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Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

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Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby kirkpoore1 » 18 Mar 2017, 01:28

Now that Photobucket has extracted it's head from it's inverted location, I can talk about this project. This chest was part of a three way trade among folks in my medieval group. A friend of mine needed boots. Another friend of mine makes boots & shoes, bu needed a chest. I'm friends with both, so I hooked them up. Friend one gave me money, I made a chest for friend two, and friend two send hand made special order boots to friend one. Oh, and I got my own boots repaired for free. By the way, if for some reason you need medieval footgear, here's your man: https://boots-by-bohemond.myshopify.com/collections/boots

Anyway, the wheeling and dealing was last August, and the boots were sent out in December, so I had to get my rear in gear. At the beginning of January I bought ~125 board feet of cherry for this and one other project. I immediately started thicknessing, sawing, and mortising:

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These are the frame blanks.

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Cleanup with the hand plane.

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And mortised for the stiles.

Oops, time to go get my pizza. More later...

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby kirkpoore1 » 18 Mar 2017, 02:10

OK, have pizza, will post.

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Cutting panel grooves on the shaper.

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Putting a bevel on the top edge. Since my table saw is a right tilt, to do this I had to move the fence over to the left side. Note that I've already tenoned this rail. I failed to get pictures of that process.

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He wasn't impressed.

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Frame dry fit. You can see the bevels on the bottom rails, and that the stiles are undercut to accommodate. I have seen a medieval chest in an art museum which used this detail. It also reduces dust buildup.:)

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First panel. I tapered it to each side, hogging off the material on the table saw.

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The rest of the sawn panels, ready for cleanup.

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Saw marks sanded off.

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Thinning the edges on the shaper. This makes them thin enough to fit the slots, while leaving a small edge to define the boundary of the linenfold.

More after I walk the dog...

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby kirkpoore1 » 18 Mar 2017, 03:07

Putting the Linen in the Linenfold:

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Removing most of the waste on the ends with the overarm router.

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Ready to carve.

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Stages, right to left: Raw, carved, finished.

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And finished up close. These are a very simple pattern, akin to the earliest ones from the 15th century.

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Test fit of the bottom. I wanted to conserve my cherry, so I went with red oak here. The panels are shiplaped and set in grooves running around the inside of the bottom rails. The chest is going to New Mexico, which has a very dry environment. But the owner travels to sell his shoes, so there will be a lot of wood movement. Given that, these are all loose fit. Each panel overlaps its neighbors by as much as half an inch, so there should always be overlap.

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Test fit of a side and panels.


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The ends, with the legs.

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Full test fit.

This took 10 days from start to this point, mostly in the evening. I was working fairly fast.

Enough for now. Big finish tomorrow.

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Phil » 18 Mar 2017, 07:21

That's looking very good.

Do you have fittings for the inside to house the shoes?
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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Mike G » 18 Mar 2017, 08:30

I've not seen one linenfold moulding the full width of the panel without pattern-repeat before. I always associate it with the multiple foldding/ repeating patterns such as this:

https://www.architecturaldepot.com/_cache/linenfold-wood-panels.html

My dad fitted out a whole house in linenfold furniture before I was born, all done by hand in the manner of the panels I linked to. It's not something I've ever tried, but I really like your simpler version. The stuff my dad did was a bit heavy looking for my taste.

As one who doesn't own a table saw, I am curious why you chose to put the slope on the face of the boards with yours, rather than on a planer. I will be making at least one main door in the house using a central board of this shape, so shaping it is something I've had a brief think about.
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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Andyp » 18 Mar 2017, 09:49

It looks like that will weigh a ton when complete. I always enjoy watching you put stuff together.
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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Malc2098 » 18 Mar 2017, 11:01

Fascinating read and view. Thanks.
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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Robert » 18 Mar 2017, 13:42

Very nice.

I remember your previous linenfold panels on a bed project.

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=724&p=8634

Worth a look for anyone that didn't see it :)
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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby kirkpoore1 » 18 Mar 2017, 14:26

Holy Crapmoley, Mike! $400 for one linenfold panel? I could make a living at that rate. :). As Robert noted, I've done more complex panels before, but this was kind of on a budget, at least time wise, and I couldn't dress up the rest of the chest to match.

I prefer the table saw for the rail bevels because it's easier to repeat consistently. I finished up with the hand plane, so any burning was going to be removed anyway. (Edit) I misread you--you were talking about the panels. With 12 panels, I had to make 24 cuts. On the TS I could do each in one pass, and again could do it consistently. The very shallow angle would have been hard to do on the planer using the fence, and would have been hard to be consistent doing it by eye.

Andy, I didn't weigh the final product, but I think it came in at 40-50 lbs. All the panels started at half an inch thick before I thinned them down, and the frame other than the legs was 3/4". Bottom was also 1/2", but was strong enough for me to stand in. Panel-frame construction can be pretty light.


