Cherry Pie Safe built as a donation to my son's high school band

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bonesbr549

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here is a link to my most recent project.  It's a solid cherry pie safe with two adjustable shelves.  The back is beadboard and the drawer fronts are bookmatched.  The finish is 3 coats of waterlox sealer followed by three coats of walterlox satin finish sprayed.  My son's in the highscool band (drummer) and I'm a supporter and with budget cuts its getting harder to support the music groups by the local gov't.  We raffle it off tonight 200 tickets at 10 bucks a piece so 2,000 bucks for them to support the music program.  Sad part is my wife was going to buy a few tickets and I told her it would look real bad if she won.  So she compromised, I get to build a second one. 

http://www.flickr.com//photos/22447246@N06/sets/72157629684779463/show/

Tools used Festool MFT/3 TS55 & M&T joinery is domino. 
 
That is really nice.  Did you punch your own tin?  I've always wanted to build a pie safe for my wife but we just don't have the room.
 
Don T said:
That is really nice.  Did you punch your own tin?  I've always wanted to build a pie safe for my wife but we just don't have the room.
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Thought about it but due to time just could not take it on.  The company I found not to far cut me a discount when I told them what it was for and they prefinished the tin.
 
I opened this not knowing what a "cherry pie safe" was ... not realising it could possibly be for pies!

Is that a traditional thing?

Looks really well made!

 
Kev said:
I opened this not knowing what a "cherry pie safe" was ... not realising it could possibly be for pies!

Is that a traditional thing?

Looks really well made!
Click to expand...

My first exposure to them was on the New Yankee Workshop with Norm.  Maybe it's more of a New England thing?
 
The following is from this web site:

"In the 19th century, the Pennsylvania Germans introduced a wooden cupboard with tiny holes used to store baked goods and other kitchen sundries. Pie safes varied in size and shape but were widely used before the invention of ice boxes and refrigerators. Antique pie safes can fetch a high price, while reproductions are less expensive. For those who are crafty, many websites will teach you how to build your own."

[smile]
 
Kev said:
I opened this not knowing what a "cherry pie safe" was ... not realising it could possibly be for pies!

Is that a traditional thing?

Looks really well made!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words.  As someone els mentioned it was developed in colonial times as a way to keep insects away from cakes pies ...  I grew up loving furniture of this type.  Now to be true the origionals, they would have been probably pine or the ones I saw mostly as a lad wormy chesnut because those woods were widely available till the great blight.  I remember my cousins house (we were poor) and the house would have been considered a blight today, ceiling's railings and waynescoating all of wormy chesnut.    Anyway I always wanted to make one, but I like working with cherry.  Anyway thanks again for the comments.
 
Kev said:
I opened this not knowing what a "cherry pie safe" was ... not realising it could possibly be for pies!

Is that a traditional thing?

Looks really well made!
Click to expand...

Kev,

Just for info...

The 'food' safe is not from the too distant past .

One of my school woodwork projects in 1952 was a pine 'meat-safe' for me Mum. (1952 might be distant past to you of course!  [big grin])

In those days (In the UK anyhow) the average household didn't have a refrigerator. Instead there was the 'meat-safe'; a small cupboard with netting panels, rather than solid sides. (Netting kept out the flies of course, and allowed air to circulate.) The 'meat-safe' was kept in a cool place, such as a pantry or larder, usually on the north wall of a house, and with only a small window. Of course the 'meat-safe' had to be well-made or it didn't keep out the creep-crawlies! Makes you wonder how we survived doesn't it!  [wink]

Regards
John
 
That is a very fine piece of work and I wish you the best of luck selling all of the tickets.

I was a bit like Kev, wondering exactly what a cherry pie safe might be. John's post reminds me that in the 1950-60s we did not have a fridge at home and so we had a larder - a room off the kitchen with just a small (probably north facing) window for ventilation and a work top made of marble to help keep things cool.

I think that many of the old British traditions and terminology live on in North America (fawcet, sidewalk and turnpike are just a few examples). I really enjoyed my tour of Virginia when I was in the US a few years ago and took delight in the preservation in the historic towns there. From what I have seen on the FOG, I think that a lot of the traditional woodworking skills are thriving in North America as well.

Well done.

Peter
 
Kev said:
I opened this not knowing what a "cherry pie safe" was ... not realising it could possibly be for pies!
Click to expand...

