Lid, drawer and pulls

This furniture is normally started with green oak. That means fresh, unseasoned timber. It seasons and dries as the furniture is made; this works because of the way that the joints are cut; tenon backside shoulders are not tight to allow movement. Panels can move within the frame. The rails, stiles and tenons for this chest lid were roughed out some time ago; so the joints are somewhat tighter than with greener oak. More care needs to be taken with the drawboring, as the dry oak can break out more easily.

I made these snipe-bill or 'gimmal' hinges for this chest.

I am using some sawn oak for the floorboards, three boards fitted side-to-side. It's the only sawn stock in the chest.

I have ordered some brass repro drop pulls for the drawer, but I am not convinced they are right for this chest. They are more late 17th century. Whichever, they have not arrived, so I have hand-carved some black walnut pulls; a hole drilled, reamed and wedged from the back. I have left it long; that way if it loosens in time, the wedge can be knocked further in and then trimmed.

Some wax on the drawer-hangers and the chest is all but finished.

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