Walnut Panel Chest

by | May 20, 2022 | LifeSkills, Pastimes | 140 comments

 

The primary goal for this project was to create a chest in which my wife could store supplies for sewing and weaving projects.

The panel chest first appeared in Europe in the late 14th century and was produced into the 16th century.  The model for my project was an early 16th century chest that comes from the British Isles (see figures 1 & 2 below).  The photographs of the model chest were taken from the website of an antiques dealer that specializes in English and Welsh artifacts.  The dealer dates this particular chest to the time frame from 1500 to 1540.

 

Figure 1 – 16th Century Gothic Panel Chest – Front View

The panel chest marks the appearance of “floating” panels that fit into grooves cut into the framework of the chest.  This technique of building furniture helps to eliminate the cracking and splitting of the wood in the chest due to humidity changes.  The legs, rails, and stiles that make up the frame of the chest are joined with mortise and tenon joints. The pins (wooden dowels) that reinforce the mortise and tenon joints are visible in both the front and side photographs.

In the traditional construction of the panel chest, the panels would be intricately carved.  However, the lid, legs, rails, and stiles would not be carved or otherwise decorated.  In the model chest, the front panels are carved with a complex gothic pattern, while the side panels have a simpler linen-fold pattern. The lid would be constructed from multiple boards and would be edge-glued to achieve the desired width.  An edge joint in the lid is visible in the photograph of the side view of the chest.

Figure 2 –Panel Chest – End View

Since this was my first attempt at a project of this complexity, the focus of the project was limited to the construction techniques for the panel chest including the use of mortise and tenon joints as wells as floating panels.  Carving the panels was considered to be too large of a project for the time that I had available.  Since I was not going to attempt any carving, I selected highly figured panels to serve as the decoration for the chest.

Figure 3 – Front View of Walnut Sewing Chest

I designed the sewing chest from scratch.  The sewing chest is similar in size and construction to the 16th century model chest, but is not an exact replica of the model.  As with the model, the sewing chest has three panels on the front and back as well as two panels on each side.  The legs, rails, and stiles are joined with mortise and tenon joints that are reinforced with ¼ inch dowels.

Figure 4 – Front View of Walnut Sewing Chest

The tools used for the project include a 12-inch planer, a table saw, a compound miter saw, a portable router installed in a router table, a dedicated morticing machine, a random orbital sander, and a hand-held drill.  The panels, legs, rails, and stiles were ripped to rough size and then planed down the finished size.  They were then cut to the final length with the compound miter saw.  All of the ½ inch deep groves in the legs, rails, and stiles were cut using the router table with a ¾ inch straight bit installed in the router.  The tenons were cut on the table saw, and the mortices were cut with the dedicated morticing machine.  All pieces were then sanded with the random orbital sander with a 220-grit sand paper.  Finally, the chest was assembled by gluing the mortice and tenon joints with a modern woodworking glue and the joints were reinforced with ¼ inch oak dowels.

The lid of the project piece is a significant deviation from the traditional construction in that it has a large panel that floats in a set of rails and stiles instead of edge-glued boards.  The panel was constructed from a highly-figured, but thick board.  The board was re-sawn into two thinner boards, book-matched, and edge-glued.  The resulting “look” of the lid compliments the panel construction of the body wonderfully.

Figure 5 – Top of Walnut Sewing Chest

The lid is attached with modern cabinet hinges which are mortised into the lid and the body of the chest.  The modern hinges are virtually invisible with the chest is closed.  In the traditional construction, the lid would be attached with strap hinges attached to the back the chest and to the underside of the lid.

Figure 6 – Top of Walnut Sewing Chest

The lid was constructed using the same equipment and techniques as the body of the chest.

 

Figure 7 – End View of Walnut Sewing Chest

 

 

Figure 8 – End View of Walnut Sewing Chest

The sewing chest is finished with shellac and wax.  I used a ½-lb cut of shellac and applied the shellac with a rag.  I put on two quick coats of shellac with about a 15-minute wait between coats.  I waited about 2 hours after the second coat to ensure the shellac was thoroughly dry.  Then I sanded the surface lightly with a 400-grit emery paper.  I repeated this process three additional times resulting in a total of eight very thin coats of shellac.  This was enough to provide a nice satin finish.  I then applied two thin coats of Mylands clear furniture wax to protect the shellac and leave the chest with a high-gloss shine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About The Author

kinnath

kinnath

I am not a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: the glibs, and... uh... my booze.

