Replicating the Seaton Tool Chest by David Nelson

3 of 23

It is not clear how the bottom is fitted to the sides but I believe it is fitted into a groove around the bottom.  At this time I glued the veneer to the bottom.  Since the veneer surface was going into the groove I needed it to be the finished thickness.  I then made a rabbit around the perimeter of the bottom to fit into the sides.  The next step was making the groove in the bottom of each side.  I used a plow plane for this. Once again I fitted the five pieces together and made any necessary adjustments.

It is also not clear from the drawings how the batten and rail for the molding plane storage area are mounted.  Again, I believe they are set into slots in the bottom and sides.  In order to do this I glued the veneer on the two sides and bottom before making the slots to fit the pieces.  The 1/16-inch veneer was very easy to deal with and I got some good practice before I tackle the difficult, thinner, material.
 

These are the sides and bottom of the chest after the veneer is glued on and shellacked. These are the tools I used to make the grooves, rabbets and mortises in the bottom and sides of the chest and most of the interior pieces.  I also did the mortise for the lock in the front panel of the chest.  The veneer hammer was used in the veneering process.  The planes are a Varvill router, Slater shoulder plane, Varvill dado and a Varvill sliding fillister.

Once the veneer was in place on the sides and base I made the large batten, small rail and rail support out of pine.

The next step involved measuring and making the parts for the fixed till.  The lower door appears to be made of pine.  I cut a slot in the base of the case to hold the bottom of the door in place.  The lid and front of the upper part of the fixed till are veneered.  I rough- cut and planed the parts for the upper part and will finish them when the carcase is glued.  The last part of the case assembly process is to veneer the inside of the back.  Since the fixed till is at the front and is not moveable there is no veneer on it.
 

Because the sliding till rails have a rounded surface I used these tools to make them.  From left a Varvill plow, a Varvill number 8 hollow, a Varvill square ovolo and a Varvill sliding fillister.  I rounded the edge with the ovolo and cleaned it up with the hollow.  I then made the groove with the plow.  The rails were mounted on the sides and then removed.  This will allow the sliding cover to be installed after the chest is glued together.

Before gluing the carcase together I decided to finish the inside of the chest.  I used Lockwood’s Sheraton Red water soluble dye and then three coats of garnet shellac on the mahogany surfaces.  On the pine I used Lockwood’s Knotty Pine dye and one coat of orange shellac to give the wood an aged appearance.
 

These are the sides and bottom of the chest after the veneer is glued on and shellacked.  The rear of the chest is not veneered but you can see the shellac covering the knots; a staff member of Certainly Wood recommended this.  All of the veneer for the project was purchased from them.  The mortises and grooves have also been cut.  The color variation on the base shows up because I didn’t dye the portion that is inside the fixed till.  The rest of the mahogany was dyed with Lockwood Sheraton red.  I put three coats of Garnet shellac on the mahogany.  The pine parts of the chest that are not veneered will be dyed with Lockwood knotty pine and given one coat of orange shellac.

I rubbed out the shellacked veneer with Liberon 0000 steel wool and Briwax. I have used this technique before on several projects and it produces a satin finish. The only problem was some glue, apparently dissolved by the shellac that leaked through the joint between the veneer pieces and left a bumpy finish. This will be covered later by the supports for the sliding till.

The case was dry fit one last time before gluing to trim the veneer where the sides and back came together. When dry fitting I also practiced the glue up procedure. Since I am working by myself and the pieces are large I need to have all the parts and clamps staged and the order of assembly worked out before applying the glue. I cut mortises in the sides for the separator and divider in the molding plane compartment. During the glue up rehearsal I realized I couldn’t install them during the glue up process. I will make brackets for them and install them after carcase is glued.

Gluing completed.
 

3 of 23