I finally got around to preparing the stock which will comprise the main panel of the medium tool chest lid. In order to minimize movement, I will be laminating the lid from four pieces of rift- and/or quarter-sawn pine.  I say “and/or” because I don’t really know where the transition point between the two lies.  Suffice to say, it’s not flat-sawn.

If someone would like to explain an empirical difference between rift-sawn and quarter-sawn without needing a chain of custody on the tree, please do so in the comments.

The loveliest part about non-flat-sawn lumber is how it resists warping.  After flattening and thicknessing, the 3/4 inch nominal stock is still 11/16 inch in thickness.  This means that, straight off the saw bench, there was no more than 1/32 of twist across roughly 30 inches of length on any of the four boards.

It’s almost a shame this will be painted.

The stock for the dust seal around the lid has been ready for a while, so it’s just a question of getting the panel glued up and fitted to the chest itself.  I have already cut both sets of tails on the side seals and one set of pins the front seal (on the show corner) and the lid itself will come together quickly once the panel is fitted.

I’m just looking forward to clearing this project and giving it to the recipients.

JPG