My new medicine chest

[Kees Heiden]

My new medicine chest, based on 17th century English spice chests, here is my last project. Just put the last was coat on the outer surfaces. I took inspiration from the many spice chests you can find on antique dealer websites. The work from Peter Follansbee was also a great help. Loosely based is a better description, first deviation was the wood choice. Cherry instead of oak.

I choose to make only 3 drawers, because of the household requirements. I also was inspired to take up a little bit of blacksmithing and I made the lock and hinges too. Finish is simply oil and wax.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll266/Kees2351/Spicechest/DSC04421_zpsfpbknsdz.jpg (http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Kees2351/media/Spicechest/DSC04421_zpsfpbknsdz.jpg.html)

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll266/Kees2351/Spicechest/DSC04410_zps4uav8owe.jpg (http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Kees2351/media/Spicechest/DSC04410_zps4uav8owe.jpg.html)

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll266/Kees2351/Spicechest/DSC04406_zpsgeyrxuqv.jpg (http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Kees2351/media/Spicechest/DSC04406_zpsgeyrxuqv.jpg.html)

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll266/Kees2351/Spicechest/DSC04415_zpsf4hxvoz7.jpg (http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Kees2351/media/Spicechest/DSC04415_zpsf4hxvoz7.jpg.html)

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll266/Kees2351/Spicechest/DSC04407_zpsitbffrbp.jpg (http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Kees2351/media/Spicechest/DSC04407_zpsitbffrbp.jpg.html)

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll266/Kees2351/Spicechest/DSC04411_zpsgthpzzvm.jpg (http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Kees2351/media/Spicechest/DSC04411_zpsgthpzzvm.jpg.html)

[Mel Fulks]

That will make needing a couple of aspirin a real treat! The hardware is a great detail. The power of established norms of wood choice with particular designs is so strong I actually at first look thought the wood was oak. The cherry was a good decision.

[Jim Belair]

I like everything about this piece- the proportions, the carving, the hardware, the colour, the moldings, ....

Very nicely done!

[Jim Koepke]

Very well done indeed.

Did you make your own crown molding?

Did you take any pictures of the build process?

jtk

[lowell holmes]

I'm impressed. How many hours do you think you have in making it?

[Enrico Caruso]

Kees,
This is a superb piece of work showing your many talents and imagination.
Enrico Caruso

[Frederick Skelly]

Beautiful work Kees! I love the color and finish.
Fred

[James Pallas]

Really nice piece Kees. Many things to catch the eye and the interest. Hardware looks very good with the style of the work.
Jim

[Reinis Kanders]

Sweet! I like those carvings, really liven it up. HW is nice too.

[Art Mann]

That is quite a classy project. I love the carving. I wholeheartedly agree with your wood choice. I have made so much stuff out of red oak that I never want to work with it again. I do still favor quarter sawn whit oak though.

[Brian Holcombe]

Absolutely gorgeous work!

[george wilson]

A very nice piece of work,Kees!

[George Bokros]

Very nice design and execution.

[Bill McNiel]

Very impressive in all aspects.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

The whole piece is extremely well done, but I really like the choice of finish.

[Mike Henderson]

Very nice work. Congratulations! Really shows mastery of many facets of woodworking.

Mike

[Tom M King]

Great! I really like your hardware too. We have the medicine chest out of my Grandfathers general store that was just closed up in 1935. It still has the medicine in it, some of which I'm sure is illegal now. I'll see if I can get a picture posted tomorrow. It looks like it's a similar size to yours.

[ken hatch]

Kees,

Beautiful chest. Will you hang it in the bath?

ken

[Kees Heiden]

Thanks for all the compiments! Hard not to blush.

The choice of the wood was due to my wife not liking oak. I was determined to use oak, but got a veto. Well, I just happened to have a nice chunk of cherry lying around...

