In the beginning

[Scally]

When I bought a dovetail jig I bought a Gifkin box making plan.

This is the box.

fiddleback blackwood box and myrtle lid.
Finished with Livos oil.

Wood movement is a problem with the lid.

I took the box to work and after a few days in the airconditioning the lid started to stick.
I expected the drier, airconditioned air would shrink the lid and make it looser.
What happened was as the lid dried it started to cup slightly and became harder to open.

I took it home and the cupping disappeared and it opened fine.

You learn something every day.

[zenwood]

Nice. Certainly not going to fall apart in a hurry. What are the dimensions? Also, looks like the lid could use a thumbhole or something to open it from the fully closed position.

I like the timber and finish too. :)

[Scally]

Thanks Zenwood. Yes, I think you could drop it on the floor and not worry about it coming apart.

It is approx.250 x 105 x 80mm.

I intended to put a little thumbhole or indentation, but it worked fine without it so I didn't worry.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

It certainly puts my old pencil-boxes to shame. The ultra-deluxe version, eh? :)

[TTIT]

No doubt about ya' Scally - they just keep comin" :D Nicely done. I'm very nearly convinced the Gifkins must be the way to go.

[Scally]

Well, I didn't mention which dovetail jig I bought.

I had bought a $100 jig but it was a nightmare to set up and it was time to get a good one.

I went to the woodworking show ready to buy the Gifkins. I had bought one of his boxes and liked his work. I sat through the demo and looked over the stand.

My problem was that I didn't have a decent tablesaw and was often stuck with the width of boards I had on hand.
That meant I might have trouble neatly fitting the dovetail layout of the Gifkin jig to the boards.

I liked the Leigh Jig but it was a fair bit more expensive.
I wouldn't be limited by the board width, I could change the spacing of the dovetails and do through and half-blind dovetails.

As much as I liked the Gifkin Jig, I ended up buying the Leigh.
I use it all the time. It is a bit fiddly to set up but the flexibility is great and so are the results.

I bought Roger's plans and some of his router bits.