Update on Kist.

[Derek Cohen]

Here is an update on the kist, or blanket chest.


One of the issues that I faced when building from Curly (or Fiddleback) Marri was that it is far from being clear wood. It is filled with veins where resin has dried and fallen out. These need to be filled with black-tinted epoxy. However, too many of these would make the wood look like a Dalmatian. :\


Here is an example. This goes all the way through the 3/4" board ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Blanket%20Chest/Update14_zpsabd0e2fb.jpg


I had started with 10" wide boards. By the time I had cut around these, some were only 4" wide. It was going to be necessary to join boards to reach the 20" panel width I required.


Joining boards is complex enough when there is figure to match, but here this was further complicated by the fiddleback in the boards - having this run in any direction but with each other would made the combination untidy and accentuate the fact that several boards were used. I think most of us try to make joined boards look like a single, wide board.


I am curious what others do to match boards - go through lots of stock to find the widest, best matches? Tint/stain boards to hide colour changes? What do you do when there is just enough for the piece one is building?


I really only had just enough for four sides and the lid, and spent quite a bit of time moving around boards to create an integrated, interesting combination. For three panels - the front and the two sides - I managed to use three boards each. The rear panel, which will go against a wall, has four boards. I think it epitomises what I wanted to avoid (but just could not with the limited stock available - and, yes, I did try and obtain more).


To obtain the best match, the grain of each board does not all flow in the same direction. This should make planing a little more complex, however the grain switches direction all the time, so who is to say in which direction the grain actually lay. :) There was a lot more scraping done than just planing.


Yesterday I glued the panels together along with the base, which floats in a dado.


Today I planed down the sides.


I do love it when the first plane strokes uncover the details that lie below ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Blanket%20Chest/Update7_zpsab49c9b5.jpg


All sides were given a final scraping.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Blanket%20Chest/Update8_zpscc869f89.jpg


Then came a couple of coats of Danish Oil - the fiddleback will respond best to oil.


First, the worst - the rear panel - fortunately it will be hidden! ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Blanket%20Chest/Update12_zps3a864b0d.jpg


Here is the front panel ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Blanket%20Chest/Update9_zps2e436dab.jpg


From one side ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Blanket%20Chest/Update10_zpsa9058351.jpg


... and the other ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Blanket%20Chest/Update11_zps398c8b61.jpg


Unfortunately the fiddleback figure was not clear in some of these picture. It is really striking ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Blanket%20Chest/Update13_zps3e075cb7.jpg


That gets me about one third of the way through this project. The remainder promises to be more fun.


Regards from Perth


Derek

[Mike Holbrook]

I think Derek enjoys working wood with grains that would send the rest of us into whining fits. It is beautiful.

Great work Derek!

[Tony Shea]

Yes I would def get frustrated working with so much of a difficult wood such as this.

I think you did a very good job on matching the boards. The back is the only place I see where it is really obvious. Nice work as always Derek. This is going to be a very interesting project to watch.

[Chris Hachet]

Fantastic work, sir!

[Kees Heiden]

Kist! That's Dutch for chest!

I like your solution for the front ans side panel. Allthough not really a curly stuff fan this looks fine to me.

[Roy Lindberry]

Derek,

I think this is just gorgeous. I realize that every person responds differently to a particular aesthetic, but I think we often put way too much emphasis on "seamless" edge joinery. Our perfectionist natures tell us that it should look like one big board. But the fact is, we often don't have one big board, and if we can hide that fact then that's great - but if we can't, there certainly is no shame in making a beautiful piece from multiple boards, and there is no reason why we need to hide it.

The work is stunning enough, I wouldn't worry about the edge joints.

[Frederick Skelly]

Wow, thats really beautiful! Is Marri a native Aussie wood?

[Jim Koepke]

Very nice.

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Frederick

Marri is native to Western Australia. It is also known as Red Gum. Curly Marri is more difficult to locate.

http://www.fpc.wa.gov.au/content_migration/plantations/species/native_forests/marri.aspx

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Shawn Pixley]

Derek,

Once again very nice work. In regards to your question, "what do when selecting stock for a major layup?" I sepnd a lot of time matching color and grain when buying the wood. My local dealer is very patient with this. I also bring SWMBO to get an independent eye. I also work in hard figured wood, mostly. I think this has worked out well for me. I don't buy a lot of spare /wastage. While this can be somewhat a pain, I find that it forces me to concentrate on precision in my work so that I don't make a big mistake. This doesn't always work out, but I think the concept is sound.

Without re-opening the big cap iron / high angle / closed mouth debate, working with reversing grain can be frustrating. Where I get myself in trouble is when flattening the panels. I tend to want to remove too much too quickly and leave a bit of tearout to repair when using the smoother. I'll need to work on this.

I am also supposed to make a nice blanket chest, so I am looking forward to your progress.

[Jim Matthews]

I love the understatment "The worst side shown..."
and it looks better than my strongest effort.

Gack!

I'm guessing there's a blue suit and red cape rolling around the back of DC's closet somewhere.

[Ron Kellison]

Hi Frederick

Marri is native to Western Australia. It is also known as Red Gum. Curly Marri is more difficult to locate.

http://www.fpc.wa.gov.au/content_migration/plantations/species/native_forests/marri.aspx



Derek,

The data for Shrinkage is given before and after "reconditioning". Would this be referring to air drying vs. kiln drying?

Best regards,

Ron

[Derek Cohen]

Would this be referring to air drying vs. kiln drying?

Sorry Ron, I have no idea.

Regards from Perth

Derek