140 Comments

  1. Zwak, who counted all his blessings, and counted only one.

    Very nice. I need to build something like that to replace the pressboard Chest Shaped Object that covers the hole to the laundry shoot.

  2. Surly Knott

    Sweet! Excellent work and a fine finished project.

  3. kinnath

    I have tasks to do this evening. I will be popping in an out all night.

  4. Gustave Lytton

    Never too old for a hope chest! Nice work kinnath!

  5. Plinker762

    These are not the chest pictures I was hoping for.

  6. Ted S.

    Nice to see you’ve got woodworking tolerances down to a hundredth of an inch.

    /significant digits

    • Plinker762

      Where did I put my digital tape measure?

    • kinnath

      the tool is what the tool is.

      • MikeS

        Ted’s know all about being a tool.

      • Chafed

        Beat me to it.

  7. MikeS

    Thanks for sharing another nice woodworking project, kinnath. You do wonderful work.

  8. Tundra

    Nice job, kinnath.

    I really like the panels you chose!

    • kinnath

      Those were lovely. I was thrilled when I found them at the local lumber shop.

      • Grumbletarian

        I like that the panels on the front look to have been cut from a single larger piece of wood. The grain seems to move from one to the next smoothly.

  9. one true athena

    beautiful job!

  10. kinnath

    Thanks everyone.

  11. Fourscore

    I’m overwhelmed at the skills, artistry and craftsmanship . I don’t know how you learn this sort of thing.
    Super work, Mrs Kinnath has a beautiful and useful chest for her own art work.

    Next you’ll be telling us you made the spinning wheel that she dazzled the HH ladies with last year.

    • kinnath

      Nope. Wheels are a special skill that I don’t have.

      • Fourscore

        Don’t have yet…

      • kinnath

        I buy wheels if I need them. I don’t need them that often, so it’s not worth getting the tools and experience.

        Comparative Advantage and all that.

  12. Sensei

    Nice! Wish I had the space for a shop of any kind of size.

  13. mikey

    Very impressive. And a beautiful design.

  14. Ozymandias

    kinnath – Lovely. When I make my fortune and can stop making a living arguing, would you consider a 50-something apprentice? I’ve always wanted to learn carpentry. Would love to just watch – and help as needed – someone work from start to finish on a project like this. I have a friend who built some crazy custom bars to look like flight decks of ships he flew on – did it for other pilots too – and it was extraordinary. He built the house he lives in – and I got to help a little – and it made me want to learn all of that even more.
    Unfortunately, I’m not (yet) in a position to walk away from my current living as a paid arguer.

    • kinnath

      sure

      • kinnath

        I joked in a thread a bit back about it just being knowledge, tools, and experience.

        I have purchased a bunch of new equipment and will be putting in a permanent shop this summer.

      • kinnath

        Norm Abram taught me most of what I know. 😉

      • Ozymandias

        That’s what my friend said, as well. He loved Norm.
        But he also always had that kind of ability and interest: he was a model-builder of considerable accomplishment, including some that he built for competitions. He would do entire series of models – like every WW2 German tank in exquisite replica. Every aircraft he ever flew, right down to the Bureau Numbers on the tail and the flight gear matching his own. I always got the feeling that it required some specific talent, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve disabused myself of that notion. You can get good at almost anything just by doing – it’s the commitment – the time and attention/focus.

      • kinnath

        There is a certain skill that I think is innate — being able to see how a bunch of flat stock turns into a 3-D object. It’s not just furniture. My wife has it when clothing. Same fundamentals. Cut a bunch of pieces out of flat stock. Connect then the proper way. Voila!

      • Fourscore

        It’s way more than skill, it’s the ability (the talent) to see something that isn’t there and then make it there. My friend’s grandson, when he was about 5-6, sat down behind a keyboard, a 1/2 hour later or so, he played a recognizable “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. By the time he was 10 he had self taught on a guitar, banjo, and more.

        On the other hand each of us have different areas of expertise, I’m still looking for mine.

  15. The Late P Brooks

    Simple, clean, very nice.

    • MikeS

      Are you quoting Biden?

      • cavalier973

        “I used to have hairy chest hairs, and the kids in the pool would swim up with their roaches and cause inflation because Harris is President.”

    • MikeS

      And $5k to fix it? just get some Flex Seal.

