Linen Fold Panel Chest

This project is a linen fold panel chest typical of what you might have seen in England around 1400 or so.  This example is from Percy MacQuoid's History of English Furniture on page 11.  The example is unusual in my research because it is the only one that I have seen with three square panels, and the only example of linen fold carving that shows the rod that the linen is hanging from.

Image is from MacQuoid's History of English Furniture, p. 11, and is reproduced here without permission.

I have almost completed carving the panels, and I have learned a lot.  First and foremost, I have learned that oak panels are thick.  I made my panels 1/2" thick, and relief-carved them to 1/4", thinking that I wanted the finished piece to be light.  Before I had started the third panel, the first two had cracked.

I have salvaged the cracked panels by cross-laminating 1/4" oak panels to the back of them, making the overall thickness of the panels 3/4", with relief sections carved down tin 1/2" thick.  Other research has shown me that carved panels tend to start at around 1" thick, and are relief carved to 3/4" thick, making my panels still a little thin.