Thread: boxes for bubs

I love the 'drop-down' picture frame, fletty, and I'm sure that the boys in particular will love the secret compartments. Nice work.

Originally Posted by fletty

Finally got back onto the boxes for bubs. Since I last posted, 3 of the 4 bubs have been born and I now know that I am making at least 1 girl-box and 2 boy-boxes ... the differences are in the tray layout and contents .
I've been work-working mostly 5 day weeks but, when I actually did have a day off this week, I fell off the roof while clearing the gutters for Thursdays forecast deluge!
When I looked up from the bench just now and saw the sunshine and the birds, I took 2 quick mobile phone pics before heading to the coffee machine,
The boxes are coming along well. Although I've assembled only 2 so far, I have cut all of the pieces for the other 2 so they will be assembly only. I've added a drop down picture frame after being re-inspired by "an oldie-but-a-goody' but as they weren't in the original idea, I've had to make them VERY thin to fit into the depth of lid. If I'd thought of it earlier I could have easily made the lid deeper.
The tray has many compartments (including 2 SECRET COMPARTMENTS) and the girl box will have one of these compartments for rings. The tray lifts out and the section below is big enough to take A4 pages.
I'll get back onto them this afternoon but here is the current state of play......

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fletty

Did you finish the gutters tho??
Good to know your ok after the fall I suggest a bottle of red a day till pain goes away ............. best make that an extra bottle

You require some rings n things?

I did get back into the shed ... after a coffee and a liqueur muscat on the deck ... and I finished the 4 picture frames although this is the only one I got as far as the cutouts. The 'motley finish' is because I often get a coat of shellac on to a surface that I've finished ... but I haven't finished all of the surfaces! Dad's ebony trim stands out and I am still deciding about radiussing all of the edges.


bubbox013web.jpg


the box below is just loosely assembled, no hinges fitted yet and the lid and frame just leaning against each other. The highly figured huon pine block stops the frame from sliding forward and will eventually have my 'trademark' disc of mother of pearl inserted into the front face. I still have to sort out the geometry of the thickness of the frame and hence how high the tray can sit etc but that's for another day ... or sleepless night.


bubbox012web.jpg

fletty

I had run out of liqueur muscat ... but not Photoshop!


bubbox017web.jpg



fletty

I was hoping to do a bit of woodwork this weekend but a funeral on Saturday and volunteering to help some friends pack and move today put an end to that .... until rain today stopped the move !

woohoo!

The box building is getting a bit out of sequence and the first 2 have got well ahead of numbers 3 and 4. However, any thing I mill, cut or shape I do for all 4. Part of today was making the ring snug for 1 box (the boys aren't getting ring snugs!) so I did a quick WIP...
I found a rubber section at Clarke's Rubber that looked like it would do the job although I did remove the extra bit on the bottom

bubbox019web.jpg


I cut 12 pieces to length and, as I didn't want to get any contact cement on the bottom, I stuck them to masking tape before spraying on the contact cement....

bubbox020web.jpg


I then align the first 2 pieces onto the strip of suede with their sides on the suede and unglued bottoms together

bubbox021web.jpg


but, before 'folding them towards each other, I inserted a packing piece into the hole so that it wouldn't crush as the suede wrapped around it

bubbox022web.jpg

by folding each one back onto the previous ......

bubbox023web.jpg


you eventually end up with a row of suede covered rubber cushions...

bubbox024web.jpg


that push into 2 of the compartments to form the ring snugs

bubbox025web.jpg

the last picture is where I ended tonight with the bases of the trays on the first 2 boxes covered in suede and the pen tray inserted but the outside of the box not yet finish sanded.

Christos, have you spotted the SECRET COMPARTMENTS yet?

fletty

I posted earlier that I had made life hard for myself by cutting the lid too shallow and so I had to make the picture frame "very thin". I was aked how!

