Spring has sprung. Get out and shoot your Henry

Playing with Boxes

User avatar
clovishound
Drover
Posts: 2070
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2016 4:18 pm
Location: Summerville SC
United States of America

Re: Playing with Boxes

Post by clovishound » Thu Feb 01, 2018 11:48 am

BOM, are you concerned about wood movement with the top glued to the box frame?
0 x
There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

Re: Playing with Boxes

Post by BrokenolMarine » Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:15 pm

I haven't had a problem but once, and since I haven't been selling the boxes, I don't worry too much. This one will probably go to the Son-in-Law in OK. With a box as small as this, and the rigidity offered by the frame, it's never been an issue.

I have had a box top warp that was just a single piece of wood, unsupported, fitted to the box. But it was one of mine I kept. Tossed the top and kept the box on top of the dresser to toss the wallet, keys and such into ... ;) On most of my designs, the bottoms float in dadoes, but the inserts are glued in place.
For example, the Cherry Gun Case:
and it closes.jpg
and it closes.jpg (271.47 KiB) Viewed 3843 times
It's done.jpg
It's done.jpg (256.36 KiB) Viewed 3843 times
It hasn't moved and the inserts top and bottom are both bookmatched, and glued into place. 8-)
I may have just been VERY lucky. :twisted: (knock on wood?) :roll:
0 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

Shaping the Top

Post by BrokenolMarine » Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:21 pm

Went out this morning and worked on shaping the top, now that the glue had a chance to set up overnight. Spent some time with the spoke shave and a handplane to make the transition as smooth as I could get it. Before I cut the top loose, I will insert the accent pins, which will both look nice... ;) ... hopefully... and add to the strength of the box. Most certainly. Then I will cut the top loose to allow the access to add the bottom from the inside.

After that, I will build the tray or trays to turn this into a masculine jewelry box. If it turns out decent, it is Oklahoma bound for the Son-in-law. :P
Transition produces nice thin shavings, which I save for the wife to use in her gift baskets....
01 shaping the top.jpg
01 shaping the top.jpg (282.24 KiB) Viewed 3843 times
As always, there is final sanding, but we are getting there...
02 getting there.jpg
02 getting there.jpg (284.79 KiB) Viewed 3843 times
The stains on the sides are from the pressure of the rubber clamps, they will sand away. If not... kindling for a nice big fire. :evil: :cry:
0 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

Re: Playing with Boxes

Post by BrokenolMarine » Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:22 pm

I should have put wax paper under the clamps. :x
Sux to be senile.
(A senior?)
1 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

The Dowels go in...

Post by BrokenolMarine » Mon Feb 05, 2018 12:16 pm

Some time in the shop this morning, Dowels and Sheath... :D
Put the new brad point bit in, and after some careful measuring, then remeasuring, I drilled the holes for the custom dowels, made with the new dowel plates.
02 box drilled for dowels.jpg
02 box drilled for dowels.jpg (240.58 KiB) Viewed 3826 times
Then, holding my breath and hoping nothing splits, I carefully drove in the dowels after coating them with glue.
03 dowels in.jpg
03 dowels in.jpg (295.64 KiB) Viewed 3826 times
Once they are dry, I'll trim then flush and sand them.
Then I'll cut the top free and move on to the next phase... if I can remember what that is.
:lol:
1 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

Cutting off the top...

Post by BrokenolMarine » Fri Feb 09, 2018 10:46 am

Got busy this morning.... and finally got the top free. After some final steps.
First I sanded the entire box with 120, and 220. Then I rolled both sides of the top, as I wasn't happy with the look of the sharp edges. :? Ah... that's better.
01 rolled the sides.jpg
01 rolled the sides.jpg (270.2 KiB) Viewed 3818 times
I also went over the box and filled any cracks with very fine sawdust from the sanding process and used the THIN CT glue to set it, and sanded it smooth. No more cracks. This also stabilizes any cracks to keep them from spreading.

Time to cut the top off. Set up the fence on the table saw and the depth where it would JUST pass thru the sides. I made the first two passes on the long sides.
02 long cuts.jpg
02 long cuts.jpg (267.1 KiB) Viewed 3818 times
Before making the short side cuts, you have to stabilize the box so the top doesn't move and mess up the edges. This can be done several ways. Since my blade is an 1/8" and lowes paint stir sticks are 1/8", I cut spacers on the band saw from a paint stir stick and taped them in place.
03 spacers.jpg
03 spacers.jpg (276.63 KiB) Viewed 3818 times
After I made the first short side cut, I stopped and taped a spacer in place on THAT short side cut as well. Then and only then did i make the last cut.
04 four sides.jpg
04 four sides.jpg (272.95 KiB) Viewed 3818 times
As you can see, even with all four sides cut free, the top stayed in place, I got an even cut all the way around and no distortion.
Now I can remove the tape and the spacers and the top is finally free.
05 top free.jpg
05 top free.jpg (271.07 KiB) Viewed 3818 times
Before I lose orientation, I make a chalk mark inside the top and bottom as a reference until the hinges are installed later.
This is the look I will achieve down the road.
06 it'll open.jpg
06 it'll open.jpg (287.99 KiB) Viewed 3818 times
Now, it's time to build the manly trays that go in the box, the bottom, and do more sanding. Then decide on the finish. The hard part is done.
1 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

Re: Playing with Boxes

Post by BrokenolMarine » Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:34 pm

I got back out in the shop the last couple days to work on the cane and some work on the box. One of the tasks was to begin planning the interior trays for the dang thing. I have decided on two trays for the left hand side. The uppermost will be 3-1/2 inches wide by 9-3/4" deep and 1 inch tall. The second tray below it, will be 4-1/2" wide and 1-1/2 inches tall. The sides will be walnut, but the bottoms? Highly figured spaulted maple. :) The right side of the box will have the full depth available in case the Son-in-law wants to put a couple watches in the boxes there, or perhaps coin trays or the like stacked on that side. Whatever.

