One of the things when starting a project is to try and mark out your rough lumber to ensure it looks good and to optimize the use of your wood (its expensive). In the case of this cabinet, I want to have the grain lines continue from the sides to the top and back over to the other side. This “wrap around” makes it look like the board has just been bent at 90 degrees, and looks very good.
So I’ve got the boards laid out on my workbench, and I’ve chalked up the rough outlines of where I want to get the pieces cut. I’ve got enough here for four (4) different chests – one for each and then a 4th that I could sell (or in case I mess one up really bad). Now on to milling the lumber down to its final length, width and thickness.