Tiger cedar chest

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This is my third project using a chevalet de marqueterie. The chest measures roughly 30”X20”X20”. The front is made using almost twenty different veneers some of which I dyed myself, I just couldn’t find a tree that made blue wood. The other parts of the outside are Makore.On the last blanket chest I made I used Cherry for the inside but I found some red cedar veneer and figured it was probably a better choice, I also left it unfinished. I used 1/4 cedar tong and groove from a box store for the bottom so if the cedar lost its smell the bottom could still be sanded. The frame is made from white oak and then ebonized black, I was trying to give it an Asian feel. Tigers are indigenous to Asia so the background came from a photo of somewhere in China. The top has Chinese characters for the Chinese proverb ””Three men make a tiger This was a fun project and as the marquetry was packet cut I have three more fronts to use, I already have the wood rough cut for another three chest so if they turn out different enough I’ll post them. Thanks for looking.

-- Paul--- Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. — Scott Adams

12 Comments

Wow! Amazing! That should fetch a nice price. At least the two you have yet to make because I’m sure you want to keep the first one. Very beautiful. How long did it take to make?

Losing fingers since 1969

Wow! Gorgeous work! Just absolutely stunning!

Great piece Paul.
How big was your biggest packet?
It’s always nice to see more chevalet work and yours is lovely.

The early bird gets the worm but its the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Nice composition Paul . Seems you have found your way to peach
blossom valley with this one . I could certainly live with a piece of
furniture as nice and colorful as this . Sweet .

Wow! This is an incredible piece Paul.

I like the flow all the elements are in harmony.

Abbas, Castro Valley, CA

This is a real beauty Paul. Very impressive work on the marquetry and the chest. How did you manage to get that large marquetry panel pressed?

Mike, an American living in Norway

A marvelous looking chest and piece of artwork .
I like the Asian look of the chest as it is very befitting to the marquetry .

Klaus

Paul (shipwright) my biggest packet was about half the length of the front about 16", It pushed my chevys arm length to the limit :) . I broke it up using the water in the middle. I have to admit I cheated on the background sky which I planed on doing in two pieces but it was just a bit to long for my chevys arms so I cut it with an exacto knife. I think it was much harder to cut that way so it wasn’t much of a cheat, I should have done it in three.
Mike 40 , I have a vacuum press with a bag that the biggest panels fit in so it was a piece of cake to press.
Thanks to everyone for the nice comments!

-- Paul--- Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. — Scott Adams

Paul, the marquetry on this box is stunning. You have real talent. I am currently in the process of being introduced to woodworking through making boxes, my second of which I have just posted. I would love to combine the skills I am aiming to achieve in combination with marquetry. A friend of mine actually just completed a 2 week course learning your specific type of marquetry. Where did you learn marquetry from? I am wondering if it can be learned from videos or books.
Well done.
Eyal

A stunning piece of work! Love the woods and the detail. A beautiful work of art.

Anna

Eyal, I have taken several veneer and marquetry classes at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Franklin IN. I don’t think there is anything like a hands on experience that taking a class gives but I also have Marc Adams and Paul Schurch video’s both of which use a different approach. Marc’s process is a double bevel cutting method and Paul’s is a packet cutting method, both are excellent video’s. The Tiger chest was cut using a chevalet (of which I am a novice) in the classic style of cutting in a packet but cutting each piece separately. If you are interested in building or the use of a chevalet de marqueterie you need to Google search Patrick Edwards at the American School of French Marquetry or contact our own “Shipwright” who helped me with building mine,. I think you could definitely learn to do marquetry from a book or video. Good luck and hopefully we will see some of your endeavors hear on W.W.

-- Paul--- Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. — Scott Adams

This is a wonderful work of art,outstanding workmanship.

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