Grand Daughter's 1ST B'Day Present

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Canuck

Wayne
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Well as all of my projects seem to do, they create some frustrations and teach me a lot but in the end everything ends up being ok by my standards in hopes that they will last a little while.

I started by getting some awfully nice QSRO from Scott Smith back in early December. Being a real rookie when it comes to identifying nice wood from the outside of rough sawn lumber, this time I asked Scott if he would help me pick the stock. He went one step further and ran each stick of lumber through his big planer. Not only did it help me identify which board for which project piece, but saved me a lot of headache processing the faces on my little 6 inch Ridgid jointer. Thanks Scott!!!!!!!!

Just before Christmas, I started milling up all of the required stock and cobbling together a box. (I just copied the basic dimensions from my LOML’s blanket chest. Ended up at 36 x 16 x 17)

I used basic cope and stick joinery with eight raised panels. I joined the front and rear stiles to the side stiles with glue and reinforced each corner with 7 - 3/8” dowels. Making it a little more manageable, I treated the front, rear and end assemblies as separate glueups.

This is a picture of the dry-fit before I cut the top to size.

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Before I actually did the glueup, I prestained all of the panels.

(It is sitting on some bun feet I picked up at HD to just see how it would look.)

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Next I needed a base and a bottom. For the base, I just cut a mitered frame from about ¾” thick, 2.5 inches wide and long and wide enough to give me about a 5/16” reveal around the edge. Used biscuits to reinforce the miters.

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Each bun foot had a hanger bolt and I thought I could just use T-nuts to attach the feet to the base.

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Everything was going pretty well until I got to the 3rd T-nut and the doggone miter started to separate. After thinking long and hard I decided to abandon the T-nut idea and just use a lock washer and nut on the hanger bolt and go all the way through the base.

As it turned out, when I attached the cleats to support the plywood box bottom, I left a “little mouse hole” at each corner where the nut and washers securing the foot could live!

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I just secured the base to the box with screws in the thought that if one would ever have to get at the nuts to fix a broken foot they would be ok.

I won’t get into all of the finishing issues and frustrations I had:embaresse, but it was recoverable.:icon_thum
(See thread …………………http://ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=36623&page=2)

NOTE TO SELF: GIVE MINWAX STAIN PLENTY OF DRY TIME AND MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT EACH COAT OF STAIN IS THROUGHLY WIPED AND DRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did have an opportunity to work with some new-to-me hinge hardware from Rockler. They are called Lid-Stay torsion hinges. They are designed so that the lid will hold its position at any angle and not crush little fingers by slamming down. And they really work. Just weigh the lid and select the appropriate hinge(s). This lid ended up weighing about 15.5 lbs and according to a calculation at the Rockler site I needed two 60 inch-lb hinges.

The only real downside of these hinges are the screws they supply. I opted to order equivalent sized screws from McFeellys, a little wax and the correct pilot hole and I had no issues with this hard oak.

Also. They are by no means inexpensive ($39.95 a pair), but they seem substantial.

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Here are a couple of photo’s showing how well they support the lid, at any position…
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The wood itself has an awesome figure and I saved the best for the top.

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So here is the completed chest after about 5 coats of satin wiping varnish…

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My grand daughter’s 1st birthday is this Saturday:icon_cheers, so I finished in time and will be transporting it to Zebulon. My LOML plans on throwing in a few toys for her.:wsmile: Hopefully, if it survives childhood, she can use it for a blanket chest when she gets a little older!

In spite of the finishing headaches, it was really a fun project and kept me out of mischief for about six weeks.:wsmile:

Thanks for looking. Any feedback will be appreciated.

Wayne

 
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bholcombe

New User
Ben
Looks great and should be solid enough to be around for a long time. I made a similar looking one a few years back and I can promise you that it will get abused.
 

eyekode

New User
Salem
That is really fine. But you are setting the bar too high! By the time she is 18 she will be expecting you to have furnished her whole house :).
Salem
 

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
Great job Wayne! :icon_thum:eusa_danc:icon_thum I've made three toy boxes in the past three years. They're fun to make because you know they're going to be used and appreciated.

Bill
 

Bas

Recovering tool addict
Bas
Corporate Member
I really like it, especially the feet. And you finished in time too!!!

Hope you took extra pictures for the 2012 calendar....
 

Trent Mason

New User
Trent Mason
BEAUTIFUL work Wayne! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap
 

DWSmith

New User
David
Terrific chest. I know she will appreciate it later on as she ages. Beautiful workmanship.

I can make a recommendation. The top is heavy and little fingers can be hurt if the top falls on them. I would suggest finding an auxiliary hinge that will keep the top from slamming down. I made similar chests for my daughter and two nieces and added the hinges which kept some little fingers safe.
 

Bryan S

Bryan
Corporate Member
Nicely done :icon_thum The family should love it.

Now, after having 3 years experience with a grandson, one thing I do know about is grandmaws. When grandmaw buys a "few" toys, well your going to need to build another one to hold all the toys. :gar-Bi
 

Canuck

Wayne
Corporate Member
Thanks so much for all of kind words everyone.:wsmile:

It actually survived the cold ride to Zebulon yesterday afternoon to the party.

Needless to say, the box was filled with new toys by the end of the day and was well received.

And. My grand daughter really enjoyed her cake!:wsmile:

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There were several 18mo. to 2 YO youngsters there also joining in the fun. I am happy to say that not one of them mashed their pinky's in the lid. Those Rockler Lid-Stay torsion hinges relay do work well!

Now onto the next project. Not sure what just yet, but I can't let the shop cool off too much!
 
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