Location: Laurel, MD

Hobbyist or Pro: Hobbyist

Finish Used: I used a spray finish (Earlex 5000) to spray General Finish. I started with two coats of Seal-A-Cell and finished with four coats of Arm-R-Seal. I sanded between each coat, starting with 200 grit and finishing with 600 before the final coat.

Wood Species: Frames are African Rosewood, Panels are Soft Maple

Project Description:
I have been wanting to make a blanket chest for our bedroom for many years. I finally felt that my skills were up to the task. The design is based largely on an article from Fine Woodworking (#129) with customizations. I added a curve on the bottom rails to break up the hard horiztonal lines. I also added a center piece on the front/back panels to break up the large piece of maple and prevent the maple from dominating the entire piece. I also added some aromatic cedar to the inside of the chest.

For the hinges, I used four (4) brass hinges and then added three (3) CPSC approved hinges to prevent the lid from slamming down.

The joinery is mortise and tenon. The panels float in between the stiles and rails. I added a cove bead to the ends of the panels to create a bit of a shadow line and to soften the piece a bit.

The project took almost 5 months elasped time and probably around 240 hours of actual work. I made a few mistakes, but also learned how to correct them by watching the videos from Marc.

It was a great project. I had fun doing it and have greatly increased my confidence in my woodworking skills. I have had several family members ask me to make one for them.

Cypress Planter by Dennis

This is a cypress planter I made for my mom. The panel assemblies were constructed using a 90-degree jig and some spacers for uniform gaps. The vertical slats are screwed to the rails with stainless steel screws. I cut mortises in both the posts and the horizontal rails of the panels and assembled them with loose tenons and Titebond III. Inside the planter are 2 horizontal stretchers that support the plastic liner purchased from Lowes. The legs are chamfered on the bottom to avoid chip out. The mitered top assembly was reinforced with glue and pocket screws to ensure they do not separate. The liner fits snug, but it can be removed and replaced if needed.

A majority of my time was spent on the finishing of this project. I consulted and went with the finish recommended by The Wood Whisperer. 9 coats of Epifanes Marine Varnish later, I was done. I applied 6 coats of gloss and then 3 coats of satin to get a perfectly smooth finish. I am very pleased with the look and with some luck, it will hold up just as well.

Cedar Lined Chest by Micah

The majority of materials I purchased for $1.70 Per Board foot and planed them down to just over 3/4″. I got the inspiration for this project from my dad when he built five of them years ago. I used one of his as a model but made mine slightly larger. This is my first project with raised panels in it. I did not find them hard to route, but I couldn’t take very much material off at a time. The base of the chest is made of 1×4 with 1/2in dcx ply on the top.The dimensions of the chest are 52 1/2” wide x 22 3/4” high x 21 1/4” deep. For the finishes I used Golden Oak by Minwax and for the sealer I used clear Satin by Minwax. All in all it was a great learning experience.

Ben’s Kitchen Cabinet

I am a student and got into woodworking the summer of 08. My apartment had no counters in the kitchen so when I went home for a visit I made this. I thought the top was cool, it is end grain ash. Nothing fancy about the rest of it but I was happy for the experience. Most people don’t even notice the mistakes. The whole project is ash but some as you can see is stained. I used a linseed oil finish for the body and a mineral oil and mineral oil/beeswax for the top which I just use as a large cutting board. I know ash has open grain and is not ideal for cutting boards but it has attractive end grain I think and it is cheaper than maple or walnut, so I just make sure to keep it clean and stay on top of re-applying mineral oil/beeswax. I enjoy looking at the projects on the site and I hope someone enjoys seeing this and gets an idea!

