Serpentine Chest

Expand your casework repertoire with a curvaceous front.

- By Glen D. Huey

One of the most interesting

aspects of a serpentine chest, with its front concave at the ends and convex in the center, is how the wood grain changes as the curves undulate across the front. A drawer front that begins as a piece of flat stock presents three distinct areas after shaping. The grain in the concave sections displays an "X" pattern, while the grain in the center section forms a circle. The patterns highlight the curved front to give the chest a more distinctive appearance.

Serpentine chests first appeared in the Chippendale era around 1765. These chests could be considered a fraternal twin of the oxbow chest—also known as a reverse serpentine—which is convex at the ends and concave in the middle. These two styles are related to block-front chests in that all have shaped fronts fitted to a basic chest carcase.

Structurally Sound

This chest is based on a mid- to late-18th-century design from Massachusetts. The carcase construction is basic and the joinery is completely hidden. The sides are dovetailed to the bottom with the pins on the sides and the tails on the bottom. Because these structural dovetails will be hidden, you can use large pins and tails.

Begin with the 203/4" pin board, or case side. Set your marking gauge to 5/8", even though the thickness of the bottom is 3/4". (The 195/8" wide bottom has a rabbet at both ends to hide the joinery and create a shoulder to help locate the side panels and help square the case.)