and re-sawed it and then book-matched it and it looks like a crab or a spider so of course that had to go in the center. I usually start at the perimeter and work towards the middle. The first band in from the edge was a piecof sjort grained walnut that I was a ble to cut so that each of the corners and the center joints are book-matched, then a band of western maple burl, then curly eastern soft maple and then the spider medallion. 

It's important to use a good quality plywood for the sub-top such as baltic birch or appleply.









My technique is to cut all the pieces for to go all the way around for one band of wood and get it all glued down then start the next band. I use Titebond II and glue the edge as well as the faces. I have a set of Iron dumbells that I keep in the shop to weight the wood down until the glue has set. This is precise and tedious work. I use an floor standing edge sander to fine tune a lot of these inlaid pieces.









Once I got the inlay work completed I designed and built the drawer pulls using black Walnut. They were just cut freehand using the band saw and the edge sander.

Now the part we all love, the final sanding and detailing and then finishing. This was not something I was going to eat off of so I wanted a deep luster in the finish. Also I wanted to minimize the yellowing that can occur with maple over time so my choice was a non-yellowing lacquer. I used a gravity feed HVLP cup gun. I'd put about three coat on then sand it. Then put on a few more coats. If the weather is warm and dry I can put on a coat every hour, so it goes pretty quick. I probably have a dozen coats of lacquer on the top.

Well there you have it. How'd I do? I know I was pretty brief and I rushed through alot of it. I could use some constructive critisizum. I was actually hoping for more question as I went along on the tutorial. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it.

The next interesting project I do in the shop I'll document more carefully with photos.

Good night, Bret


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## haugerm (Nov 19, 2009)

I'm not getting any pictures on your last post, just links to "invalid attachment". Anyone else having this problem?
--Matt


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*same here*

invalid link...:blink:


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

woodnthings said:


> invalid link...:blink:


 
I think I fixed it but knowbody has been here since then. I don't know what other people are seeing.


Bret


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## cody.sheridan-2008 (May 23, 2010)

I can see them. Looking great!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Fixdit*



Lola Ranch said:


> I think I fixed it but knowbody has been here since then. I don't know what other people are seeing.
> 
> 
> Bret


I don't know what you did..or didn't do, but it's fixed now. :thumbsup:


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

I just went to Edit Post and then deleted all the attachments and re-attached them.

Thanks for telling me.

Bret


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## haugerm (Nov 19, 2009)

Great thread! Thanks for taking the time to do it. I think most of the questions I have could only be answered with an apprenticeship.
--Matt


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## snav (Jan 24, 2010)

Amazing work - I'm very impressed.


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## txpaulie (Jul 21, 2010)

Bret,
Sorry I don't have any specific questions...
As it stands, your skills are so far above mine, I wouldn't know where to start...:yes:

I am very appreciative of your efforts, and may one day look back on this for guidance...

Please don't stop sharing your work!
It's an inspiration to me and, I suspect, many others here...

Thanks bunches,
p


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## DWalls11 (Nov 1, 2011)

Very nice work! This piece is beautiful!!


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

Once again, beautiful work, Bret!:thumbsup:


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