Thread: A small Box Photo story

Thanks for the demo and the plane WB. Your information is exactly what dovetail virgins (me) need. It all looks too hard until a generous woodie takes the time to show us his way, step by step. Crikey, you'll be compeitng with Bob Smalser on the 'brilliant information' podium. Thanks.

Originally Posted by ozwinner

I like the sine wave on the front of the box, nice touch.


Al

Al,
your beautiful christmas foil hat inspired the sine wave idea. I think this style of foil hat could be the fashion this year but only in high society circles of course.

Hey Rob, that's great work. And a very nice instructional sequence. BUT what is that blue plane in #1 - has LN brought out a tool that vibrates?

See you soon.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek,

Some things can be sacrificed and others are sacred.

The paint had to be removed and who knows, there might have been a nail or screw under that paint. The Makita is a loud mouthed rough type of character suitable for brawling with paint and metal whereas the LN's are very clever, refined deep thinkers and are therefore more suitable at negotiating with tricky grains and fine adjustements of joints.

They each help me in their own way.

Hopefully catch up very soon.

Originally Posted by Wood Borer

The Makita is a loud mouthed rough type of character suitable for brawling

Much like my betrothed.

Charles

Originally Posted by Wood Borer

The Makita is a loud mouthed rough type of character suitable for brawling with paint and metal whereas the LN's are very clever, refined deep thinkers and are therefore more suitable at negotiating with tricky grains and fine adjustements of joints.

Rob

That was very well put!

Good thread too - thanks for the tutorial.

See you in a day or two.

Col

sssshhh, I just saved all the pics to my 'puter, so I can (in the future) make a box and remember how to do it

Originally Posted by TheDad

sssshhh, I just saved all the pics to my 'puter, so I can (in the future) make a box and remember how to do it

The Dad,

You have made my day , I hope making your box(es) gives you much pleasure. Don't delay.

Thanks for that Awesome Photo Essay Rob! looks like that one will go into the "best of" catagory straight away! Have a good one!
_ryan

hi WB

nicely done.

can you give a little more detail about how the top & bottom were done ?

thanks
Andrew

Thank you WoodBorer! The day I stop being a Dovetail Virgin is getting closer, thanks to your great progress shots.

cheers
RufflyRustic

Thanks Woodborer for the tutorial. As a newbie to woodworking I enjoy reading this type of thread/article as I always learn something new.

It often amazes me that some of the techniques/tricks used in woodworking are simple but, until I see or hear about it, it never occurs to me to try it that way. This time I learnt that a good way of making a box with a lid that fits is to make a cubed box and cut the top off. Simple when you think about it. I need to start "thinking outside the square" in relation to my woodworking adventures.

Thanks again.

Originally Posted by rufflyrustic

The day I stop being a Dovetail Virgin is getting closer,..

(Groggy opens mouth..engages brain, thinks .. shuts mouth)

Meerkat,

All I did was route a groove probably 9.5mm wide X probably 6 or 7 mm deep below the top and above the base.

The top and the base are then cut to fit but with room to expand and contract across their width. The top and base are not glued in but just floating.

The grooves are routed before the box is assembled.

Because the router indexes the distance of the groove from the edge, it is very important to ensure all sides line up. Perfectionists might do it right every time but I dry assemble the box and run a sharp plane over the edges to make sure the ends and the sides are all the same height before I use the electric router.

The grooves are not routed all the to the edges and a well placed pencil mark indicates where to start and stop.

The top and base are cut and planed to easily float in the grooves and then very importantly the edges of the top and base are waxed so that any stray during the gluing phase does not fix the base or the top to the sides and ends.

If the top or the base were glued, and normal expansion and contraction would deform the box or more likely cause a split. A box this size you would get away with gluing I suppose but I like to do things the right way. A large box with it’s top or base fixed to the sides would definitely split the top or base.

The decoration on the top was done for fun. I cut the top to approximately the correct size, drew a freehand curve and then cut it with the bandsaw. A spare piece of darker timber (redgum or jarrah or myrtle) was glued between the two pieces. When the glue dried, the darker timber was planed flush. The top was then cut and planed to fit as described above.

After the box is glued and the glue has dried we have a box that can’t be opened! I always space the dovetails to allow me to run the sealed box through the bandsaw to separate the top and bottom. If you know there are kids coming around then before you glue the box up put a little toy or at least a note in the box making an urgent request to “let me out” so when the box is cut open the toy and the note is revealed! (Don’t cut the toy in half though).

That is why you will see lots of boxes 6 inches in width. Any bigger they won’t fit through the average bandsaw.

If you are making a larger box, after you have cut the grooves etc you can cut the sides on the bandsaw prior to gluing but don’t cut all the way through (cut from both ends but leave about 50 mm in the middle uncut). After the glue has dried, you can complete the separation using a tenon saw.

The reason the top and bottom are kept intact whilst gluing is so the top and bottom will fit exactly. It is very difficult to make the top and bottom the sizes, match the grain and keep the same angles. Murphy’s law says that the top will be 91 degrees on one corner of the top and the corresponding corner will be 89 degrees if you make the top and bottom independently. Some people separate the top and bottom using a fine router bit.

Some of the details might not be 100% correct as it was a few months ago since I made that box. I hope my description isn’t too vague or cryptic.



RufflyRustic,

The dovetails are not nearly as difficult as you imagine.



Shrek,

The idea of posting this thread was to try and help people who perhaps have not previously made this type of box. The techniques used are well known and documented - I didn't invent or discover these techniques. I am happy you got something out of the thread.