Unreasonable Fourth

Since completing the third chest of drawers for the upcoming book, I have had a lot on my plate which has dictated, at best, sporadic work on the fourth chest.

I did, however, begin with great gusto; preparing the carcase’s pine and solid mahogany panels and veneering the side panels. All were set aside for a time while I attended to one of several interruptions requiring my undivided attention.

When I returned to the bench some weeks later, I couldn’t locate the veneered panels. I searched high and low for them, but being unsuccessful (and a gentleman-of-a-certain-age with short-term memory issues), I thereby convinced myself that I hadn’t made the panels. However, I didn’t feel like veneering that day, and decided to make up the base moulding and bracket feet instead.

Urgent distractions again took me away from the bench for a week or so and then the veneered panels turned up – exactly where I had left them, leaning against a wall to dry. I knocked the carcase together while I had all the panels in the one place and then after another lengthy interlude, I couldn’t locate the feet. This chest really tested me.

Dating from 1740, this mahogany chest is the first non-walnut chest and is also the first example (that I have made in this series) that reverts from crossgrain mouldings back to long-grain mouldings. The drawer fronts and carcase top are solid mahogany and the latter is attached to the veneered sides with a single sliding dovetail at each end.

The George II mahogany chest in-the-white…

… and finished.

Actually, the chest isn’t exactly finished: The backboards aren’t on and they can’t go on until I affix the stops to the back of the dressing slide, and the stops can’t go on until I line the dressing slide, and I can’t line the dressing slide because, in the aftermath of The Great Storm of 2014 that destroyed our house, I have no idea where the roll of baize ended up.

The first three chests can be seen here, here and here.

Jack Plane

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