  16. Grummun

    Great work, Kinnath. Did you start with 8/4 stock for the rails and stiles to finish that thick?

    Really nice finish, too. I usually stay away from a gloss finish because it shows defects too well. Which says something about my priorities.

    • kinnath

      Local lumber yard harvests trees from the area and rips them down to boards. I assume the best get sold off. But the stuff in the shop is generally pretty nice. It just quite limited.

      Widths and thicknesses are pretty random too. I don’t remember the details but the legs are probably 8/4 and rails/styles are probably 6/4. They are thinner than the legs. So that took some figuring out to keep everything centered properly.

  17. The Other Kevin

    Wow that’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

  18. Tulip

    Wow, lovely.

  19. Mojeaux

    Gorgeous!

  20. Aloysious

    Wow.

    That’s gorgeous.

    • MikeS

      I actually did that the other day…sans boobs and eagles. One of our cats, unbeknownst to me, was hunting the bird feeder. I heard a chirping racket and turned to see him carrying away a female Rose-breasted (boobies!) Grosbeak. I chased the little monster into the trees and damn near poked my eye out on a branch. But, I scared him enough to drop the bird and it got away. I don’t know why it bothered me so much…I guess because the bird was making a hell of a racket. That and I don’t feed the birds for these spoiled cats to eat them.

  21. MikeS

    It’s interesting to me that this has a very Prairie/Craftsman feel to it, even though the model predates those styles by 400-ish years. Good style is timeless.

    • kinnath

      Most of our furniture is prairie school/craftsman. By not carving the panels, the chest fits in exactly with our furniture. It was one of the considerations.

  22. MikeS

    So…how about that sports team.

    • MikeS

      And…there is weather outside.

      • rhywun

        I can’t even see across the street.

        Heat comin’.

      • MikeS

        Fucking frost warning here tonight. Never ending winter.

      • Chafed

        Seriously?

      • MikeS

        Yep. Today’s high was 30 degrees below average. It’s currently 36F

      • rhywun

        Today I wheeled my portable AC out of the closet and into the living room in preparation. I bought it at the tail end of last summer and it kicks ass compared to the one that died last year.

        And I bought a desk so I can move my home office into my bedroom for the summer where there is AC instead of buying another damn window AC for the spare bedroom home office which is already a graveyard of dead air conditioners that I have been too lazy to cart downstairs.

    • Brochettaward

      My cock is out, and I am ready to First.

      It is a First out with your cock out sort of night.

      Are you excited? I am excited.

      • MikeS

        I’m so excite I firsted in my pants.

      • MikeS

        Did you see the link I posted this afternoon? I thought you would reply and was extremely sad that you didn’t.

      • Brochettaward

        I do not appreciate people making light of American Psycho. To me, it is the quintessential story of one Firster’s struggle against the vapid seconder society that surrounds him and its failure to recognize his achievements.

      • MikeS

        C’mon…it made you smile.

      • PudPaisley

        Settle down Bro. Harambe’s birthday isn’t until next Friday.

    • rhywun

      So…how about that sports team.

      The Rangers are a sports team whom I watched go through the motions tonight so there is that I guess.

      • MikeS

        After a gawd-awful start, the Twins are first in the Central, where they belong, so we can all be happy about that.

      • Gender Traitor

        I just went to mlb.com to see how the Cardinals were doing (2nd in NL Central – the only division that matters! – and 4 GB from the damn Brewers,) and according to their standings page, there are no more major league games until October 5th. ?

      • Gender Traitor

        Well, now they’ve gone and corrected it and made a liar out of me. ?

      • MikeS

        Oct. 5…were you on the playoffs page?

      • Gender Traitor

        No, it was regular season, but when I refreshed the page, it made everything all better. Well, except for the ‘birds’ position relative to the damn Brew Crew.

      • MikeS

        Weird. When I look I see every team playing tomorrow.

  23. UnCivilServant

    Both the inspiration and your box are purdy.

    • kinnath

      Thanks.

      I don’t do metal, but I like playing with wood.

      • rhywun

        ?

      • MikeS

        Right?!

  24. kinnath

    Greetings to all the zoomers if they show up.

    I will check back in the morning.

    • R.J.

      Greetings Kinnath! Excellent work!

  25. dbleagle

    Outstanding work kinnath. The skill and patience involved is impressive.

  26. UnCivilServant

    Off topic, what do eggs and breadcrumbs purportedly add to meatballs/meatloaf ?

