Shaker Blanket Chest

Power Dovetails: The drawers are assembled in traditional Shaker fashion using half-blind dovetails on the front-but that doesn't mean you can't cheat on what tools you use. After marking and cutting the pins on the fronts, the band saw makes quick work of what would have been a lot of hand-cutting to create the tails.

Next prepare the chest for the top. The chest top needs a stout hinge that requires more than the 3/4″ back to support it. To accomplish this, glue and nail build-up blocks to the chest back. Once fixed in place, use your router and a straight bit to cut a mortise in the back and block for the hinge leaf.

Now prepare the moulding that’s attached to the front edge and sides of the top. The moulding is more than decorative, it also forms a dust seal across the lid. First bevel the moulding on the bottom edge to soften the corner, miter the pieces, and then nail it flush to the top edge.

Position the top on the chest with the back edges flush. Mark the hinge location on the top, then attach the hinges.

Now it’s time to work on the drawers. The drawers are assembled using rabbeted half-blind dovetails at the front and through-dovetails at the rear. First rabbet the drawer fronts to form a 5/16″ lip on the top and sides, and an 1/8″ lip on the bottom edge. The dovetail joint attaches to the rear of the lip formed by the rabbets. To keep the work traditional, the drawer bottoms are made from 5/8″-thick solid wood, and the three sides of the bottom are beveled to reduce the thickness in order to slide into the 1/4″ x 1/4″ grooves in the sides and drawer fronts. Next tack the bottom into the drawer back to square up the drawer.

Some final hardware and you’re ready to finish the piece. Check the instructions (if any) on mounting the chest lock and install the locking hardware. Drill and attach the knobs to the drawers.

To give the piece an appropriate 19th century finish, I used Moser’s Early American Cherry aniline dye and applied a couple of coats of lacquer to protect it.

Un-Shaker-Like Help: With the hinge blocks glued in place against the cabinet back, mark the hinge shape on the top of the block and the back. Next rout out the hinge mortise to the full depth of both hinge leaves.

My wife isn’t always happy with the number of magazine subscriptions I have. But when I can turn up an idea like this chest from a magazine ad, I’m allowed to keep those subscriptions current. PW

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Glen Huey is a senior editor for Popular Woodworking.