Woodworking Facts

Features

About the Cedar Chests

At our Timber King sawmill, logs are first selected for size, quality, and maximum heartwood. After sawing, the boards are stick-stacked in a well-ventilated shelter and seasoned for at least three years. This ensures stability to the wood, essential in making a reliably durable chest.
Select boards are then planed, cut to length, and matched for the panels that comprise the front, back, and ends. All edge joints are double tongue-and-grooved using the best quality carpenter's glue. The panels are then mitered at the corners, glued, and secured with cedar dovetail keys that form a permanent bond without the use of nails. Finally, when the chest is fully assembled, the top is cut off, thereby making a perfect fit with uniform appearance

All hardware is solid brass and the finish is total lacquer. A small sliding tray fits in the top level of the chest to accommodate quick access to special stored items.
Our chests have a unique quality compared to the highly glossed and decorated factory-made or imported ones. These are often made with thin veneers on particleboard, with the thinnest of cedar lining, or even worse, cedar particleboard. Our chests are solid cedar, predominantly red heartwood, at least 3/4" thick.
We are aware that our chests are often purchased as anniversary gifts for loved ones to be appreciated for years to come and we handcraft them accordingly.