I have detailed the whole build on my blog. I don;'t know if I am allowed to post links to blogs here, but it is easy to find when you google for "Seekelot blog". I made the lock in januari 2015. Then it seems I went into hibernating until june. After the summer hollidays I cranked up the speed. I posted about the hinges earlier this month. I have no idea how many hours I have in the build, quite a bit I'd say.

And of course Jim, I made the mouldings myself! I had to get myself a half set of hollows and rounds and get them to work first.

This isn't my first woodworking project, but there are a lot of firsts in this project. I took up woodcarving just before this project. I had never made mouldings with planes before. I had done quite a bit of metalworking before, but blacksmithing is new for me too. It all shows that one shouldn't be afraid to try a new skill. This little cabinet certainly isn't fine cabinetmaking. It is firmly bedded in the joinery culture of days gone by. I really like that kind of stuff.

And yes, it is going to end up in the bathroom. I just started a second chest in the same style. I really hope the finish will hold up to the environment, but I will install a strong and powerfull ventialation.

[Joe Beaulieu]

Hey Kees,

Top notch work. I love the style and finish selection. Seems to really bring out the carving. It reeks of old world skills. I am impressed.

Joe

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Kees

Excellent work! It is great to see you posting your work (I wish more would do so), and this is a piece that shows your talents in metal work and carving, not to mention all the joinery. I was going to ask about the metalwork, knowing that you had been forging (!) ahead in that area, but thanks for confirming that you made the hinges and the lock - that is quite something!

Regards from London

Derek

[Graham Haydon]

Blooming handsome Kees! Really, really like it!

[Kees Heiden]

Thanks thanks. But don't exaggerate! You should have seen my dovetails...

[Glen Johnson]

Absolutely beautiful and inspirational.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Very nicely done from start to finish Kees. Except for the choice of cherry which I wonder about availability in the 17th century Netherlands, in about 10 years you might be able to pass the thing off as an antique.:D

[Pat Barry]

Very nice, very very nice! Super impressed by you attention to detail and your multi-functional talents. Thank you for posting this.

[Steve Voigt]

Wowser! A really great piece, Kees. The carving, metalwork, everything. Congrats!👍👍

[Mark Almeidus]

Beautifull work. Looks like it was an adventurous project with the mouldings and blacksmithing :).

[Sean Hughto]

Great work! How does it hang, French cleat?

[Kees Heiden]

It doesn't hang yet, but I will simply drill to holes in the back and screw it to the wall.

[Christopher Charles]

Beautiful piece and impressive 'novice' blacksmithing.

[Clay Parrish]

What a superb cabinet!

[Chris Hachet]

Amazing work, far above anything I have ever built....

[Kees Heiden]

Oh come on, please quit :D

Just have a close look at the carving, especially the round parts. I still need a lot of practice. And did you see the burned steel in the hinges? A bit of scale is nice, but I really got way too much. And then I didn't photograph all the bruises from clumsily handeling the piece. And did I tell about the gappy dovetails, cunningly hidden behind the molding?

I mean, everybody from you lot could make this with a bit of patience and not much other entertainment. :p

[Stewie Simpson]

Very nice work Kees.

For wet areas such as bathrooms I would have used this product;

http://www.feastwatson.com.au/consumer/products/exterior/product-details/1178

regards Stewie;

[Brian Loran]

Very nice Kees! And you made the hardware! wow.

[Barry Dima]

I keep coming back to admire this build. Outstanding!

[glenn bradley]

Kees, that thing looks great! I went back through the thread and realize that I was so awe struck that I forgot to submit my original response ;-)

[Kees Heiden]

Thanks guys!

Stewie, I don't think that is neccesary. We have two pine cabinets in the bathroom now and they don't show any sign of mould or rot. Most important in a bathroom is ventilation. It doesn't matter if wood gets wet from time to time, as long as it gets time to dry out again. We always open the window after a shower. Combine that with the habbit of the girls here in the house to crank the heating up to eleven, and I think it is not so bad.