18th Century Swedish chest of drawers kit (shipping February 2024)
Supplied in kit form 
 
10cm wide x 5.8cm deep x 8cm high
 
The beautiful chest of drawers is partly in stock. I am waiting on some of the mdf pieces which are due to reach me at the end of January. This means your order will be delayed. Please do not purchase if you require the chest of drawers this month. 
 
 
This is really quite an esquisite set of drawers. The original was painted with pattern so I took this pattern and transfered it into low relief. 
 
It is a fairly simple kit to assemble and instructions will be included in this website listing. The only tricky part to the kit is making the metal fronts of the drawers fit snuggly into the recess area. You will be required to shave off some of the metal using a knife/sandpaper. Alas there are also slight variations experienced between the 3d cad work, 3d printing and then casting. Working at such a small scale and trying to ensure such close fitting drawers has its challenges but nothing that can not be resolved with a little trickery!!
 
 
 
Supplied unaged - ready for tidying which will mean small nodules will need to be sanded or snapped off - this is super easy to do and takes just a minute or two.
 
Made from lead free pewter alloy.
 
NOTES
Metal Items
As with all my metal designs the pieces will require a little cleaning using a file and/or sandpaper. The metal is very soft so this is a simple and satifying part of the build process. It is possible to bend some parts on some metal items. This is both a positive and negative. Very thin items can bend slightly when posted. I always suggest gently guiding the metal back to its original place if this should happen. BUT please note: Do not put the metal item in the oven as it will melt at low temperature - the same applies to using heatguns. 
 
I tend to use superglue (Hafixx being my favoured choice) with a super glue activator to speed things up. Superglue will semi cure within seconds and with an activator it will semi cure within a second or two. However please note the the glue will not be fully cured for another 24 hours.
 
To paint the item I strongly recommend a metal primer. Spray primers are the easiest to use and just a light coat with give the paint something to 'key' with......then the choice is yours. I use all types of paints from acrylics to cellulose spray paints. All have their own merits and so I choose according to the finish I wish to create.
 
After applying my coats of paint I will always add an aging layer of raw umber acrylic (water it down and then paint and wipe off to leave the dark paint in the recesses). Aging can be very rewarding and there are many options for this. One little recommendation is to use rotten stone/pumice stone powder to add what I like to describe as "dust" to the piece. It is a powder and will always be a powder unless mixed with a binder such as glue. The powder is a soft grey and if it is brushed on then off it will leave a slight dusting in the recesses of the design. 
A final flourish of splatter (very subtle brown/grey applied with by splattering the paint from a bristled brush such as a toothbrush) adds a little more interest. 
 
You can always create a more worn look by layering colours and removing layers to reveal what is underneath. A tip here is to add the extra colours where you will rub away and dont make the layers thick - there is no need to add layers into fine recesses unless that is where you want to reveal a colour. 
 
If you wish to give your painted surface extras "depth" and aged interest then using a soft brown wax (I like to use annie sloane Dark wax - it is easy to use and doesnt smell) as a final coat. You can choose to polish to a high sheen or just a soft polish for age. You can also mix waxes - I love to add liming wax (white wax) to brown wax if I want a softer look. You can always finish with a dusting of dust. 
 
Finally on painted items you can always finish with a flick of off white (you can do this on gilt too but you would need to use a brown such as raw or burnt umber). Take a brush and apply a small amount of paint then work most of the paint off so that you are left with a trace of paint on the brush. Brush this lightly over the item so that you catch the raised areas and the corners and edges of the items. How much you apply is up to you and you can have so much fun experimenting to see what looks best for your chosen design. 
 
If your painting goes wrong you can remove it by dipping the item into acetone for a few minutes and scrubbing off the paint with a toothbrush. Note it will also dismantle your model as it will weaken the glue!!!