Top of the world to you!

[Derek Cohen]

Well, my wife is partly Irish, and we are getting close to completing her Lingerie Chest.


My last post completed the drawers, and now attention is turned to the top of the chest ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA1_zpsmhnfoped.jpg


This was a saga. I built and rejected three tops before settling on the one below. There were a variety of mouldings, and none fitted in, even the subtle ones. In the end it was a case of less is more. Book matched Makore (as with the carcase) ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA2_zpse4kqp0sh.jpg


As seen here, the panel is reinforced by breadboard ends. The breadboards line up with the side frames.


So here is the completed carcase. I apologise for the inaccurate colour - it should be a little more red. New camera and still trying to sort out the lighting. Trying to learn to take better photographs!


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA3_zpsobcs8bdm.jpg


Here's the obligatory dovetail picture, which most have seen already. The bowed drawers (figured Jarrah) are difficult to judge in this photo, but the curves will show up in the top shortly ..


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA4_zps9wzrhrbj.jpg


So, let's see what happens when we lift the top ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA5_zpss9owqhja.jpg


The chest is just 48" high, and the mirror allows it to double as a dressing bureau. This will be covered in dark blue leather.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA6_zps7ebt1fw6.jpg


The hinges for the top are heavy-duty Brusso butt hinges that have a built-in stop at 95 degrees. Holding up the top and mirror is not a problem - my concern was to ensure the lid did not fall down! I searched for months for a suitable brass stay, but could not find one anywhere. The problem was that it needed to fit into a narrow space, and all the ones I looked at needed more room than I had. In the end I designed and built my own.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA9_zpsqtakyvsg.jpg


A brass bits-and-pieces, reshaped, fitted together ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA7_zpsccrk43ml.jpg


The stay and catch are french fit into the top. There is a finger hole to access the head, then swing it over and into the catch. It works really well.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA8_zpszq3nxnky.jpg


And one last photo. Apologies for the gruesome person in the background :)


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA10_zpsagrrmnfh.jpg


I am now working on the last part of the Lingerie Chest: sliding jewellery trays in the top drawer.


Regards from Perth


Derek

[ken hatch]

Derek,

As always beautiful work and excellent design.

ken

[ken hatch]

Derek,

Second thought. Do you work in either Photoshop or Lightroom? If you do the new camera shouldn't be a problem. Just work in "RAW" and adjust in either Lightroom or Photoshop.

ken

[Brian Holcombe]

Nicely done! I think that stay is a stroke of genius.

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks Ken. I do use Photoshop to edit photos. I plan to work in RAW (never done so before) but for now still create a Jpg. Just acquired a cheap lighting set up to try out. Lots to learn. The camera is nothing extraordinary. I had a Canon 400D for 10 years, which has just died (dust in the shop). Now have a Canon 700D. Much easier to use.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Tim Cooper Louisiana]

I'm not sure how this makes me feel. In a way it upsets me, because I'm not sure why the chest is so much more enticing than the contents. Beautiful piece!

[Kees Heiden]

Wow! And you have put a lot of work in it since the last update. I really like your work on the brass stay.

[Jim Koepke]

Great work as usual.

I will not let my wife see this or I will have a career ahead of me.

jtk

[James Pallas]

Derek That is a very fine piece. It was worth the wait to see "Gypsy" unveiled. You will have to go a very long way to top this one. I'm sure all anxiously await the future. The documentation was very good also. You and Brian should collaborate on a book about this work, maybe like a long distance chess game.
Jim

[george wilson]

A beautiful chest,Derek. But,my wife could get all her lingerie in the LID!!!:) I NEVER get to see her dressed in the traditional womanly way!!

[Pat Barry]

Very nice work Derek. I think that top looks perfect!. I think the stay you created is very nice solution as well - I didn't know you were part machinist. What are you using for finish? Oil, wax, both?

[Bruce Mack]

Derek, your piece is elegant and beautiful. The proportions are spot on. The top is masterful. This is a work of love.

[John Kananis]

Less really is more with this piece. Its a beauty.

[Steve Voigt]

That turned out nicely, Derek. Excellent work!

[Mike Cherry]

Incredible and inspiring attention to detail....and dovetails!

[Andrew Hughes]

Looks nice Derek,hope you get it finished this year.You have put so much work into this one.Evetually your going to have to let it go.
Beautiful piece.

Aj

[Robert McNaull]

Beautiful work and thanks for sharing it Derek.

Bob

[Reinis Kanders]

Great work, that top works well with the rest of the chest.

[Jerry Olexa]

Excellent results!!! Nice work!!!

[Gary Muto]

Excellent Work! Thanks for Sharing

[Jeff Heath]

Well, it's about time you finished it!

Just kidding, nice work, Derek.

[Christopher Charles]

Looks great Derek, congratulation on reaching the finish line. The catch is top shelf for sure (pardon the pun).


Best,
C

[Jeffrey Martel]

Well done. I like the lid stay. What did you use for finish?


