Too tall blank chest

[Todd Burch]

I made my family room built-in back in '02. (Yes, I took the fireplace out)

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It's walnut, stained red mahogany with a brushed Pratt and Lambert #38 satin finish. When I finished it, I decided I needed a blanket chest / coffee table. I roughed out some dimensions and made it in a hurry. The night I finished it, it was pretty cool (too cool), but I sprayed it anyways. It is pine and I wanted a dark(er) finish to be more compatible with the dark built-in. I used an acetone-based dye stain (ML Campbell MICROTON - dark oak) and put a few coats on. I sprayed a few coats of Magnalac satin. This is how it turned out (not my best dye-stain job ever):

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After I put it into service the first night, (betwixt me on the couch and the TV in the built-in), I propped my feet up, and after a few minutes, realized I had screwed up. Feet were too high - not comfortable. The chest was too tall by about 2 inches. Ugggg.

So, I started a new blanket chest the next day. This time in walnut to match the built-in. I made the box, and the lid, and realized the lid was 3/4" too narrow front-to-back. Crap. I set it aside. That was 2004...

(cont'd)

[Todd Burch]

Jump forward to 2008.

I'm tired (very tired) of moving the box around each time I start a new project. And why am I still moving around a lid that is too narrow? I axed the lid apart to reuse the panel, made a new lid with the frame parts a little wider to compensate for my "measure once improperly and cut immediately" technique. I also took the time to "re-balance" the upper and lower side trim. On the pine chest, the lower moulding was too short, IMO.

I finished the new chest the same as the built-in, relocated the pine chest to the bedroom, and now have a 2" lower coffee table that works much better for propping the dogs up after a long day. ;)

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Thanks for looking, Todd

(The main point of this post was to show a member who contacted me via PM one way pine can look like when finished with a dye stain instead of a pigment stain.)

[Adam Cormier]

Fantastic job! That pine looks really nice! Another great idea for my pine dresser

[Jamie Buxton]

Todd, the first chest shows evidence of one of my bugaboos: the stain on the interior is uneven. It is difficult to manipulate the gun around to get even coverage. The interior of the second chest is much more even. Got any tips about spraying stain inside of things?

[Todd Burch]

Yes Jamie, it is a terrible dye job on both the interior (case and lid) and also the front upper moulding and case top. Not my best work.

I believe I was using a conventional gun with 1 quart siphon cup. If I did it again today, I would use my remote pot setup so I could hold the gun at any angle when spraying the dye. The dye is really unforgiving in lighter shades. Any overlap in spray and it sticks out like a sore thumb.

For the walnut box, I rag-stained and hand-brushed the varnish, in and out.

For both cases, the bottoms are tongue and grooved cedar, nailed onto their supporting cleats after finishing was complete.

[glenn bradley]

Ah, walnut . .. . is there anything it can't do? Looks great Todd and has me thinking about my mission style coffee table that offers no storage . . .

[Cody Colston]

... made a new lid with the frame parts a little wider to compensate for my "measure once improperly and cut immediately" technique.

Wow, I didn't think you were capable of that kind of mistake. I'm glad to see you are human, also. :D

[Todd Burch]

I make so many mistakes it makes my head hurt to think about it. I just try not to blab about them all the time. :p

[John A. Callaway]

I really like the color of the finish on the pine chest.... sure the inside of the lid looks a little uneven.... but the outside and especially the color looks really good. The chest looks aged and patina-ed in that finish.... very nice,

And the walnut one lookks super sharp, but I am in the same camp.... walnut can simply do no wrong in my book.

[Mike Skees]

Guess I am not the only one who measures improperly and cuts immediately. Sometimes more than once. It really looks nice. I am sure you will enjoy it for a long time.