Small Blanket Chest

Shop Sounds

Want to watch this video without commentary?
Click the button below and you’ll be taken to the shop sounds channel.

If there’s one project every new woodworker should do, it’s making a blanket chest.

There are a lot of small lessons to be learned but the main thing is that you get a chance to practice your joinery on a larger scale while not having to put a ton of money towards a large project. Since a blanket chest is just a large box, it gives you a good idea of scale and practice working with some larger pieces of wood.

The only downside to a project like this is that you only really need one, maybe two blanket chests in your house. I personally love making blanket chests and I plan to make many more but I definitely have to figure out a way to sell them, or I could just start stacking them!

Project Details

Primary Wood: Black Cherry
Secondary Wood: White Ash
Finish: Tried & True Original Oil
Structural Joinery: Through Dovetails

Key Lessons

The Leigh D4R Pro is a great way to get accurate and repeatable dovetails on a larger scale project. (Not Sponsored)
A simple project like this is a great way to practice joinery
Add a pop of colour to the inside for a nice surprise when opening the chest