Thread: Meranti box wip

HI RAY,
Nice to see a work in progress what size blade are you using, it looks like you had a little mistake top left corner anyway when you blend the carcass and the draw in you wont notice that,good work
john.

Thanks John for your comments and good observation on my cutting error. Yes I hope it will disappear when I round over the edges.

I'm using a 1/4" 6 TPI that I bought from Henry Bros in Sydney. This particular box design is designed to be cut with a 1/4" blade.

I also have an 1/8" blade but am having great difficulty getting it to stay on the bandsaw wheels. Being so thin the blade just runs off the concave rubber tyres.

WIP Progress:
When cutting the back and front of the drawer I have lost about 3mm in the depth of the box. So I have super-glued some small spacers in the inside of the back of the block before I glued the back on, so that the drawer front sits flush with the carcass front when closed.

So maybe Thursday or on the weekend I will around to cutting out the outside carcass shape. No cutting tomorrow as the State of Origin is on - Go NSW!

Cheers.
Ray

I had the same issue on my first box. I just placed a packer inside the box against the back wall to hold the front flush. You can't see it inside there.

Second one I just took an extra cut off the front of the case and an extra cut at the back of the case. didn't make much difference to the grain match.

Third one I rounded the case edges back towards the draw face. That looks good. Just did a 1/4 radius router around all edges.

You'll be happy when its finished.

HI RAY,
When im finishing my draws i use self adhesive felt on the back of the draw about 1inch square and that will set the draw out far enough, and it stops the clunk when you shut the draw i hope this helps, go QLD.

john.

Thanks _fly_ & John for the excellent ideas. I'll certainly note them for future box projects. I particularly like the felt pad inside the back of the box idea, John.

I was just going to round off the edges by hand but I will give the 1/4" router bit a go as you have suggested _fly_.

In terms of presentation is it a good idea to round over the base of the box or leave it with square edges?

Unfortunately I haven't got around to doing any more on the box as I have been laid low with a good Canberra head cold.

Cheers.
Ray

Real good progress yosam, I agree with inserting a small felt pad at the back of the cavity and the use of a palm router for rounding. If the base is straight / square I leave it that, maybe just a slight bevel to take the sharpness off of the edge. And if there's any kind of curve in the base itself, I find that rounding the base line a little will emphasize it.

Sure do like that 'glueing press' , looks like it can save a lot of clamping time which I dont like doing.

glenn

Nice work, great to see a WIP on these lovely boxes.

Well I got around to completing the bandsaw cutting today, cutting out the final outside shape. I've ended up with a lot saw marking which I will need to sand out.

I also noticed a couple of spots in the drawer where the laminates were not glued, due to either me not applying enough glue or over-tightening when clamping. So I've applied a bit more glue as you will see in the photos.

Tomorrow I'm off to my local tool specialist to purchase a Carb-I-Tool 1/4" round over router bit. Then I'll get on with rounding over the edges, sanding out the saw marks and getting a good surface finish to be completed with U Beaut Traditional Wax and flock inside the drawer.

Thanks for looking and your feedback. More to come.

Cheers.
Ray

I noticed something on the upper left side of the box. But, you’ve got a nice work though. When do you think you could finish everything?

Originally Posted by bosox

I noticed something on the upper left side of the box. But, you’ve got a nice work though. When do you think you could finish everything?

Bosox

Thanks for looking all the way from Boston. I'm intrigued as to what you noticed on the upper left hand side of the box. If you are referring to the slight incorrect cut on the inside of the carcass - that will disappear when I round over the edges.

As for progress - Working full-time and Canberra's cold winters makes for slow progress. More next weekend.

Cheers.
Ray

Yeah, that slight incorrect cut on the side of the carcass. Anyways, it is good that you can fix it as you said. I guess I’ll be needing a lot of patience before I can see your finished project.

Well today I rounded over the edges using my newly acquired 1/4" router bit and then sanded the box and applied the first wax coat.

Although meranti is a pretty uninteresting timber in terms of colour and grain variation, it hasn't come up too bad.

All that's needed now is a couple more coats of wax, a contrasting drawer handle using a small shaped piece of huon pine (I think) and royal blue flocking in the drawer.

Cheers.
Ray

HI RAY,
The box is looking good i think a nicely shaped piece of ebony would look quite spiffy well done
john.

Originally Posted by John T

HI RAY,
The box is looking good i think a nicely shaped piece of ebony would look quite spiffy well done
john.

Hi John

Thanks for the feedback - the ebony handle idea is a great one! I will pick up some pieces at the woodworking show this Friday and give it a go.

Cheers.
Ray