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Mark Tokheim
05-10-2010, 2:36 PM
These have been my second job for the last couple of months. These are two cedar lined chests from some FWW plans. The cherry one is a wedding present for my Brother-in-law and his new wife. The walnut one was a surprise for my Mother-in-law.
jim sauterer
05-10-2010, 7:01 PM
nice job mark.really look great.how do you like those hinges.
Christopher Kanda
05-11-2010, 1:24 PM
both look great! what was the finishing schedule on them?
Brent Ring
05-11-2010, 2:18 PM
Very Nice work - +1 on knowing the finishing schedule!
Mark Tokheim
05-11-2010, 9:52 PM
Thanks for the compliments. As far as the hinges go. They are the Rockler lid-stay torsion hinge. They work really well. I recommend using the online calculator to determine which ones to get. I did manage to break a couple of screw heads off even with pre-drilled holes. Putting a little wax on the screws solved that problem. They hold the lid open very nicely at any angle.

For the finishing schedule:

Cherry Chest:
1st - Zinsser Dewaxed shellac/denatured alcohol (50/50 mix)
2nd - Watco cherry danish oil. A light coat to even the heart/sapwood
3rd - G.F Arm-R-Seal semi-gloss topcoat
4th - G.F Arm-R-Seal semi-gloss topcoat
5th - light sand with 400 grit sandpaper
6th - G.F Arm-R-Seal semi-gloss topcoat

Walnut Chest:
1st - G.F Walnut EF water based wood stain. Over pre wet wood to even out heart/sapwood.
2nd - G.F Arm-R-Seal semi-gloss topcoat
3rd - G.F Arm-R-Seal semi-gloss topcoat
4th - light sand with 400 grit sandpaper
5th - G.F Arm-R-Seal semi-gloss topcoat

I did not add any finish to the aromatic cedar, just sanded it to 220.

I was torn at first about staining the wood (coloring good wood is almost a crime). I would have had to waste a lot of wood to cut out all of the sapwood. With multiple boards for the lid the sharp line of the color difference was distracting.
After playing around on a test piece I was really happy with the result. You can see some in the center board of the walnut top. I had some in the cherry as well. While the color difference isn't completely gone the color as a whole is much more even.