I built the chest as a wedding gift for my sister Kathy. The plans are from measured drawings of the orginal at Hancock Shaker Village near Pittsfield, MA. I followed the drawings as close as I am able, the wood is pine with a red cedar panel on the bottom. The dovetails are all cut and fitted by hand as well as the dado's that house the bottom and front of the tills. The till covers are let into holes drilled into the sides and all the till pieces fitted are into their respective places at the time of glue up. The only metal parts are the hinges and the screws and a few finish nails in the base. I am finishing a linseed oil and beeswax mixture.

I have been a hobbyist woodworker for about twenty years and slowly have been learning and practicing new skills over that time. My greatest hurdle I have overcome is learning to cut dovetails by hand. I was not able to figure it out on my own but I attended a class at Shaker Village in New Glouster near Auburn over ten years ago. The instructor was Chris Becksvoort who showed us how he makes dovetails and answered questions. From that I was able to come home to my basement workshop and make my first dovetails on my own. This chest is the third large chest I have built and hopefully far from the last.

If anyone would like a dovetail lesson I would be happy to assist. Have chisel-will travel.

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