Sea chest build part 5

I managed to finish all the dovetails, and three sides went together at the first try. The fourth side, one pin needed a little adjustment, but all in all a better result than I had hoped for. One end have started to cup a little, so it would have been good, if the dovetails had been a little tighter, but I think I can manage with some extra time in the clamps during glue up.

I did something fairly unusual after testing the joints: I started thinking ahead!
Since I have thought about installing a till, and perhaps two small drawers beneath the till, I concluded that it wasn't such a good idea to glue up the case right away. Afterall, it would make the stopped grooves for the till much harder to make.

But I took a picture of the test jointed chest, to prove that I have been making some progress.

The next thing (while thinking ahead) is to make the material for the bottom. This is being made out of the lower part of the pallet. This is a very different species of wood compared to the others. It looks a little like oak in the colour, but it is easy as ash to plane, and hasn't got as high a density as the wood used for the case. Again, I have absolutely no idea of the actual species.

The bottom will be shiplapped and nailed in place using the home made nails. Then a skirt will be attached to the chest to cover the sides of the bottom, and the bottom will also be nailed through this.

So far this project have taught me one thing: Preparing stock by hand is hard work.