Boarded Chest II – Lock & Lid
2014.08.24
On the first chest, I used a full-mortise lock; this one is a half-mortise lock.
2014.08.25
To get the hinges to sit flush on the face and back edge of the lid, I had to do a little surgery to accommodate the hinge barrels. Then I started hammering and clinching the hinge nails. I’ve used them on both chests now, and although I like the look, they really are not meant to be clinched and have fought me all the way. Several times I’d clinch the nail on the inside of the lid and then when I flipped the lid back over, the head of the nail had lifted away from the hinge. I ended up using clamps to squeeze the nail to a tight fit. Not exactly how it’s supposed to work.
But at length, I had both hinges in place.
Hmm. From an aesthetic standpoint, I now wish I had ordered shorter strap hinges; the tips are too close to the decorative groove. Ah well, this chest is all about experiments. Live and learn.
2014.08.26
Two battens will help keep the lid flat. I laid out the nail holes with dividers, drilled pilot holes, and started driving them through and clinching.
On the first chest, I drove the nails up from the bottom and clinched on top of the lid. That way the clinching goes across the grain of the lid. But I wasn’t happy with the untidy look of the clinching (though painting over the nails helped), and I wanted the heads of the nails to show on the lid of this chest. So I reversed the direction, but this meant I had to clinch along the grain of the battens. This goes against all that is right in the world, but I think it will be fine.
Painting