The idea that I might be able to share these pieces with others began to take form with this blanket chest. I enjoyed the process of using wooden hollows and rounds to form the molding and the bevel on the lid, cutting everything by hand and having a usable sturdy piece of furniture that I can hand down from generation to generation that will remain functional and timeless.
Hinged and painted.
The trim molding, the feet and the carcass blend well.
Mortising the hinge into the blanket chest carcass. The Stanley 71, Sterling toolworks square and Irwin/Marples chisels were key to straight lines and consistent depth of cut.
The hinges are antiques imported from England. I wish we could find these sourced new. Gorgeous black iron tapered in both width and depth.
I love the cypress oiled. It's a beautiful wood.
Finishing the trim molding with Irwin/Marples chisels, a Lie-Nielsen low-angle 62 1/2 plane, Lie-Nielsen medium shoulder plane and a lot of patience.
The interior of the blanket chest was left in raw cypress.
Gang cutting the profiles on the feet after laying out the curves by hand. A coping saw with Pegas skip tooth coping blades. A four-in-hand file and a scraper finished the curves.
The Millers Falls 2-A hand drill, Fisch brad point drill bits and an old 3.5oz hammer I bought and refinished. Hollows and rounds and a couple of planes made this beautiful molding that trimmed out the chest. Attaching it was an interesting exercise in work holding and nailing it with Tremont nails.