Boarded Chest II – Decoration

2014.08.13

On the first chest, I cut out the feet with two mirrored S-curves, or ogees.  Along with the bootjack, this is probably the most common shape on surviving antiques.  I wanted to do something different on this chest, and so after some musing, I settled on a trefoil, three intersecting circles.  I laid them out so the two lower circles fell off the bottom of the side.  Then I used a 2-inch sawtooth bit at the drill press to cut them out.

Trefoil laid out on end board
Cutting out trefoil with sawtooth bit in drill press

I cleaned up the edges and softened the points with a cabinet file.

Boarded chest end boards with trefoils

I rounded over the leading edge of the lid.  Then I added a decorative groove.  I scored lines with a marking gauge, then set up the router plane with an 1/8″ blade and the fence.

Layout lines scored for decorative groove in lid
Router plane set up to plow decorative groove in lid

I started with the sides, going across the grain, and then along the front.  I thought the front would be easier, but the prodigal blade wanted to wander with the grain rather than strictly follow the straight and narrow path.  After that was complete, I did some sanding in preparation for paint.

Boarded chest lid with decorative groove
Boarded chest lid with decorative groove

There’s one more element of decoration, and that’s some applied moulding as a skirt.  That will have to wait until the chest is assembled.