Quick Tip
Instant Edging Clamps
Edging clamps are a useful item, but you may need them so seldom that you’re reluctant to give them shop space or spend money on them. So what do you do when you have a job that requires edge clamping? Improvise with small C-clamps and wooden wedges, as shown. For very small jobs, where little pressure is required, 1" strapping tape works fairly well.
A C-clamp and some folded wedges create quick and easy edge clamps.
Blanket Chest
You’d never know by looking at it, but this charming cherry chest bypasses traditional mortise-and-tenon joints in favor of a unique combination of rabbet and lap joints, making the chest easier to build without compromising its strength. A finishing scheme of both paint and clear finish also lends a handsome effect to this piece, which is sure to become a family heirloom.
by Rick White
Winters can be just a bit chilly up here in Minnesota. Thankfully, modern housing keeps us warm and cozy, but our ancestors weren’t so lucky. When the first hoarfrost settled on the cottonwoods, those hardy folks reached into Grandma’s old blanket chest for another layer of warmth.
This chest follows in that same tradition, providing attractive and functional year-round storage for winter blankets. It combines the warmth of natural cherry with a historically authenticated Windsor green water-based enamel paint. Where it surpasses the original is in its hardware, which includes a pair of inexpensive but effective lid supports that are designed to protect children’s fingers from pinches.
Making a Flat Panel
To create this family heirloom, the first step is to choose some top-quality stock for the lid (piece 1). The appearance of the solid cherry lid is one of the most critical features of this chest. If you’re not used to creating wide panels, here are some pointers to help you over the hurdles.
Several narrow boards, rather than a few wide ones, make for the most stable panel, and some woodworkers will even rip and reglue wider boards to achieve this. The key is to have an uneven number of boards (or an even number of boards of varying widths) so the panel doesn’t have an eye-catching joint running right down the middle. Some would also alternate the grain patterns by looking at the ends of the boards and making sure that every other crown points down. Biscuits or dowels are helpful to keep everything in line when clamping large panels like this. A center clamp will exert pressure on the center of a panel to keep it flat while clamping (see Figure 1).
If you own a planer, you can make two small panels first, plane them, glue them up, and then belt sand the last joint. But for a professional look, I recommend gluing up 4/4 stock and having a local cabinet shop run it through their wide belt sander.
The bottom of the chest (piece 2) is also a glued-up panel. Make this from poplar rather than cherry; it will be painted anyway, and poplar is less expensive. Making the lid and bottom together will save time on setups. While you’re at it, go ahead and glue up some of your nicer cherry stock for the eight decorative panels.
Figure 1: A center clamp slides along the pipe of a standard clamp and applies pressure to the center of larger glued-up panels.
The skeleton of my blanket chest is poplar, an old favorite of cabinetmakers and furniture builders. It’s a fast-growing hardwood with fine, closed grain, so it’s commonly used as a base for veneers or as hidden or painted structural members.
Each side of the blanket chest carcass can be treated as a subassembly—a frame that contains panels. The front and back frames are identical, as are the two side frames.
The first step in building these frames is to cut the parts to size, referring to the Material List on page 10. All the cuts are square except for the short taper on the lower ends of the stiles (pieces 3 and 4). This taper can be laid out using the dimensions given in the stile detail drawing on page 10 and then cut to size on your band saw.
Material List
| T x W x L | ||
| 1 | Lid (1) | ¾" x 17¼" x 38" |
| 2 | Bottom (1) | ¾" x 15¼" x 35" |
| 3 | Front and Back Stiles (4) | ¾" x 3½" x 19¼" |
| 4 | Side Stiles (4) | ¾" x 3¼" x 19¼" |
| 5 | Front and Back Rails (4) | ¾" x 3½" x 30" |
| 6 | Side Rails (4) | ¾" x 3½" x 10¼" |
| 7 | Interior Stiles (4) | ¾" x 3½" x 10¼" |
| 8 | Front and Back Panels (6) | ¾" x 7⅞" x 10⅛" |
| 9 | Side Panels (2) | ¾" x 10⅛" x 10⅛" |
| 10 | Front and Back Horizontal Moldings (12) | ⅜" x ½" x 8" |
| 11 | All Vertical and Side Horizontal Moldings (20) | ⅜" x ½" x 10¼" |
| 12 | Solid-Brass Hinges (3) | 1½" x 2" |
| 13 |
Lid Supports (2)
|