Sawdust on the Floor

Thanks for coming back again. Today we’re going to finish the steamer trunk project. On the inside of the steamer trunk there is a tray that is completely removable. The tray is made from 4/4 oak that was milled down to a 1/2″ thick on the surface planer. The front and back edges of the tray are 3 1/2″ tall along their entire length. Each end of the tray starts out at this same size in each corner, but gradually raises up to 6″ tall in the center of each end. The reason for the added height is that a hand hold was cut into each end of the tray.

The corner of the tray will be subjected to a lot of stress each time the tray is removed from the trunk, so I want to reinforce the joint. I chose one of the most beautiful, incredibly strong joints for the corners, through dovetails. Over the years I have tried many dovetail jigs, and found issues with all of them. That was until I broke down and purchased the Leigh Dovetail jig shown at the right. The only issue I had with it was the learning curve. But all of the fussing with adjustments is worth it when you see the results that the jig produces.

Along the bottom edge of the front, back and end panels, I cut a rabbit for a 1/2″ piece of plywood. To cut the hand holds in each end I did a rough cut with my portable jig saw and then refined the cut out with my portable spindle sander. This is a tool that doesn’t receive a lot of work in my shop, but one that I definitely fight with you over if you tried to take it away from me. For sanding things like the inside edges of a hand hold, this is the only tool that I would ever use again.

I used a 1/4″ round over bit in my small router to ease the edges of the tray assembly. The tray was finished with the same oil based stain and polyurethane as the rest of the steamer trunk.

I installed a 3/4″ X 3/4″ band around the inside of the trunk base. This band was installed so that when the top is closed, the top of the tray is just below the inside of the top. The band was installed using glue and sheet rock screws which were counter sunk. For added strength, I also installed the same 3/4″ by 3/4 ” pieces vertically into each corner of the steamer trunk.

The steamer trunk was finally done and now sits in our dinning room. It proudly holds several pieces of family memorabilia. All in all a lot of work, but it was fun and the final project was worth the effort.

For more information regarding the tools and products used in building this project, click on the highlighted links in the article above.