Dave’s Shop Cabinet

This a cabinet I made for my new Delta Planer. The base and shelf is made from 3/4 birch ply. The door and drawer front are Oak that I had left over from a blanket chest project that went horribly wrong. The drawer itself is made from poplar and 1/4 birch ply for the drawer bottom. The top is made from 15/32 Arauco ply (never heard of it but it was cheaper than most) doubled up and then routed with a 1/2 inch round over bit. My only regret is I used screws instead of brad nails, but I do not have a compressor or brad nailer yet. It’s on the list though. I used bullseye sealcoat for a finish, (two coats with a light sanding with 120 grit in between). I think it really brought out the grain in the Oak. I have only been woodworking seriously now for a little over a year and have made some decent projects so far, but this is my very first attempt at cabinet making.

Mathew first asks:

This is my first ever project and your video on raised panels and many of the others have helped me a ton. I have one problem though. I have this chest made of maple and cherry, and I want a warm finish but don’t want to dye or stain the wood. I’ve been told to use shellac diluted, just deft finish and Danish oil. Any help would be so awesome. I would love to share the finished project that you have helped me make with the time you spend on the videos. Thank you very much.

And here’s my response: There are a number of things you can do with the finish. All depends on what you are comfortable applying and what kind of look you are going for. All the finishes that were recommended to you will work just fine.

Personally, I have two suggestions for you. And both will make use of shellac as a sealer coat. Both maple and cherry exhibit blotching when hit with oil-based stains and finishes. So the shellac sealer coat prevents that to some extent. And if you use an orange or garnet shellac, you could add a good bit of color that will have the effect of a very light stain. If you topcoat with something like Danish oil, you have to be careful not to put too much shellac on the surface. If its sealed off, the Danish oil will have trouble curing. So I recommend a single coat of 1lb cut shellac. Sand it smooth afterward, and then rub in a couple coats of Danish oil for a nice hand-rubbed look. But be sure to practice on scrap because you need to find the balance between the shellac concentration, the danish oil, and the amount of blotching that appears.

Now if you want some more protection, I recommend using a simple varnish. Wiping varnishes like Arm-R-Seal or Minwax Wiping Varnish are both good options. Another advantage of using a varnish with no oil in it is that you don’t have to worry too much about how much the shellac seals the surface. The varnish will dry either way. So you can seal the surface as much as you want, avoiding blotching completely.

You mentioned Deft finish, and I am assuming that is Deft lacquer. This is also an acceptable topcoat if you are comfortable applying lacquer. The project looks great so far and I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the above finishes. Good luck!

And here is Mathew’s finished project:

I finished the project a couple of weeks ago for my cousin’s wedding gift. It is a chest made of maple and cherry. When it came down to the finish, I used a mix of 50/50 bullseye shellac as a base layer. Once it dried I lightly sanded the entire piece. I then used some Danish oil and rubbed in one coat. I then used one coat of DEFT clear wood finish in a semi-gloss. I sanded with 300 grit paper after and then sprayed another layer of the DEFT. I sanded that with 800 grit paper and then sprayed another layer. I sanded that very lightly and then sprayed one last layer. I then buffed it out and that was it. Took about a week. I don’t know if it was the best way to go about it, but it came out nice and smooth. I couldn’t complain for my first project. I have always wanted to start doing this on my own so I bought a few tools and this is what came out. I spent several hours on The Wood Whisperer website watching videos and talking with other members in the chat room. I can’t begin to tell you how much everybody helped me out. Thank you everyone for all the advice and thank you Marc for the help and inspiration to try something new.

Here are some of the pictures I had promised. The one with rustic walnut and cherry is the one I built for the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer that will be auctioned off in February 2010 and the other two are the ones I built for the kids. I fell in love with the walnut and maple one and I plan on building one similar for myself. Please tell the story as it may give others inspiration that have cancer or a family member with it.

