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Townsend Newport High Chest based on a very old design developed by Christopher Townsend (1701-1773) whose shop and furniture facilities was located in Newport, Rhode Island.

This Chest, often referred to as a High Boy, is made of Curly Maple as the dominant primary wood. It was made for my wife for Christmas last year. It was hand sanded, dyed, and finished with linseed oil, shellac, polyurethane varnish, and finishing wax in a manner that enhances the figured in maple. The secondary woods are Hickory, Slippery Elm and Soft Maple. All of the drawer sides are Hickory and all of the drawer slides are Slippery Elm which were selected for their hardness, strength, and smooth finish.

The cabinet utilizes 5 different types of dovetail joints, single and double mortise and tenon joints, and floating mortise and tenon joints. All joints in the drawers are dovetail joints. My wife tells me that there are over 200 separate dovetails in this chest.

Gallery

Comments

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18,919 Posts
so this was not your project ?
 

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Beautiful work!

Claude
 

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Oh my gosh! What a stunning piece. Your wife must be so very proud and grateful of you, your craftsmanship and love for her!
 

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1,434 Posts
Wow that looks great. Well done.
 

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You did an amazing job and a beautiful piece of furniture.
 

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343 Posts
Beautiful High Boy, excellent craftsmanship. the curly maple is superb. I like Christopher Townsend designs and his work he was a very accomplished craftsman. One can never fully appreciate work and skills the it takes to produce a work like this until you have done one. Great job on a Beautiful High Boy.
 

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Thank you all for the kind compliments. They are really appreciated. I have been working on this for about 18 months in between 5 dental implants and some cancer treatments. It was a very much overdue Christmas gift for my wife. Except for the Curly Maple, all of the other wood came from trees from around the area in which I live.
 

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4,930 Posts
Congratulations on your achievement despite your own trials and tribulations. I understand the desire to create a masterpiece to represent your life's work. Well done, sir!
 

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575 Posts
Rodger, your a great furniture builder. Even through your struggles you built a master piece.

Only a small percentage of people on the planet could have accomplished it.

I know you won't worry about the doubting Thomases.
Their always looking for ****************************** in greatness. We don't have to wonder why.
I would proud to be your friend.
 

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Roger, that's a beautiful piece and quite an achievement! Congratulations. It's nice to see a South Carolina woodworker posting here. I live in Columbia.
 

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+1 to all positive comments! Truly outstanding workmanship and finish!!
 

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Roger, that s a beautiful piece and quite an achievement! Congratulations. It s nice to see a South Carolina woodworker posting here. I live in Columbia.

- MPython

Thank you for the compliment. Guess you have been to Mann Tool a few times. Some of the maple in this project came from them.
 

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Wow, this is a beautiful piece. It is a tremendous build and great illustration of your craftsmanship. I love your finish as it really highlights the curly maple.
Congratulations on completing such a great masterpiece.
 

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19,753 Posts
Excellent work Roger , this is so very beautiful!
 
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