Thanks Ken. I do use Photoshop to edit photos. I plan to work in RAW (never done so before) but for now still create a Jpg. Just acquired a cheap lighting set up to try out. Lots to learn. The camera is nothing extraordinary. I had a Canon 400D for 10 years, which has just died (dust in the shop). Now have a Canon 700D. Much easier to use.

Regards from Perth

Derek

In your camera you can change the white balance. Normally the Auto white balance does a pretty good job, however in situations like this you end up with too blue of a hue as you have noticed. You will want to select the type of lighting that you are using, whether it's Incandescent or Fluorescent before taking the photos.

It's also easily corrected afterwards, regardless if you shoot in RAW or not. Most basic photo editing programs can do this, and have 2 sliders to control it. One slider goes orange-blue and the other goes green-magenta. I'd bump the orange-blue one towards the orange side a bit until it looks correct to your eye.

[Derek Cohen]

Thank you all for the kind words, and suffering through my many posts over so long (as you remind me, Jeff! :)). The real reason this has dragged out is because my next project is the paint the house and build new kitchen doors ... :eek:

Jeffrey, the finish for the Makore caracase was Livos oil (from Germany) and the Jarrah drawers (inside and out) was UbeautWhite Shellac (from Australia). All then waxed.

Using Photoshop Essentials, I removed the blue rinse on a few pics, and this came up ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/Chest11LJ_zpsageehy89.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/Chest31LJ_zpsb9nm8hdh.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mike Allen1010]

The hinges for the top are heavy-duty Brusso butt hinges that have a built-in stop at 95 degrees. Holding up the top and mirror is not a problem - my concern was to ensure the lid did not fall down! I searched for months for a suitable brass stay, but could not find one anywhere. The problem was that it needed to fit into a narrow space, and all the ones I looked at needed more room than I had. In the end I designed and built my own.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA9_zpsqtakyvsg.jpg


A brass bits-and-pieces, reshaped, fitted together ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA7_zpsccrk43ml.jpg


The stay and catch are french fit into the top. There is a finger hole to access the head, then swing it over and into the catch. It works really well.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA8_zpszq3nxnky.jpg


And one last photo. Apologies for the gruesome person in the background :)


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA10_zpsagrrmnfh.jpg


I am now working on the last part of the Lingerie Chest: sliding jewellery trays in the top drawer.


Regards from Perth


Derek[/QUOTE]


Derek,

This is a truly gorgeous piece. Your work is always superior, but IMHO, all the elements of this piece are exceptional, both individually and how they fit together: design/form, selection of wood figure/Grain for each piece and of course the execution. I'm sure Lindy will be very happy and I'm personally inspired to aim for a higher standard.

BTW, I love the way you casually toss off: "I searched for months for a suitable brass stay, but could not find one anywhere. The problem was that it needed to fit into a narrow space, and all the ones I looked at needed more room than I had. In the end I designed and built my own". Really? I just couldn't find what I needed so I built my own! Dude that is totally next level!!!

In all sincerity, I've learned a ton from you and your work and I'm grateful you share your work here on SMC and on your website.

That said, I've been married for 30 years and at the risk of being completely impertinent, I'm thinking "Lingerie chest" - Fantastic idea – couldn't be a better win/win! I need to put one of these the top of my project list!

Best, Mike

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks Mike. That is praise indeed.

I probably have the largest range of brass stays in the history of mankind, collected in the course of research ... Oh, I think that will do it! Cha-ching (sound of me paying for another stay) .... Damn, too large to fit!

Originally, I had planned to situate the stay to the right side and inside the tray. This has a depth of about 1 1/2". It was this that was too shallow for all the stays I come across. Here is what I came up with ...

I was wandering around the local hardware store looking for inspiration when an idea formed around these door closers (front) and (at the rear) box hinges ..

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/Stay1_zpsbiq4cfsi.jpg

I managed to find brass pipes with a 5mm hole and 5mm brass thread. The brass thread fitted the pipe to create a strong brass rod.

The "catch" (female) was modified: the wings with screw lugs were removed (needed to reduced the width and make a neater fitting), a screw hole was drilled in the centre, the springs were removed and shortened (re reduce tension), and the case ground back by about 2mm each side.

The "lug" (male) was also modified: shortened and rounded (as it needed to fit at an angle. The existing square shape only permitted entry if all parts were square with one another). The brass thread was tapped into the lug ....

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/Stay2_zpso0hgywsi.jpg

Here is the end with the box hinge ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/Stay3_zps9eienker.jpg

This was also 5mm diameter .... see how it was meant to be? :)

Once the lower section was epoxied together, the lid was morticed for the catch (to prevent it moving on the single screw) ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/Stay5_zpsbqoywhnk.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/Stay6_zpsd0p7fzqc.jpg

Once this was done, the stay was attached (clicked in), and the position for the pivot could be marked for drilling ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/Stay7_zpscorx2ep9.jpg

And the rest (drilling, grooving and morticing for the stay) is, as they say, history.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Linergrie%20Chest/The%20Top/AA8x_zpsxkk4j7ep.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek