Project Information
Last month I decided to get going on my daughters blanket chest. After bringing her home, I was amazed at how many actual blankets we received as gifts for her and some very nice ones at that. That being said, might as well make a chest to store them!
The design is pretty straight forward - I wanted it to match the dresser I had built her before she was born so materials are hard maple and black walnut for the lid. I did use breadboards again which I really like the look and functionality. This time I was able to get a cleaner, tighter joint along the breadboards by taking a few short passes with my hand plane to truly create a draw. Finish is the same, white stain and top coat is sprayed lacquer. I finished the bottom with some aromatic cedar which created a nice scent, but also dressed it up inside.
Hinges are the Rockler Lid Stay hinges. Pretty neat set up and super simple to install. Just weigh your lid, take a dimension on depth and place into calculator to get the set up you need. They are very expensive in my opinion, I think close to $93 I paid for these. In the end, I would pay that over again to ensure a 16lb lid doesn't come close to crushing any little fingers. As for functionality, so far so good, lid stays in any position you'd like. It is a bit tight, but I suppose that's the trade-off. I will say to anyone interested in using them, they create a rather heavy gap which I'm not thrilled with. I debated mortising in the hinges, but was concerned that down the road years from now if the hinges failed I'm somewhat stuck if they no longer offer them. So I instead used some rubber bumps to make the gap even all around.
Any feedback or questions, let me know.
Thanks for checking it out and Merry Christmas!
The design is pretty straight forward - I wanted it to match the dresser I had built her before she was born so materials are hard maple and black walnut for the lid. I did use breadboards again which I really like the look and functionality. This time I was able to get a cleaner, tighter joint along the breadboards by taking a few short passes with my hand plane to truly create a draw. Finish is the same, white stain and top coat is sprayed lacquer. I finished the bottom with some aromatic cedar which created a nice scent, but also dressed it up inside.
Hinges are the Rockler Lid Stay hinges. Pretty neat set up and super simple to install. Just weigh your lid, take a dimension on depth and place into calculator to get the set up you need. They are very expensive in my opinion, I think close to $93 I paid for these. In the end, I would pay that over again to ensure a 16lb lid doesn't come close to crushing any little fingers. As for functionality, so far so good, lid stays in any position you'd like. It is a bit tight, but I suppose that's the trade-off. I will say to anyone interested in using them, they create a rather heavy gap which I'm not thrilled with. I debated mortising in the hinges, but was concerned that down the road years from now if the hinges failed I'm somewhat stuck if they no longer offer them. So I instead used some rubber bumps to make the gap even all around.
Any feedback or questions, let me know.
Thanks for checking it out and Merry Christmas!