My wife had an old cedar-lined chest for storing blankets and other things. I decided to build a Blanket Chest. I used plans out of an issue of Woodsmith Magazine. These guys make some of the best woodworking plans available. The Blanket Chest is designed to be Craftsman Style furniture. I know most Craftsman furniture is traditionally created out of Quartersawn White Oak, but I used Red Oak instead.
The chest was built using mortise and tenon construction. After I got finished building the chest, I realized I could have used a Rail and Style router bit to build the sections. The panels inside the sections are Oak plywood. The vertical grooves were made with a veining router bit.
Once the chest is constructed and the panels in place, it is lined with aromatic cedar. I could have used real cedar boards, but I chose to use cedar plywood. The inside of the chest still smells like cedar.
The plans called for a lid built of ½” Oak plywood. I decided to use solid Oak wood instead. Needless to say, the blanket chest is heavy, but it is built really well.
Overall, the Woodsmith plans were excellent as usual. The build for the chest took quite a while, I only work in the shop a few hours at a time. Be sure and check out some photos of the build process.
