Thread: Why do pirate chests and other chests have domed lids?

Arrrghhh me hearties,

I think you might find that the round shape is actually stronger... a bit like a barrel..... but you re right, harder to do. Historically there were a lot more cooperers around so they would have found it relatively easy by comparison to a barrel.

Cheers,

Chipman



then again, it may have been to keep the rabbits out of china.......

(Sorry, I don't know for sure, I am just taking an educated guess)

I've read two theories:

1. So the water runs off

2. So things can't be stacked on top, thus making the chest hard to access.

Both sound plausible.

Originally Posted by labolle

I have wanted to make a pirate chest for a long time. The domed lid seems to be a key element to make it look like a "treasure chest."

As I have been working on mine, I have come to the conclusion that "round" is not an easy thing to do with hand tools. So that leads to the question "Why did they use that shape to begin with? It's not easy to make. Chests, trunks, or boxes with round lids won't stack well in a ship's hold, so why domed?

Any insights?

If you make a chest with a flat panel top, how many times do you see gaps or cracks develop? The expansion and contraction of wood can take a major toll on the way things work, either leaving gaps or pushing things apart at the joints. So how does a pirate chest handle that expansion and contraction? By changing shape! Something that couldn't happen if it weren't dome shaped in the first place!

Just think of the first of those chests being made by seamen, ship's carpenters who had to deal with extremes of moisture, wet then dry. Smart, weren't they?

Doug

I reckon they were used on the top deck and rounded to keep water off

Originally Posted by DougStowe

So how does a pirate chest handle that expansion and contraction? By changing shape! Something that couldn't happen if it weren't dome shaped in the first place!Doug

Doesn't the timber still expand and contract though? if it does't, how come? . Sidetracking for a moment, Love your work Doug. Great to have you in the forum.

Maybe the pirates demanded more space to store their booty

Cheers

Originally Posted by munruben

Doesn't the timber still expand and contract though? if it does't, how come? . Sidetracking for a moment, Love your work Doug. Great to have you in the forum.

You remember the banding that goes across the top of the trunk. It was sometimes made of something that had a bit of give or flexibility, like leather straps, or in some cases steel. You can never stop wood from moving, but you can control some aspects of its movement.

Glad to be here.

Doug

Having spent hours poring over my copy of Doug's magnificient book "Box Making" I can't help grinning when I see his description as "Apprentice".

Regards
Larry

Originally Posted by DougStowe

If you make a chest with a flat panel top, how many times do you see gaps or cracks develop? The expansion and contraction of wood can take a major toll on the way things work, either leaving gaps or pushing things apart at the joints. So how does a pirate chest handle that expansion and contraction? By changing shape! Something that couldn't happen if it weren't dome shaped in the first place!

Just think of the first of those chests being made by seamen, ship's carpenters who had to deal with extremes of moisture, wet then dry. Smart, weren't they?

Doug

Sounds quite logical to me. Glad to have you onboard, matey.

Mine, like most of my projects, has turned into quite a learning experience.

Actually, I thumbed through a few of your books before I started. Didn't see a pirate chest in there... Maybe in your next book?

Originally Posted by Ron Dunn

I've read two theories:

1. So the water runs off

2. So things can't be stacked on top, thus making the chest hard to access.

Both sound plausible.

I love the second reply. I can just see some of seaman saying to himself "Put my chest at the bottom of the stack, will ye? Let's see what y ou think about this.." Then putting a domed lid on his chest to make sure it was never at the bottom of the stack....

Here is just the thing to put you in the right frame of mind as you work on a pirate chest
[ame="http://youtube.com/watch?v=GbJ84ESfKOs&feature=user"]YouTube - Brendan Power - The Drunken Landlady - www.candyrat.com[/ame]

Wow, he must have to run 100k's a day to have wind like that!!! or maybe just a pint or two of Guinness.

I vote so they didn't pack your seachest on the bottom of the pile in the hold, what's going to get wet first when the old tub leaks in a big blow and storm. And you wouldn't have to wait around all day for the whole ship to unloaded when you got to port.

From what I have read most were flat topped, there was no stacking of chests in the holds as they carried all the seamans belonings so were in the area he slept ate and lived they were usually about 18" high or a little less depending on the seamans height, so they could be used as a seat , domed lidded chests were often a captians or pilot's chest and the domed lid was also the place he carried his rolled up charts on the top of a hinged inner flat lid or cross straps and as these had to stay dry the domed lid provided this as well I believe that the domed lidded chests were more popular in hollywood as they looked better on film , bit like the horns on a viking helmet .
Some of the better chests I have seen were flat topped and opened up to become a wrtiing desk or drinks cabinet and were all purpose built but the one thing most had in common was the lock it chimed as you turned the key to wake you up if anyone was trying to open your chest when you were asleep

Hi Ashore I have one of these locks with the bell in it. It was inside (not the chest lock) stock if you like my Great Great Grandfathers seamans tool chest.

I am fortunate enough to have one on a cedar chest I did up years ago , didn't know what it was at the time and did a lot of reading and a lot of small fiddley work to get it working , cutting a key for it was the hardest , though I learn't a bit about locks doing it