Apothecary chest

[nclemmons]

Looks fantastic.  The knobs and the connected pattern of the grain play well together. 

I think you notice the grain with the more muted knobs.  An ebony or metal knob would take the eye away from the brain pattern I think.

 

[derekcohen]

FINAL

Talk about down to the wire. It's 11 p.m. and I've just completed a coat of Howard's wax after the last coat of Livos Universal Wood Oil. The drawers were all finished inside and out with Ubeaut Hard Shellac (dewaxed blond shellac). The inside of the chest (drawer recesses) was given a coat of paste wax. Tomorrow morning I take the chest to the Perth Showground for the annual West Australian Wood Show, where it will take its place among others in the furniture competition. I started this piece 3 months ago.

I could tell you how the base gave me fits. It was a difficult task to design a stand for a curved cabinet. Probably why Krenov never built an apothecary chest!   Last night I completed the base, and Lynndy loved it. Compound curves forever. Damn sexy. The base, that is.

But when I placed the chest on it, the combination looked awful ... top heavy ... ugh! I was out of wood, out of time, and it looked like I was out of the competition.

This morning I woke up and had an inspiration. Cut the legs shorter. This evening, after work, I did just that. And I like the finished piece. I think the balance is right. So does Lynndy, which matters. The dimensions are 1000 high (39") x 460mm (18") across.

Here is the chest, and where it will be positioned in the entrance hall ...

A few pics of the base ...

Much time was spent designing and building the drawers, which curve across the fronts ...

Yes, I changed the steel for brass screws (no slotted ones the correct size, however) ...

And made knobs in the same Black Walnut, and fitted coplanar to the drawer recess (that was a headache before finally coming up with the simplest solution, to use the drill press!) ..

I was very pleased with the drawer stops ...

... and you can see the shiplapped back if you peak ...

It has been a long, but exhilarating build. I hope that you got something from it too.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[peter halle]

[member=4358]derekcohen[/member] - Best of luck in the competition!  I am glad that it will also have a great home and will be an heirloom piece.  And thank you for taking the enormous of time to document your build here.  Although many of us may not ever consider building such a project nor tackle a project with mainly hand tools, projects such as yours do serve as idea generators and inspirators in many different ways.

Peter

 

[CirclDigital]

Indeed best of luck..... but with such a great project and result that shouldn’t be difficult.

 

[nclemmons]

Thanks for taking us along this amazing path!  Good luck in the competition.  The finished piece is excellent.  Love the floating cabinet.  Brings a very subtle element of lightness to the design.

This is a piece you want to touch and explore!  Just fantastic and one for your legacy!

Neil

 

[eddomak]

Indeed, although I will probably never attempt something so difficult and with all those "master's touches" I have been reading this thread regularly and have learnt quite a lot through all the detail and coming along for the journey.

I thought I better post about this rather than just be a silent viewer, to thank you for all the extra time and effort in the write up. All the best for the competition.

 

[lunchman]

I've enjoyed reading this thread and have to say the finished product is amazing! Your attention to the smallest details, the challenges and solutions, the highly skilled craftsmanship - all worthy of many accolades.

Thanks for posting your build.

 

[derekcohen]

Thanks for all the kind words. I hope it has been as helpful for some of you as it has been fun for me.

Kind regards from Perth Australia

Derek

 

[ilovesunshine]

Hey Derek
This is excellent! Super inspiring! So many things to think about! Thank you so much for sharing so many photos! So how did you do in the competition? How many other excellent woodworkers are you up against? good luck!

 

[derekcohen]

I think I got as far as the final cut, but did not place.

Here is a link to photos of the Show:
http://www.woodcentral.com/woodwork.../id/519238/sbj/west-australian-woodshow-2018/
http://www.woodcentral.com/woodwork.../id/519361/sbj/a-few-more-photos-of-the-show/

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Dick Mahany]

Your apothecary chest has been an incredible work to follow as it progressed.  It is in a league that I can only aspire to at this time.  Thank you for sharing all along the way and for your excellent photos.  This piece stands above and beyond on its own merit.

 

[derekcohen]

Thanks Dick. You are very kind.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[HarveyWildes]

Your apothecary chest has been an incredible work to follow as it progressed.  It is in a league that I can only aspire to at this time.  Thank you for sharing all along the way and for your excellent photos.  This piece stands above and beyond on its own merit.

Agreed - it was a pleasure to follow this post.

 

[derekcohen]

Thanks to you, too, Harvey for your support along the way.

Regards from Perth

Derek