Storage Chest / Bench

[steve-norrell]

Son and daughter-in-law wanted something they could use for storage and as a bench near the entrance-way to their house. Outside dimensions are about 43 in. long by 22 in. wide; the seat, with cushion, will be about 22 in. high.

To make it blend with their existing furniture, I used a spline arrangement with the boards edge-trimmed (see "Spline Construction Detail) with a 45 degree campher bit. The splines are 1/4 in. baltic birch left over from another project. All of the boards in the body of the chest are assembled this way. The only place were screws or pins were used was in the base and legs. The floor in their house is tiled so I included levelers at all four corners, as shown in one of the photos. All wood, except the plywood splines, base and seat are alder.

The inside of the chest will be unstained and finished with two coats each of SealCoat and Fast Dry PolyU. The outside will be stained to blend with existing furniture, then finished with SealCoat either wipe-on or Fast Dry PolyU.

I haven't figured out how to make the photos appear in correct sequence, so they are labeled.

Thanks for looking, regards,
Steve

[scmhogg]

Steve,

That is really nice. It really looks sturdy. Are the splined panels floating?

Steve

[tommyt654]

Nice job Steve, No cedar for the inside? Even a small bottom layer always adds that aroma that everyone likes

[steve-norrell]

Thanks for the kind comments.

TommyT: No cedar. I am allergic to the stuff. The bottom is 1/2 in. baltic birch that is supported on all four sides and in the middle. Access to the levelers is through small holes in the bottom. It the DIL wants cedar they will have to buy one of those liner kits and install it themselves.

Steve: No floating panels. Each board is splined and glued. In retrospect, I probably should have figured out how to do floating panels. The unit will be moving to Albuquerque and will be used inside the house. Once it is at its permanent home, there should be little, if any change in humidity and the temperature inside the house should be reasonably constant.

Thanks again for the comments, regards,
Steve

[SARGE..g-47]

Looking forward to seeing this in Finished Projects. I like the design and you are executing it well.

[JR]

That's a really nice project, Steve. I especially like the feet and base trim - they establish a strong footing for the rest of the piece. The little v=broove detail is also nicely done.

I dunno about the splines, though. This will be either the most solid box on the planet or it will explode! I'm betting on solid.

Good job.
JR

[os1kne]

Very nice!

[steve-norrell]

Thanks again for the nice comments.

The design is supposed to "blend with", rather than duplicate, the furniture they have in their house (see photos). Hence, the 'stacked' feet arrangement and the arrangement of the boards in the body of the chest. I told them that I would not even try to copy the diamond motif on the sides of the door panels of the end tables.

As far as the splines are concerned, I find it easier to do splines than a tongue-and-groove arrangement. I simply cut grooves in the boards with an appropriate bit for the plywood I have on hand, taking care to always have the board in the same orientation (ie: face up). The "V" grooves are formed by beveling the edges of the boards with an appropriate router bit. Then I glue everything together to form the front, back and side panels. I agree that they are not likely to come apart anytime soon.

The feet are simply stacked pieces of alder squares that have had their edges beveled (45 degrees). They are glued together, then screwed to the bottom frame.

The kids are having a tough time matching the color of the original furniture -- which has a lot of orange in the tint. I sent them samples of alder stained with Pecan, Golden Oak, and just the slight amber tint from shellac. They thought that those stains were too yellow and contrasted with the furniture. They are supposed to experiment with other stains and possibly combinations of stains. We will see what they come up with.

Thanks again for the comments. Regards,

Steve

[jabe]

Nice work!!! I made 2 Koa toy boxes several years ago and used those safety hinges so the cover will not slam shut saving some fingers & tears.

[jackellis]

Very nice job, and you've answered a question I was going to ask in the process.

I'm making a couple of chests to store outdoor furniture covers using leftover cedar decking material. I was wondering what kind of hinge to use for the lid, which will be slightly oversize to keep rain and snow out.

Looks like I need to order some safety hinges too.

[steve-norrell]

I'm making a couple of chests to store outdoor furniture covers using leftover cedar decking material. I was wondering what kind of hinge to use for the lid, which will be slightly oversize to keep rain and snow out.

Looks like I need to order some safety hinges too.

The safety hinges are a must. I already have one small bump from before the safety hinges were installed.

You might have to play around a bit with the placement of the piano hinge and safety hinge, especially if you want any amount of over-hang at the back. In my case, the trim on the front and sides of the lid have about a 1/2 in. overlap with the sides and front of the case.

In the back, though, the hinge is flush with the back of the case although it would be possible to extend the back of the lid so that it extended over the back of the case. (Did that make sense? If you are as confused by that sentence as I am, I can send a photo or two. )

Regards, Steve