Just thought I would send in some pictures of my latest project. I built it for my girlfriend to use as a tack trunk to keep at the barn where she boards her horse. It is made from walnut with a aromatic cedar bottom for both the trunk and sliding tray. I went with a no fuss finish using Watco Danish oil. This was my first attempt at hand cut dovetails and I think they came out pretty well. I think your website is great. Keep up the good work. Thanks for your time

I wanted to submit something for your Viewer Project portion of the blog. It’s a trunk that I made for a former player of mine that is getting married on Friday. She’s a great kid and did absolutely everything I asked of her the three years I had the pleasure of coaching her. The trunk was made from scrap I had around my shop – poplar, alder, maple, maple ply for the top and mdf for the panels. The corners were mitered using my ts55 and are reinforced with Dominos. The finish is some exterior latex I had left over from a plantation shutter job I did this summer. I put on two coats of primer and then two top coats. I don’t think I’ll use paint next time since it didn’t come out as smooth as I would’ve liked. If I do another one of these I’ll probably end up using a tinted lacquer. After it was painted I beat the heck out of it with some old keys and took some chunks out with a chisel. Once that was done I applied Mohawk’s Van Dyke Brown Glazing Stain. I followed that up with two coats of USL.

I know that the hinges don’t match the feel of the piece but I wanted to use them. They are the new ones from Rockler that allow the lid to stay in a fixed position. The little tray in the middle was to fix a bow in the front panel. I had to pull it back in so that the lid would shut. Not what I wanted to do but it did the job. Thanks for your time.

I just thought I’d send you this, I’ve been working very hard on it, and it’s been a great project for me. I’ve learned so much from it. My Mom and Dad wanted me to make them a wooden chest to display her quilts(she’s a big Quilter), and this is what I cam up with. I found the design online, and I changed it up a bit to make it a little nicer. The wood is Mesquite, 3/4″. With Stained aspen panels for the back and bottom. I used 1/4″ glass for the front and sides. The top was held together with 4 biscuits each and a lot of Tightbond III, and the frame is held together with Pocket screws with walnut plugs. The front and side frames are held together with screws(3 each) with walnut plugs as well. I put a 45 degree chamfer on the top edge to give it a finishing touch. Glass was held in with Liquid nails mirror adhesive. And the hinges are solid brass. I also installed the spring loaded hinges to help the lid lift up and down, and to keep it from over extending(worked out great). I ended up deciding to build two of them(just as fast as building one), so that my mom has some nice new furniture in her living room. And the will look great instead of her cheap stuff that she has now. They are finished in the photos, except for a few finishing touches like getting all the excess liquid nails off of the glass, and the bottom being yet to be placed inside the second one. I put two coats of tung oil, and three coats of poly satin on all the surfaces to give it a strong protection. I think that they came out just great. This was my first real project, and my first furniture project ever. I’ve never done any fine wood working before, and I think I did very well for my first time. All the edges are clean and smooth, and you can’t feel any of the joints or plugs. The top feels like one piece when you run your hand over it. No gaps or anything. Let me know if you have any questions about the project. I finished both of them in about three weeks worth of afternoons. I had work till 3pm Mon-Fri so I only had a few hours each day. I Finished up just in time for X-mas.

“Hey Marc! I wanted to show you a few pictures of my first completed piece of what I guess you’d call “casework”. I made this blanket chest as a gift for my brother-in-law and his soon-to-be bride. It’s made out of rift sawn and quartersawn white oak. The dimensions are 42″L x 21″W x 20″D. This project was a first for me using many different techniques. It’s the first breadboard lid I’ve made, as well as the first time I’ve attempted a frame-and-panel case. I used aromatic red cedar planks, purchased from Home Depot as “closet liner”, to line the box. These were applied with 3/4″ brads.”

“I started the finishing process by applying a liberal coat of Transtint’s Dark Mission Brown, mixed in distilled water. After a light 320 grit sanding, I applied a coat of dewaxed shellac. From there, I wiped on a thick coat of General Finishes walnut gel stain. I let it sit for a couple of minutes, then wiped it off with a clean cloth. After another light sanding, I applied three coats of General’s Satin High Performance topcoat, rubbed with 0000 steel wool between coats. A couple of coats of paste wax later, and this is where it’s at.”

“My wife loves it and has mentioned a couple of times already that her brother will never know that they didn’t get their “original” gift. :-) I guess I’ll be making another one of these soon. Thanks for looking!”