Cedar Chest

[woodchucker]

I got a chest from a friend who was moving. It was all nailed and screwed together. They were covered mostly by other boards on the corners nailed on. So he drops it off figuring I can use the wood as he doesn't want to take it. It was cracked in multiple areas.

I tore it apart 2 or 3 years ago and it's been sitting in the shop.

My son needed a coffee table, and since his apartment is really small, I figured a cedar chest would serve double purpose. But since he drinks like a fish (out of college a year and still drinks like he is in college) I needed to make sure that a spilled drink didn't run into the chest or ruin the finish. Most of you know my love for shellac. So I shellaced it, but had to protect the shellac. I coated it with lacquer as a final 2 coats. Am just waiting for it to harden up to rub it out. I haven't used lacquer in a long time, and I'm loving the choice over poly. It just looks better, dries quickly, and I know it will rub out easily and look great.

There is a groove routed with a core box bit around the bottom edge, so if the drink spills it won't follow the top around and go into the chest. I thought that was a cool idea.

The wood was not a very nice cedar. I think it was Spanish. I had to add my own cedar for the skirt as the old one was not very nice, and had many screw holes filled with putty on top of the screws. My own cedar is eastern red. So it was not a great match. A little bright red dye in the shellac helped bring the Spanish cedar closer. Not exact, not perfect, but it helped to soften the difference. Also waiting on rockler for some chest hinges (torsion type). I don't think they will be here on time, as I am going to visit him this Saturday for a lobster fest,... a neat day where the lobster is huge, the corn is great, and lots of beer and wine flow.

So I'm torn between keeping it a few more weeks, or bringing it up now.

Anyway, hand cut dovetails, pinned maple using walnut pegs (made using a home made dowel plate).

[Sonny]

Looks great. Good job.

I did lots of projects with ER cedar and always used shellac for the first coats, as a resin blocker. For my projects (possibly not fully air dried s tock), the resin had a tendency to leach to the surface, especially where t he knots are. The few first projects, I had used spar urethane, before di scovering the resin leaching out.

Good work. Your son will no doubt appreciate it.

Sonny

[Leon]

Wow what a transformation, looks great!

I would say hold on to it and finish to your satisfaction if you that trip is not too far to make.

[Michael]

That's beautiful. Great work!

[G. Ross]

Beautiful. I built one in high school shop (using a kit) but it never looked that good. My mom still has it 60 years later.

[Sonny]

Jeff, what red dye did you use? Might work for toning epoxy filler, for some ER cedar slabs, with some unsightly defects -

I had once tried cedar flavored Famowood filler, but it was more pink, than the cedar red tone. The pink looked like crap.

Thanks. Sonny

[woodchucker]

I used trans tint I think it was bright red. One drop per 16 oz. so it was a light buildup.

Looked pretty strong in the glass, but was very light on top. Could not even see the red hue on the maple, but could clearly see it on the top.

Don't know if that makes sense..

[Sonny]

Makes perfect sense and I'm familiar with the mixing of the "browns" shades of TransTint dyes. Shouldn't be but a matter of mixing an appropriate red blend. I have plenty of cedar scrap to test with.

Thanks. Sonny

[OFWW]

Looked great to me, looked like 1 inch cedar from the size of the joints.

PS: on stripping down the Stool once again, and we has some real high humidity here, 85-90 Deg F 86+% humidity, I had to strip it carefully of plug up the sandpaper fast, whether by hand or orbital. So I did a little bit every other day. Sometimes getting what looked like buggers in the shellac. Come to find out those were areas where the shellac gasified determined when I started sanding at night, and could see the formation of bubbles in the shellac, and when those areas were sanded the "buggers" appeared.

Finally ended up going to bare wood once again. Then sealed it, waited

24 hrs and re stained it. left it again for 24 hrs but the temp and hum stayed high so I let her slide for a while and through some temp cabinets together for the kitchen.

I am about to start coating the stool again, with shellac, but will go slow and easy. Waiting for it to "cure" some before the next coat. From all the instruction I received here, and seeing the effects of what I did while I was stripping the stool I have learned a lot, and am grateful for all the finishing guidelines. Your comment on the "soft shellac" brought this up to my memory.

[woodchucker]

With the high humidity you will have a blushing problem. Can you work in an air conditioned area? At around 80% humidity you have a fighting change but 86% , I have some doubts. If you spray it and it blushes , don't continue. Just wait for a drier period.

[No Pet]

I'll just wait, humidity is seldom over 40% here, but with the El Nino this year it has been crazy. I have no A/C since I live so close to the ocean and we are now having the so-call annual devil winds. So I'll just practice patience and work on some kitchen cabinets for some additional space.

[Swingman]

Or, you can try using 99% isopropyl alcohol, available at most drugstores and Wal-Marts, as your shellac thinner to get the optimum cut for your spraying.

The higher the humidity when spraying shellac, the less water content you want in your cut, and a lower water content will cut down on the possibility of blushing.

I live on the Gulf Coast, spray mostly shellac, and the relative humidity is rarely below 90%.

As always, do a test spray on project scrap, but you should find using

99% isopropyl alcohol to cut when spraying helps with blushing.

[Dr. Deb]

If you are worried about the finish, put a coat of this on the top and you will not have to worry. It will take one heck of a long time to dry. But its bullet proof.

BTW, it also comes in gloss.

[J. Clarke]

Put a coat of _what_ on the top?

[woodchucker]

I was wondering too, thought my reader skipped a beat.

[Dr. Deb]

you will not have to worry. It will take one heck of a long time to dry. But its bullet proof.

Yes, just on the top. While you could put it on the sides, there is no nee d (unless the son is given to splashing potables all over the place). In f act, I would mount the hinges, then pull the top and finish it by itself, t hen put it back on, once the Rock Hard has dried.

Speaking of which, I live in southern Alabama - land of constant high humid ity. I read the directions on the can and expected the finish to be set (n ot fully cured) to the point where I could gently handle it in 24 hours. I t actually took about four days. But it did harden and today nothing mars the finish.

It goes on thick and the coverage is not what you would expect from other u rethane (hence just doing the top), but if you are looking for a very hard and very durable finish, its hard to beat.

Deb

[Leon]

"This" ;~)

[woodchucker]

oh, I only did the top with lacquer over the shellac. I did not do the rest of the chest. As you said, no need to do the sides.

[J. Clarke]

OK, I'll take your word for it that "this" is a good product, however googling that brand name is singularly unproductive. So where does one obtain "this"?

[krw]

First base.