Chest of drawers

I finished my small cherry chest. It took me a year from the time I bought the wood (3 boards of cherry and 2 boards of lime) from a yard in Borgo San Dalmazzo (Piedmond, Italy). Since I have no planer / jointer or large bandsaw the most time-consuming part was to get all pieces to size. I do not use plywood, so the side panels and drawer bottoms took a lot of effort. The drawers are simple, flush to the front (well, almost flush…). They slide in T-shaped guides of hardwood (also cherry) that are tenoned into the frame. The drawer bottoms and the back of the chest are made of lime, about 10 mm thick.

Detail of the dovetails (my first ones - can do better). The top is a thin panel inside a frame with mitered joints and through tenons. All the joints are hand-made. I prefer working a bit more slowly, but in silence. Also, it reduces the risk of injury (although I did cut off a bit of finger with a sharp chisel - must know when it’s too late to work….)

I bought the handles in Nice - could not find the Japanese look I was wanted so I took ordinary brass ones.

The last step was to apply the finish (Tung oil and beeswax)

Overall it does not look quite like what I wanted. The top is too thick, and the finish is a bit bland. My next piece will be better, with some curves. But first I will get a big bandsaw. (probably with 450mm wheels). Resawing these panels is just too hard..