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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby kirkpoore1 » 18 Mar 2017, 19:29

OK, on to the glue up:

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First the rails get glued up. You have to pay attention on which way the panels face. I've glued them in backwards before.

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Full side with the ends on.

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End view.

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Top boards glued. One design limit was to make the chest narrow enough that the top would go through my thicknesser.

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Here's the top assembled with it's breadboard ends, but the edges haven't been rounded yet. The hinges are just sitting there.

Final look:
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Because time was a constraint, I did not commission longer hinges, or for that matter hinges which could have been attached at any point on the back rail. The hinges I had, with equal length arms, had to be attached over the stiles, so to my eye they are too close together.

The handles were also the ones I usually use. I had to adapt the design a little by going with a wider top rail in order to allow the handles to open properly without the lifter getting his knuckles bashed on the lid.

Still, it came out pretty good, and the owner is happy with it. it's pretty good sized (interior is about 15-1/2" x 15" x 34" IIRC) but still portable.

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Mike G » 18 Mar 2017, 21:09

Nice, Kirk. I'd have perhaps preferred to see chunkier corner pieces/ feet, but I like the simple design, the hinges look good, and the panels are more interesting than the normal raised and fielded stuff you see everywhere.

What are we seeing here?

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby kirkpoore1 » 18 Mar 2017, 22:40

It's a knot that I thought I would be able to cut out. In other words, move along, nothing to see here, never you mind... :)

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby wallace » 19 Mar 2017, 00:00

I really like the stuff you do Kirk. The wife wants me to attempt one of the chairs/thrones you did. I think its a bit beyond me
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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Phil » 19 Mar 2017, 06:39

Mike G wrote:Nice, Kirk. I'd have perhaps preferred to see chunkier corner pieces/ feet, but I like the simple design, the hinges look good, and the panels are more interesting than the normal raised and fielded stuff you see everywhere.

What are we seeing here?

Image



Nothing to see?
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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Phil » 19 Mar 2017, 06:41

Looks great.

Does it get shelves or anything else inside? Or how does he pack the shoes/boots?
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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Rod » 19 Mar 2017, 09:45

It adds a bit of character - what finish did you apply?

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Rod » 19 Mar 2017, 12:31

Here's a photo of Linenfold on our Jaycee furniture.
We bought it in the 80's - don't think CNC was around then?

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby kirkpoore1 » 19 Mar 2017, 15:15

Phil wrote:
Nothing to see?


Not if you don't look! :)
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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby kirkpoore1 » 19 Mar 2017, 15:29

Phil:

The chest was intended to hold musical instruments originally. The owner has a citole and a couple of other medieval instruments, and I was going to put in two removable shelves so he could stack them inside. Unfortunately I didn't get the final dimensions on the instruments, particularly the thickness, which would be critical for the shelf height. When I talk to him I'll see what he wants to do.

Rod, the finish is one coat of boiled linseed oil and 3 coats of Tried & True Varnish Oil. Mostly linseed oil, but it does build up, and as an oil based finish it's easy to repair.

That linenfold is interesting because it doesn't have a handmade feel to it but I'm not certain how they did it. Moulder + pin router with multiple patterns, then heavy sanding? I just don't know. The funny thing is I've done exactly that fold pattern myself, completely independently. The only difference would be the exact width of the individual elements.

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby MartinF » 19 Mar 2017, 22:28

Kirk,

The answer to your question as to how they did linenfold by machine is that there are router cutters that you can use with a jig to create the effect. These are two UK suppliers although it looks from their website that Wealden don't do them any more

https://www.trenddirectuk.com/18-96x1-2tc

http://www.wealdentool.eu/router_range.html

I was tempted in the past to give the a go but I am afraid my skills at producing the necessary size and depth of panel aren't up to ut.

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby Rod » 20 Mar 2017, 00:21

Those show separate panels stuck on - I must look at ours more closely as I've always assumed they were carved straight from the panel.

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby kirkpoore1 » 20 Mar 2017, 02:03

Image

Heresy! Burn them! Aagh!

Really, if you're going to do that, you might as well get them cast out of resin.
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Sorry, Martin, I don't mean to jump your case, I've calmed down.

It's quite likely that Rod's example was first cut on a molder. After that an overarm router might have done the rest, or possibly some kind of pantograph machine. But if you look at the pictures of the above router bits, they cannot make some of the cuts.

Linenfold is really fairly simple to do by hand, and some of them can be easily done with machines, but the end details of complex folds are not easily done with ordinary machines.

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Re: Simple Linenfold Panel Chest

Postby meccarroll » 21 Mar 2017, 21:05

Well you certainly seem to keep yourself busy in the woodwork department Kirk.

It's very nice of you to keep posting all your hard work on here, it's very interesting stuff.

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