First SMC Post--Wife's Christmas

[Stephen Stokes]

This is my first SMC post. I have been a lurker for a while. I read WC and SMC almost daily. I even met a couple of you at Steve Jenkin's BBQ. My brother and I were the cooks!

Below is a series of pictures displaying the most complicated project I have ever completed. It was a long, joyful journey. I learned much!

As for firsts, they were. First use of Pecan. First use of shellac & wax finish (Thanks for the tips Dave Anderson). First use of knife hinges. First project of primarily curved surfaces. First real use of hand planes (LV LA Smoother, and LV LA Block). First hand cut dovetails, both through and half blind. First nervous in the gut feeling that I could really screw up the last drawer and have to start all over again!

As for details, the top, bottom, pulls, and verticals are walnut, the drawer fronts, back panel, and two side doors are pecan, and the drawer internals and dividers are spanish cedar.

Thank you for letting me share.

Regards,
Stokes

PS. Sorry for the picture quality. I am still working on ideal picture conditions. On the other hand, it does a good job of hiding my mistakes!

PPS. I drew inspiration from one of the Krenov books--can not remember the exact name at the moment.

[Julie Wright]

Very Beautiful. Excellent job of mathcing the grain. I saw a jewlery box similar to this, but yours is Much more beautiful. Love pecan.
Thanks for sharing. :)

[Don Abele]

Stokes, again, beautiful piece (I saw your other post in neander).

Be well,

Doc

[John Miliunas]

Wow! I really love neat jewelry boxes and your rendition totally blew me away! That's just plain old wonderful! As most others here would tell you, I"m usually pretty long-winded, :rolleyes: but your piece is leaving me speechless!!! Simply wonderful! Oh yeah...And WELCOME to the Creek! Really hope to see a LOT more of your work! :D

[Bob Lasley]

Awesome!! That is one gorgeous piece. I assume the drawer fronts were bandsawn? How did you do the doors?

Bob

[Randy Gleckler]

That is Beautiful... Very Nice job..

Randy

[Lee Schierer]

You're going to get me in trouble with LOML if she sees this one. She has been wanting a larger storage area for her jewelry similar to this and I've been putting it off. I'm sure you never do that. :rolleyes:

I'm curious about how you cut the curved doors.

[Perry Schmidt]

Very very nice! I love the curves. And the use of the different contrasting woods.

And what a cook! I was at Steve's BBQ too. Good food! Your wife is a lucky girl.

Perry

[Tom Sweeney]

& man what a first post - that is simply amazing. You nailed the wood combination and the style & execution are just fantastic.

I have a design for a nice jewelry box for LOML - but I need to wait till my skills get a bit better before I attempt it - Looks like you didn't have anything to worry about in that department.

WOW!

[Joe Suelter]

Beautiful work! I like the design, very pleasing to the eye! Well done.

[Wolf Kiessling]

This is my first SMC post. I have been a lurker for a while. I read WC and SMC almost daily. I even met a couple of you at Steve Jenkin's BBQ. My brother and I were the cooks!

Below is a series of pictures displaying the most complicated project I have ever completed. It was a long, joyful journey. I learned much!

As for firsts, they were. First use of Pecan. First use of shellac & wax finish (Thanks for the tips Dave Anderson). First use of knife hinges. First project of primarily curved surfaces. First real use of hand planes (LV LA Smoother, and LV LA Block). First hand cut dovetails, both through and half blind. First nervous in the gut feeling that I could really screw up the last drawer and have to start all over again!

As for details, the top, bottom, pulls, and verticals are walnut, the drawer fronts, back panel, and two side doors are pecan, and the drawer internals and dividers are spanish cedar.

Thank you for letting me share.

Regards,
Stokes

PS. Sorry for the picture quality. I am still working on ideal picture conditions. On the other hand, it does a good job of hiding my mistakes!

PPS. I drew inspiration from one of the Krenov books--can not remember the exact name at the moment.

What a beautiful piece of work. Love the design, the contrasting wood, just everything. Loved the pig at the bbq, also, you make sawdust as well as you cook. Can't decide if you're a better wood worker or cook..

[Teresa Jones]

Beautiful design and execution!

I had some of that BBQ and I am still talking about it, man it was good stuff!

TJ

[Ace Karner]

Beautiful work, now you know what a monster you've created? Someday she'll want you to fill it up! :D

[Jim Becker]

"Most Excellent". Not only is it a gift that will give a lifetime of pleasure, but it is an outstanding example of great design. Keep on posting your projects...they are inspiring!

[Peter Stahl]

Stokes,

Excellent job! All your first's look first rate. I really like the cabinet. Blind dovetails look great, were they hard to cut by hand?

thanks, Pete

[Stephen Stokes]

Thank you all for your kind words! You can only imagine how your response has boosted my confidence.

Regards,
Stokes

PS. I will be working to put together a write up that will go into more details on how it was constructed.

[Byron Trantham]

Outstanding!! How long did it take you to build it? There have to be a ton of hours in it. Obviously it was worth it. Looking forward to the details.