I am really happy with how this turned out. It's exactly what I was going for: a rich, really warm blue/almost black. Both the blue and the red show very clearly through in different places. What's wild is how transformative the black paste wax was. Here is a before pic
I was definitely nervous about it looking too garish at that point.
The finish is 2 coats of red milk paint followed by a single coat of a 1# shellac cut. Quick sand with 240 and 4 coats of blue milk paint, followed by the paste wax. All finishes were made by me and are non toxic. The tactile effect of the beeswax is also very pleasant.
The idea is that with use the black and blue will wear away revealing the red underneath which will resist just a bit more for the shellac addition. The wax of course is easy to top off, so there's a little more control there in terms of wear and application.
Here is the interior:
Still needs a couple of finishing touches-- hangers for the smaller hand saws and a box for the combo plane, but at this point it is complete. Plenty of space inside to grow into as well. This is my first real piece of furniture and I learned a lot. Looking forward to the next project.
First I need to hit the sewing machine to make some tool rolls