    I had neither and made macaroni and meatballs for dinner. They help together just fine. Is it a texture or flavor matter? Or a case of “We’ve always used that recipe”?

    • rhywun

      Texture, I guess. “Lightness”? I’ve made meatloaf without that stuff and it came out too dense and gross.

    • Name's BEAM. James BEAM.

      For your application, think of egg as “culinary glue” which, when added to a ground meat along with breadcrumbs, can help the combination retain shape. The breadcrumbs additionally absorb both meat juices and rendered fat (really useful to keep burger patties from bursting into flames on a grill), and also “cut” the density of the ground meat, resulting in a more tender chew.

      I knew an Italian lady who said that up to half of her meatballs by volume were breadcrumbs, grated cheese (usually Parmesan) and egg, along with a little water for added moisture. The meatballs were amazing. And when she finished ‘em in her tomato sauce, they absorbed some of the sauce too.

      My basic recipe for burgers, meatballs or meatloaf is (by volume) 1/3 pork, 1/3 beef and the remainder is mostly breadcrumbs, one egg per kilo of meat, a smallish amount of additional water and whatever herbs or spices suit your fancy. Sometimes an Oxo packet of chicken bouillon finds its way in there, sometimes onion powder, sometimes Worcestershire sauce. Et cetera.

      • rhywun

        With you until the hamburgers. Hamburgers do not contain egg or breadcrumbs. (Or pork, but I won’t fight back too hard on that.)

      • Gustave Lytton

        Just think of it as Canadian meat patty instead.

        Now I feel like a meatloaf sandwich.

  27. Gender Traitor

    The primary goal for this project was to create a chest in which my wife could store supplies for sewing and weaving projects.

    Being partial to the fiber arts, I’d love to see this lovely chest opened up to show her stash once she has it all nicely arranged therein!

    And, of course, I’m totes jelly of her. I store my fabric in plastic drawers, and my yarn in closet hanging shoe organizers and a plethora of different tote bags. It makes it a challenge sometimes to locate the stuff I’m looking for. ? (My sister, who weaves and spins, has her stuff EVERYWHERE.)

  28. Brochettaward

    Speaking of sports, is anyone else a little tired of athletes crying about supposed attacks from fans on social media? AJ Brown was traded and rewarded with a massive contract. He continues to whine everyday about all these fans who are attacking him for wanting a fair contract (and I agree his contract was reasonable, he did nothing wrong whatsoever). Media sites report his response, but I never…ever see examples of these supposedly unreasonable fans. I’m sure there’s a knucklehead or two who are bitter, but I find it hard to believe there are droves of Titans fans attacking him.

    It’s like the feminists who all claim to get death threats, but never produce the specific tweets. And when they do, the words differ quite a bit from what they claimed.

    • MikeS

      Sticks…stones…etc…

    • Chafed

      He can dry his tears in a swimming pool full of cash.

    • rhywun

      When fans bitch, it seems like it’s usually over the musical chairs they play. Or maybe that’s just me.

      FFS, when I watch hockey, half the opposing team has played for my team in the recent past. It’s ridiculous.

    • hayeksplosives

      There was a story yesterday about a “transthlete” who dominated women’s skateboarding.

      The story wasn’t trying to gin up outrage at the guy who won the women’s competition; the story was about the woman who loudly objected to the translethe’s participation. She came in second place twice to two different trans women and is pretty sick of it.

      So much for woman’s rights!!!

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10837837/amp/Moment-transgender-skateboarder-takes-position-winners-podium-2021-event.html

  29. Mojeaux

    Daily Quordle 117
    7️⃣4️⃣
    3️⃣6️⃣

    Wordle 336 4/6

    ⬜⬜??⬜
    ?⬜⬜?⬜
    ????⬜
    ?????

    • MikeS

      5️⃣9️⃣
      7️⃣6️⃣

      Should have waited for morning.

      • The Hyperbole

        Are you taking the reins today? If so, I set up the weeks spreadsheet so you should be good to go.

    • MikeS

      Wordle in 3

    • The Hyperbole

      6️⃣7️⃣
      3️⃣8️⃣

  30. hayeksplosives

    Beautiful work!

    You did a wonderful job of choosing the figured wood as its own “decoration” as well.

    I’m still re-reading the description of how you re-saved am then bookmatched the “lid” piece.

    I hope you signed or carved initials into this; you have created a work of art that will become an heirloom eventually.

