Jewelry Armoire

[themachine]

My wife has a large collection of jewelry, especially clip-on earrings. This armoire is my design, and consists of two cherry floating boxes mounted on hidden fasteners to a cherry frame. The bottom drawers are traditional style with modified (Route-R-Joint) dovetails and false fronts. The false fronts are made from a cherry base with thick spalted maple veneer glued to the front. I then routed a cove on the edges and excavated the center oval to reveal the cherry backing. The pulls I made from walnut stained black with India Ink. The drawer interiors are lined with cotton muslin and have walnut dividers. The top box doors are maple framed around spalted maple floating panels. The pulls are also made of stained walnut. The screens inside slide out and are made of walnut half-lap frames and wire mesh cut from shelf drawers (IKEA). They slide completely out and pivot for viewing of contents. Clip-on earings hang very nicely on the screens. Two of the screens have posts mounted for necklaces and bracelets. The decorative flairs on the sides are maple with silver string inlay. There is a lot here that most people would not be interested in so please post specific questions. Thanks.

[BigguyZ]

I don't know what's more impressive- the work you put into that piece, or the fact that your wife has enough jewelry to need it!

Very Nice!

[All Thumbs]

I don't know what's more impressive- the work you put into that piece, or the fact that your wife has enough jewelry to need it!

Very Nice!

Agreed. I think any burglar looking for the "goods" is going to assume that thing is full of clothes, and spend time looking for little boxes on top of a dressing table.

Very nice work.

[Stytooner]

If I was the thief, it would be the cabinet that got nabbed. Dump the jewelry to make it more portable.
Excellent work and design. Looks like a Family Jewel right by itself.

[BadeMillsap]

Oh My!!!! That is a work of art ... truly incredible craftsmanship ...

[cabinetman]

Very well done indeed. Beautiful.

.

[greenacres2]

Absolutely beautiful. Great design too, i especially like the cherry revealed through the spalted maple--nice touch.
earl

[leehljp]

Yes, A Work Of Art!!!

[Pappy]

That is a fantastic piece, both in design and execution. Personally, I would have left the walnut handles unstained, but walnut is one of my favorite woods.

[JR]

I've been thinking of making something along those lines. You've given me lots to think about!

I agree that the "revealed" cherry worked out beautifully. I also like the inked handles - an interesting technique I'll have to try.

So, how did you attach the boxes to the frame? Also, how do the panels pivot - are there pins in the panels?

Very nicely done!

JR

[chopnhack]

Very Krenovian! Beautiful work, the spalted wood shows well. I didn't see mention of the finish? What did you use? The surface looks great, not too shiny nor too deep. I also love your photography of the subject on a white background with just the right lighting. Did you use a photo box? Good stuff :-)

[atgcpaul]

That is very impressive. That shelf sliding mechanism is cool.

[LCHIEN]

very nice. That is a design style I like and appreciate. Execution looks great. Quite a work of art.

[themachine]

To answer some questions: I too like walnut - one of my favorites. But I tried to pick up the black in the spalted maple with the pulls, kind of reinforcing the design. The boxes are sitting on two frame pieces running front to back. The frame pieces are cut down in front and back to match the width of the stretchers they are mortised into, and then about three inches from each end go up in width 3/4 inch to give the impression that the boxes are sitting on air. So the boxes sit on these higher parts and are attached with screws in the front and a block in a sliding dovetail in back for wood movement. The sliding frames have an extra two-inch wide panel on the back attached with hinges, and this extra panel has catches so it will not fall out of the front of the cabinet. I can send detailed pictures if anyone wants to see how the catches work. I photographed this piece at a friend's shop, who does have a drop down white background and extra lighting. The finish is a base of linseed oil (which gives the cherry all of the color I wanted), with a sprayed on precatalyzed laquer top that was rubbed out with 600-grit sandpaper and oil.

[JimD]

Great job!

My late wife had a lot of jewelry, mostly costume, too. My project is much less elaborate but she liked it. I built a cabinet into the wall and fronted with a full length mirror. So it's about a foot wide, about 4 feet tall, and about 4 inches deep. The bottom 3 feet or so are small drawers with dividers of various configurations. The top foot or so is hanging space for necklaces. She had it stuffed full but it held most of her jewelry. I made the carcase of 1/2 bb plywood and the drawers and mirror frame of lightly figured maple.

Jim