Each frame is basically a shallow tray with a highly figured Australian red cedar (ARC) face and a rebated edge section of straight grained ARC

bubbox026web.jpg

The back view shows the hinge mortices and 4 bored shallow recesses that form the 'clamp' to hold it all together. The hinge mortice is double the normal depth because the full thickness of the hinge is 'housed' in the frame as I couldn't put a mortice into the inside face of the lid. The hinge can't open more than 90deg anyway so this works well.

bubbox027web.jpg



I made a laminated ply template that fits into the tray and provides a guide for a pattern following router bit to cut out the windows and also provided a guide for a pattern following roundover bit to put a radius on the windows and outer edge.

bubbox028web.jpg

The frame in section is the red cedar face (about 5mm thick). a piece of clear acrylic (1,2mm thick), mask, print and backing and a back face of 3mm ply. The 3mm ply is clamped onto the acrylic and pics by 4 washers each fixed with a countersunk screw both of which sit in the recess. The whole frame ends up about 11mm thick.

bubbox029web.jpg


fletty

I don't know what all the panic was about, the first 2 boxes are finished .... with nearly 3 hours to spare !

The beauty of magic hinges (thank you Groeneaj) includes holding the lid open at 90deg and their immaculate finish. I do however tempt fate a little by redrilling the mounting holes and increasing the countersink a poofteenth to use screw-it's robertson square drive brass screws (4g x 19mm)

bubbox030web.jpg


The picture frame can either stay in the lid or swing forward to make the box a rather more imposing picture frame

bubbox031web.jpg



The first 2 are finished (except for deciding what to do with underneath and some clear plastic buffers as feet) and where to fit my mother of pearl disc 'trademark",

bubbox032web.jpg




The picture frame was designed so that a standard 100 x 150 photographic print can be used fot the portrait cutout and 2 70 x 140mm 'slices' from 100 x 150 prints will fit in the lanscape cutouts. These 2 boxes only have computer prints (from mobile phone pics!)
The trays lift out and the area underneath is big enough for unfolded A4 papers
The boxes are all Australian Red Cedar with huon pine 'buttons' to stop the picture frame from sliding forward, fully suede lined (thank you Alex) and my fathers 1938 ebony straight edge sliced for the inlay on the lids (thank you Dad).
Only 2 to go one, 'boy box' and the other. as yet, unknown!

fletty

Very nice result there Fletty. I like the layout of the jewellery tray, and the picture frame is a great idea.

Very well done I love the build progress reports.

Bubboxes number 3 and 4 are back into production. It is SO nice to only have to reach into THE BOX and there is the bit I need, already cut to size, sometimes finished and all prior mistakes forgotten!
The box sides with the inside faces finished with shellac and the top and bottom covered in suede on the inside faces....


bubbox033mob.jpg


the boxes assembled, glued, clamped and the mitred wenge fitted

bubbox034mob.jpg


.........and one has its top of figured ARC cut to size and fitted

bubbox035mob.jpg

I'm working in the belief that there WILL be mistakes ... but at least they will be new ones!

fletty

Originally Posted by fletty

....

I'm working in the belief that there WILL be mistakes ... but at least they will be new ones!
....

Originally Posted by fletty

I'm working in the belief that there WILL be mistakes ... but at least they will be new ones!

fletty

I got a few hours in the shed after work and was surprised by the progress I could make on these 2 when compared to the first 2.
Both boxes are now externally complete and suede lined....

bubbox037mob.jpg


but only one got its first external coat of fine buffing oil....

bubbox036mob.jpg


.... before I made a coffee and started musing about past mistakes (= goofing off?)

On the first 2, I lost a few hours on each one when I did an early assembly using brass screws and broke 2 of them by overdriving them into new holes! This one has steel screws for the first assembly SAVING = 2 hours

Also on the first 2, I rounded all of the edges and fine sanded before I routed the rebates for the smart hinges. The slight loss of straight lines and edges for reference, meant that the hinge recesses weren't perfectly routed which meant the top and base weren't aligned which meant more sanding, shaping and adjustment after fitting the hinges so I think SAVING = 3 hours

I can't wait to see how much time I'll lose with any new mistakes!

musing over.......

fletty

That grain really has appeal contrast is tops.

Sometimes your elegant way of presenting your words is truly a representation of your gentle character.