  31. Sean

    I like your wife’s chest.

    • Festus

      Like I said to a friend of mine that kept trying to fuck monkeys, “Hey Buddy! Stop doing that!” He just wouldn’t listen and here we are.

      • Tres Cool

        You fuck ONE monkey, ONE time…and you’re labeled for life.

      • Gender Traitor

        “Yeah, but you got an ugly one!”

      • Tres Cool

        Don’t monkey with another monkey’s monkey.

  32. Festus

    Beauty! I can build garden boxes…

    • Sean

      Hey dude!

      • Festus

        I’m your Huckleberry, Bro 😉

  33. Festus

    Someone at work wants to give me a jar of pickled beets. She’s never been especially friendly but now that I’m on my way out she’s making this gesture. When she gives me the full jar I am handing over an empty one. Seems only fair as mason jars seem to be pretty dear nowadays and I will probably never see her again. That’s the worst part of canning, buying jars and lids.

    • Fourscore

      I found Mason jars this year and of course inflated a little in price. Last year Kinnath had to smuggle some in from Iowa for me.

      I do love pickled beets though.

  34. Tulip

    New seed words made a huge difference!

    Daily Quordle 117
    5️⃣7️⃣
    2️⃣6️⃣
    quordle.com

    • Sean

      Nice. You don’t see many 2s.

  35. Tres Cool

    suh’ fam
    what’s goody yo

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, homey….and there’s way too many others to greet individually by name, so… all the rest of you, too!

      Already so warm I don’t want even a lightweight hoodie on out here at Tranquility Base. Probably finishing up the last of the hot chai latte today and starting in on the iced MOCHA latte tomorrow! Woo hoo! Wild living!

      Baseball tickets for this evening, which almost certainly means it’s going to rain cats & dogs. ?

      • rhywun

        The fog is blowing into the house and making me stuffed up. But I am prepared for the “near record high temperatures”, darn it.

  36. Sean

    Ugh. On the road to NJ.

    • Fourscore

      No way, man, I got married and divorced there. Ain’t returning

      • Sean

        I took a pill. Literally.

      • Tres Cool

        Morning-after annulment pill ?

    • Tres Cool

      I worked all night, and Im starving waiting on Big Boy. Up there YOU PEOPLE call it Elias Bros. Here it’s Frisch’s. Cleveland calls it Bob’s.

      TALL CANS!

      • Gender Traitor

        Oh, lordy! Frisch’s has avocado toast on the breakfast menu! FRISCH’S HAS GONE HIPSTER!!!

        If my grandfather were alive, he’d be spinning in his grave.

      • Sean

        ?

      • Tres Cool

        Grandpa Tres (on Mom’s side- the briars) loved avocado. I dont think toast figured into the equation tho’. As I recall, he just halved them, dash of S&P, and scooped it out like a muskmelon.
        He also taught me the delicacy of beef tongue- par boil, strip the skin, and slap on dark as hell rye bread with horseradish. Enjoy with a room-temp Goebel.

      • Gender Traitor

        My maternal grandfather (forever known as – thanks to my recently-departed oldest cousin on that side – “Geep”) loved bean soup and R.G. Dun Admiral cigars. For years, the books we inherited from his house retained that smell. (Delightful!) And I still have his pedestal ashtray.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        It was Bob’s where I grew up in, Horror of Horrors!
        So Cal,
        Sup Tres?

    • Fourscore

      Need a little laugh this morning. Funeral this afternoon. Thanks Yusef

      • Gender Traitor

        Good morning, 4(20)! I’m sorry you have a sad errand this afternoon. Pardon my tardiness, but may I wish you a happy, if belated, World Bee Day?

    • Grumbletarian

      Elvish Pressley, lol.

  37. Sean

    Waffle!

    #waffle120 2/5

    ?????
    ?⭐?⬜?
    ?????
    ?⬜?⭐?
    ?????

    ? streak: 14
    ? #waffleelite
    wafflegame.net

    • The Hyperbole

      ? May 21, 2022 ?
      ? 3 | Avg. Guesses: 6.33
      ?????? = 6

      #globle

      • Sean

        Lewdle ?? 123 3/6
        ?⬛⬛⬛⬛
        ⬛?⬛??
        ?????

        lewdlegame.com

  38. Sean

    Daily Quordle 117
    6️⃣7️⃣
    5️⃣4️⃣
    quordle.com