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[Peter Jaquith]

I recently completed Bartley's Six Board Chest in cherry. This is a beautiful little chest with traditional Shaker lines. I chose to finish this piece with wiping varnish and wax.

The following notes apply:
>>> I took 3/32" off the width of the bottom, part #156-10, in order to maintain the clearance from the back described in the instructions (required for shrinkage/expansion). I used a table saw for this, but a hand plane would work just as well.
>>> I sanded all pieces before assembly
>>> I applied one coat of Bartley's wiping varnish to the interior of all pieces before assembly to make glue cleanup easier (tape off glue areas as wood glue will not penetrate varnish).
>>> With the above exception, I assembled the chest in accordance with the kit instructions.
>>> My finishing steps included machine followed by hand sanding, five coats of Bartley's gel wiping varnish (three coats on the interior/bottom), rubbing down with ultra fine steel wool and Howard's Feed-N-Wax, and polishing the top with Liberon furniture wax.

This traditional colonial piece will join other kit pieces in one of our guest bedrooms.

Regards,
Pete Jaquith
_________________
Shipbuilder
Hancock, NH & San Diego, CA

[Ed Burton]

I am getting toward the final stages of construction. I colored the chest with Early American Cherry aniline dye, and am currently trying to apply semi-gloss polyurethane varnish to the surface. The main problem is that the end boards are developing a horrible case of fish-eye. I try to smooth it out, the fish-eyes come back. I try to fill in the fish-eyes with an extra drop of varnish, they come back. Fortunately, the facing boards and the top are in good shape, but I've never had this happen before and I find it terribly frustrating.

On the positive side, it should be a beautiful piece when it is done. I used Bright Green aniline dye on the poplar bottom, which should look great when the box is opened ... all this formal stately cherry in a colonial antique chest, and inside ... holy hell, it's bright green! javascript:emoticon(':D')

[Peter Jaquith]

Ed,

It sounds like you will have a beautiful piece when you finish. I finished my six board chest with just varnish, leaving the lighter popular bottom to contrast with the natural cherry. I am currently building the Pennsylvania Dower Chest #0447 in curley maple. It is a big piece and a major construction project. I am now in the finishing stage, but at one point I had three work tables covered with pieces and sub assemblies.

Regards,
Pete Jaquith
_________________
Shipbuilder
Hancock, NH & San Diego, CA

[Ed Burton]

Ah, yes, I've had my eye on that chest for some time now. Maybe if I ever scrape together enough pennies I can spring for that myself!

I have built several items with the curly maple kits, and they all get the same Early American Cherry dye as the cherry pieces. I sand them down, sponge them off, sand and sponge, sand and sponge, and perhaps do the process as many as ten times. It is a monument to compulsive behavior. Yet, the result is that the maple achieves an almost glassy texture and those ripples can truly pop out of the wood. (To a lesser extent, even cherry can reveal similar curls if it receives the same fanatical level of sanding.) Like yourself, I do all sanding and varnishing before construction.

And if I ever become truly rich ... the William and Mary highboy! Wasn't the model for it found right here in New Hampshire? What could be more appropriate?