american cherry, curly maple, tulip poplar, leather, hardware.
constructed 2010
solid cherry box with handcut through dovetails and a solid curly maple lid. the chest is low enough to sit on while putting on your shoes.
the interior of the chest is divided into two compartments, so the lid is divided to accommodate this arrangement.
leather stays keep the lids from opening too far, dual steel strap hinges distribute the opening and closing forces of the lids more evenly across the width of the box and lids to ensure they will work for a lifetime.
the maple partition is set into the box with a hand cut sliding dovetail.
the tails of the dovetails, freshly cut.
cutting the pin boards for the dovetails.
test-fitting the dovetails.
dovetails glued up and trimmed.
the tapered mortise for the sliding dovetail of the interior partition.
the mortises for the strap hinges, freshly cut.
fitting the lids, you can also see the bow-front to the shape of the lids. this provides a place for a hand to lift up the lid and also mirrors the curve on the bottom edge of the box.
all that’s left at this point is installing the hardware and applying the seven coats of old fashioned linseed-oil/varnish.