Wine Vat Oak Hopechest (pics)

[scott spencer]

Last fall the fine folks from Pioneer Millworks awarded me with 100 bdft of "wine vat white oak" from the Widmer Wineries in the Finger Lakes region of NY State.

Some of it has been transformed into a hope chest for my daughter's HS graduation gift. There was alot of character in this wood between the wine stains, wear marks, and other discoloration from use. I was thrilled to see that much of it was quartersawn. The inside edge of every original board was stained burgundy from use as vats.... I considered featuring that stain, but I wasn't sure my 18 YO daughter would appreciate it like wood afficianados do, plus it was difficult to control the consistency of the color, so I settled for using it inside. In the spirit of wood reclaimation, the bottom is cedar salvaged from a neighbor's timely curbside reject.

The original plan was to build a keepsake box to store inside the chest. Hopefully that'll come eventually... :rolleyes:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/Hope%20Chest/Hopechest003.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/Hope%20Chest/Hopechest005.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/Hope%20Chest/Hopechest008.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/Hope%20Chest/CopyofHopeChest005.jpg

[Joe Unni]

Just beautiful Scott!!

Your design?

Good work,
-joe

[Chris Barton]

Scott,

That's simply magnificent!

[John Timberlake]

Great piece. Always love wood with interesting stories. Good design.

[Von Bickley]

Great looking chest and beautiful wood...:) :) :)

[Jeff Miller]

That is reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally nice:D

JEFF:cool:

[Brett Baldwin]

That design is a great one and the wood really works well with it. Very nice job.

[Karl Laustrup]

Have to concur with what's already been said Scott.

That is some really beautiful wood. I hope the story behind it doesn't get lost as time goes by.

Karl

[Tyler Howell]

What They said. Love to recycle.

[Don Bullock]

Scott, your daughter has something that she can charish forever. Your design and craftsmanship are excellent. I love the wood.

[Mack Cameron]

Hi Scott; great story behind the chest. You should print it out and glue and sign the story on the bottom of the chest for posterity. Different design and great workmanship. I love building chests.

My only critical comment, why that ugly piano hinge?:confused:

[Lori Kleinberg]

Scott, that is a great looking hope chest. I really like the design and the beautiful wood.

[Mark Valsi]

Very Nice Design !!!

[Jim Becker]

That's one beautiful chest, Scott, both in design and execution!

[Paul Douglass]

That is a beautiful piece. I agree with Mark Cameron, put the story in the chest somewhere. The longer your daughter has it the more important it will be, especially when she passes it on to her daughter. I'd be tempted to decopodge it on the inside side or something.

Again very nice job.. WOW!

[Bruce Page]

Wow Scott! What everyone else said - beautiful work!
What finish did you use? It's very nice

[Corey Hallagan]

Gorgeous wood and a beautiful project Scott, I am sure she will be very happy and will treasure it forever!

Corey

[scott spencer]

Thanks for all the supportive comments everyone....much appreciated!

Joe, the design was mine...I'd shrink it down a bit if I had it to do over. I also had intended to put the thumbnail profile on the underside of the lid instead of the top but had a "D'oh" moment and put it on the top by mistake. :o :rolleyes:

Mack and Paul, I did sign the bottom indicating where the wood came from and the occasion for which it was given. There's also a 2007 penny mounted in the bottom to signify the year it was made.

Mack, I contemplated buying nicer hinges, but had the piano hinge on hand from a garage sale find...I decided to use it in the reclamation spirit! Plus they're really strong...she has 3 younger siblings and some older ones with questionable judgement! Even the cedar was a timely discard by a neighbor...got tossed about the time I was thinking of scrounging some up. The only new items used are the screws, glue, and lid supports and even those were intended for another project that never came to fruition. That and I'm cheap, ok?! ...besides, it only shows when the wine stains do! :D

...just four more graduations to go! :eek:

[Tom Ruflin]

Scott,

Very nice design and craftsmanship. Just how did you come by this wood?

[John Shuk]

Very nice. All was put to good use.

[scott spencer]

Scott,

Very nice design and craftsmanship. Just how did you come by this wood?


Thanks Tom - Pioneer Millworks sponsored a contest promoting use of reclaimed/salvaged wood, and were asking for submissions of projects that fit their criteria. That's something I've tended to do alot of from the start, so I submitted 3 or 4 projects. They liked a craftsman style coffee table I had made using wood salvaged from my MIL's damaged armoire. First prize was 100BDFT of this wine vat white oak.

[Mike Wilkins]

This is what I call 'Fine Woodworking'. I really like the design and the choice of wood makes it stand out. Like you I am also a consumer of recycled timbers and use it whenever possible.

[Mack Cameron]

Thanks for all the supportive comments everyone....much appreciated!

Joe, the design was mine...I'd shrink it down a bit if I had it to do over. I also had intended to put the thumbnail profile on the underside of the lid instead of the top but had a "D'oh" moment and put it on the top by mistake. :o :rolleyes:

Mack and Paul, I did sign the bottom indicating where the wood came from and the occasion for which it was given. There's also a 2007 penny mounted in the bottom to signify the year it was made.

Mack, I contemplated buying nicer hinges, but had the piano hinge on hand from a garage sale find...I decided to use it in the reclamation spirit! Hi Scott; Now I get it!;)

[Jerry Olexa]

Scott, very nice work AND an interesting story...Like the recycling also. She'll this even more later...

[Craig Thompson]

Scott,

Good Job. Unique, Nice Design. Great veins in the lumber.