Let me guess. You expected to find some sort of lock box to prevent the pies from being stolen? To be honest, my grandmother had a pie safe and it DID have a lock on it ~ put on it after the first time I swiped a pie.

And that apple pie was worth all the stars from the head swat I received.  [big grin]
 
bonesbr549 said:
here is a link to my most recent project.  It's a solid cherry pie safe with two adjustable shelves.   The back is beadboard and the drawer fronts are bookmatched.  The finish is 3 coats of waterlox sealer followed by three coats of walterlox satin finish sprayed.  My son's in the highscool band (drummer) and I'm a supporter and with budget cuts its getting harder to support the music groups by the local gov't.   We raffle it off tonight 200 tickets at 10 bucks a piece so 2,000 bucks for them to support the music program.  Sad part is my wife was going to buy a few tickets and I told her it would look real bad if she won.   So she compromised, I get to build a second one.  

http://www.flickr.com//photos/22447246@N06/sets/72157629684779463/show/

Tools used Festool MFT/3 TS55 & M&T joinery is domino.  
Click to expand...

Beautiful!

But without a close up....I'm not sure the "Tin" is installed correctly.

From the images I can't tell for sure but it looks like the tin is installed backwards. The working pie safes I grew up with had the sharpe edges facing out (they were punched out from inside). You learned not to get too close and brush them as they would rip a shirt or cut skin if brushed. This is due to the fact a bug will not climb over a sharp edge as it will scratch them. The scratch will cause the bug to die, so instinct for self preservation keeps the bug out.  If they are installed backward they become a bug collector trap and the food will soon become infested.

Please tell what way the sharp edges face on your project.  Also if I'm just flat out wrong about how they must be built/installed to work let me know.

Cheers,
Steve
 
Chris Rosenberger said:
The tin is installed correcty for a piece of furniture. It is not correct if you are going to store pies in it.
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[scratch chin] Then I wouldn't all it a Pie Safe... would you?

Not a big thing...but if I bought a Cherry Pie Safe I would want it to be a pie safe.

Baseline is it a very nice piece and as long as the owners like it that is all that matters....just don't store pies in it.

Cheers,
Steve
 
Steve R said:
Then I wouldn't all it a Pie Safe... would you?
Not a big thing...but if I bought a Cherry Pie Safe I would want it to be a pie safe.
Baseline is it a very nice piece and as long as the owners like it that is all that matters....just don't store pies in it.
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Ahh, you're nitpicking. Whatever he wants to call it is his choice. The real baseline is that it's pretty irrelevant in this day and age if the tin is punched in or out, because most houses these days don't have bugs crawling through them like in days of yore.
 
Fantastic work Bones and I'm old enough to remember pie cabinets in our homes [wink].  I was 12 years old before we got an electric refrigerator and didn't have to get our block ice delivery any longer.
 
Upscale said:
Steve R said:
Then I wouldn't all it a Pie Safe... would you?
Not a big thing...but if I bought a Cherry Pie Safe I would want it to be a pie safe.
Baseline is it a very nice piece and as long as the owners like it that is all that matters....just don't store pies in it.
Click to expand...

Ahh, you're nitpicking. Whatever he wants to call it is his choice. The real baseline is that it's pretty irrelevant in this day and age if the tin is punched in or out, because most houses these days don't have bugs crawling through them like in days of yore.
Click to expand...

Mr, Upscale,

If you read my post I say it is "not a big thing" I also go on to say "Baseline is it a very nice piece and as long as the owners like it that is all that matters....just don't store pies in it. "

It seems you are the one as you say that is "nitpicking".

As stated I like the piece... My Grandfather made them. The punched side was viewed as the most attractive and if lettering was added it was done so it was readable when the door was open and the pies and breads were being displayed and served. They were a presentation piece of furniture to show off the cooks skills along with being functional. Also back then the homes were also bug free as that is cleanliness issue not a 21st century chemical issue.

I was just looking at the pictures... if it was a Victorian table with Mission legs I would have raised the same point if you call it one thing...it should be what you call it.

The main thing is the guy built a beautiful cabinet and he's happy....do you have an issue that that? I don't.

Cheers,
Steve

 
 
That's a great looking piece. Can I ask how you liked spraying the waterlox?
I used waterlox the first time on a table I made this winter. I applied it with a foam brush and ended up wet sanding it.
After the wet sanding it looked great, but before the sanding I did not like it so much.

cheers,

- J
 
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