I found two nice pieces of the spaulted maple and just needed to process it into the proper size and shape for the bottoms. The first, which will be used for the 3-1/2 tray, was about an inch and a half wide, and a half inch thick. Perfect for bookmatching.
01 to be bookmatched.jpg
01 to be bookmatched.jpg (259.25 KiB) Viewed 3807 times
After careful setup of the table saw and a couple passes over the blade, I had a bookmatched bottom for the smaller upper tray, just needs to be cut to the exact size when the sides are done. Of course, I'll joint the center edges so there is no gap.
02 two magic passes.jpg
02 two magic passes.jpg (306.08 KiB) Viewed 3807 times
The larger piece will be for the larger tray and I was about to cut the damaged end off, when I decided I could probably save it.
03 save it.jpg
03 save it.jpg (337.63 KiB) Viewed 3807 times
The nicest grain surrounded the hole that went all the way through. Isn't that always the case? :? First I gathered all the goodies I needed to make it happen. The CT glue and Accelerator, the blue tape, some walnut dust I had saved, exacto knife... you know, the goodies.
05 goodies.jpg
05 goodies.jpg (298.76 KiB) Viewed 3807 times
The first step was to tape the back closed...
04 first step.jpg
04 first step.jpg (286.99 KiB) Viewed 3807 times
Next I laid in a bottom layer of the Thick CT glue, and sprayed it with the Accelerator. In 15 seconds, it was set.
06 bottom layer.jpg
06 bottom layer.jpg (279.21 KiB) Viewed 3807 times
The next step is to pack in a color layer using the fine walnut sawdust. A powder really, saved from a sanding operation from one project or another. I have cups of this dust from various species of wood. Never know when it will come in handy.
07 color layer.jpg
07 color layer.jpg (300.63 KiB) Viewed 3807 times
Once that is done, you add additional layers of the CT, then spray with the accelerator to cure it, thin layers work best. Once you have built up to just proud of the surface, you sand, and sand, and keep sanding. I also cheat and use the cabinet scraper.
08 keep sanding.jpg
08 keep sanding.jpg (285.71 KiB) Viewed 3807 times


Once I get to the rough finished point, I stop. I'll get the final sanding done when I sand the entire project.
09 rough finished.jpg
09 rough finished.jpg (279.38 KiB) Viewed 3807 times
Not bad for a piece of wood that would have had an entire section tossed due to a big penetrating hole and gouge. I squared off the bottom edge, then squared up the sides... Now the two pieces for the bottoms are just waiting on the bench for the sides to be done so they can be cut to the exact sizes.
10 waiting to be sized.jpg
10 waiting to be sized.jpg (296 KiB) Viewed 3807 times
1 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

interior shelf work

Post by BrokenolMarine » Thu Feb 15, 2018 1:20 pm

Out in the shop this morning for two sessions. The first involved jointing and gluing up the bottom for the 3-1/2 ish shelf. It will be sweet, I thought.
01 glue up.jpg
01 glue up.jpg (296.78 KiB) Viewed 3797 times
Then I got to work on cutting out the sides for the two shelves and dry fitting to make sure everything would go together.
02 shelves cut.jpg
02 shelves cut.jpg (270.86 KiB) Viewed 3797 times
During the dry fit process you discover where your problem areas are, without glue in the way to gum things up. (pun intended.) :)
This was also where I cut the bottoms to length and squared the sides of the bottoms. Carefully... I didn't want to have to try and find another pair of beautifully figured bottoms. (Not likely... :twisted: )
03 dry fit.jpg
03 dry fit.jpg (262.68 KiB) Viewed 3797 times
Next up is sanding the tops and sides of the rails to make them prettier, and any dressing up I might do. (Molding plane work?) :roll:
I might run a bead on the one edge that will show on both trays... ;) ... or not.
I will prestain the walnut and the maple since I plan to use two different stains.

Then I'll glue them up and put them in the clamps to dry. Maybe after an afternoon appointment we have to take care of. Sheesh... business does crop up now and then.

Watch this space.
1 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

tray work

Post by BrokenolMarine » Sat Feb 17, 2018 12:51 pm

More work on the tray inserts this morning. Began shaping them with the molding plane and then sanded the final shaping. Just three sides, wanted that one edge to fit smoothly against that side of the box so left it flat. You'll see when I fit them to the box. ;) Once they were all fitted, I stained the components and once they are dry, I'll assemble them for a test fit one last time and then glue them up and let them dry. THEN I'll manufacture and fit the rails they'll rest on with the little bumps to hold them firmly in place. 8-)

Here is the plane and it's work
01 molding plane.jpg
01 molding plane.jpg (316.81 KiB) Viewed 3789 times
The small tray laid out with a view of what it might sorta look like after shaping...
02 three sides.jpg
02 three sides.jpg (276.07 KiB) Viewed 3789 times
I stained the bottoms with Colonial Maple, and the sides with Special Walnut. (I don't call it that, that's the name of the stain...)
I used the lighter stain on the maple so the grain would POP and not be lost to the darker stain... it seemed to work! :lol:
03 two stains.jpg
03 two stains.jpg (336.36 KiB) Viewed 3789 times
Getting close... I'll stain the box soon and we'll see how SHE looks as well. :)
1 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

Re: Playing with Boxes

Post by BrokenolMarine » Sat Feb 17, 2018 12:52 pm

That repair of the hole in the larger bottom seems to have blended right in!
0 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

Post Reply