Starting a New Project - E. Chapin High Chest of Drawers - Trip to Yale Furniture Study & Planning Step 1

I have selected my next project.  After completing a couple of smaller projects, I have decided to take on a very large project.

I really like working with cherry and many of the Connecticut Valley pieces are made with cherry as the primary wood.

In particular, Eliphalet Chapin's work is so outstanding that it started an entire movement and of course copied by other craftsman at that time.  I have built two Chapin pieces so far, an arm chair and chest of drawers.  This piece with certainly challenge my skills.

I first found the chest in New England Furniture In Winterthur by Nancy Richards and Nancy Evans
Below is a picture from the book.

Winterthur has many of their objects digital on-line.  Here is a photograph I pulled off of their site. It is an excellent straight on picture.

I converted the picture to a PDF and scaled it to full size on my engineering plotter.  Here are two parts of the chest on my shop wall.  From the full size prints I could measure and determine the dimensions.  I also made some templates.

I also made a line drawing in half size and a side view in quarter size.

But I did not have any thicknesses. I could guess at many but I really would like to study the piece in person. There are four of these chests that are known to exist in museums.   Fortunately for me the Yale Furniture Study has one of these pieces.  I contacted Yale and made an appointment to study the highchest.
So here I am at the Yale Furniture Study in New Haven, CT.
There are rows and rows of furniture, literally hundreds of pieces of furniture.  I wish it was a lot closer to Ohio, I would be there all the time.  It is about an eight hour drive for me.
Here is the piece that I came to study.

I was able to take out drawers to study their construction as well as the internal construction of the chest.

The back was unusual since it was chamfered and fit into a groove.

Drawer sides are 3/8 inch with a 1/32 inch bead, which I have never seen before.

The drawer bottoms of the large drawers have also a ramp which I have never seen before.

So the trip to the Yale Furniture Study was very rewarding.  I now had all of the dimensions that I need to create a material list.
I went to Irion Lumber and purchased a matched set of 4/4 curly cherry with some 17 inch boards, 8/4 curly cherry and 12/4 curly cherry.  The material is outstanding.

Then I went to Groff & Groff Lumber an purchased Eastern White Pine  for all of the secondary wood. There is quite a bit in the drawers, drawer bottoms, drawer runners, chest back, etc.

Now I have most everything that I need to get started on the high chest.  I think I will start on the four legs and the ball and claw feet.

Here is today's video:

Cherry Chippendale Handkerchief Table - Finishing and Complete - Part 8

I am in the home stretch now with just attaching the top, sanding and finishing the table.

Most amateur woodworkers dread the finishing because it is the last chance to screw up the whole project.  This is true for most of us because we don't get enough practice finishing.

Once I made a chair and put a water based dye on it which turned out terrible, it was so bad that I bleached the color off and started all over again.  It was a learning experience as was this table.

First I attached the table top and removed it for finishing, that way it could be easily attached when it was completed.
I made glue blocks and glued them to the inside of the table base.  I put counter sunk holes in the blocks which were larger than the screws.  This will leave some room for the top to expand and contract to help avoid cracking.

 Now that the construction is complete. I sanded everything to 180 grit and then wet down the table with warm water to raise the grain.  Then I sanded off the fuzzies  with 220 grit sand paper.

Then I applied 2 coats of Charles Neil's pre-color conditioner.  This reduces the blotching of the dye.

Then I applied a water based dye and let it dry. It was too dark, so I took a wet rag and wiped down the table until I got the color that I wanted.  Since it is water based, by applying water it kept getting lighter.  The challenge was to get an even color.

Here is how it looked after applying one coat of Waterlox.  The color balance of the photo could be better.

This photo is after three coats of Waterlox and the color is looking much better.  I can only apply one coat per day.  So this process takes awhile.

Here I am sanding between each coat.  I remove the dust nubs from the finish each day with 600 grit sand paper. I use it dry at this point.   Very lightly sand.  I use 0000 steel wool on the curved surfaces like the ball & claw feet.

Applying the next coat with a rag.  I apply just thin coats of finish, that way it does not run or pool on the surface.

There we have it after 8 coats.  It is a bit too shiny now.  I will have to wait for the finish to cure about a week. Then rub it out is 600 grit wet sand paper on the flat surfaces and 0000 steel wool on the curved.  Then a coat of wax and it will be complete.

Now to start planning for the next project.
Here is today's video: