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Thread: Filling in time WIP
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10th November 2020, 04:13 PM #1
Filling in time WIP
Stuck between projects waiting for gravity to undo some bends that took several decades to create so I thought it might be a good time to do a box WIP.
I started out trying to come up with a design simple enough for the club members to do as a learning project that would cover a lot of different techniques but I had an epiphany and got side-tracked a little - still simple, but it now involves something I haven't done before myself . . . veneering !
Plan A (and common-sense) would have had the grain on the front, top and back running left to right in the normal fashion, but the timbers I wanted to use don't exist in widths that would give me continuous grain flow across the box . . . so of course I just rotated everything by 90 degrees . Doing so created another set of grain movement issues, but I figured cutting the guts out of just two components and using the outer 'veneers' on a solid substrate would sort it all out. Will find out soon enough!
Decided to make two boxes while I was on the go, one of local timbers Milkwood and Acacia Julifera, and the other from Dad's timber, Camphor and Rose Mahogany. Using Jacaranda for the drawers and substrate.
This is the Sketchup drawing with one end hidden to give an idea of where it's heading . . .
target.jpg
. . . and these are the boards I have dimensioned and bookmatched ready for cutting to length.
ends-bookmatches.jpgdrawers-cores.jpg
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10th November 2020 04:13 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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10th November 2020, 04:38 PM #2
Cut out my selected pieces and cut everything to length. The mitred corner I cut with zero loss by setting the tablesaw blade to barely break through the top - didn't want to lose the grain flow.
cut-to-length.jpg
Then made my first cock-up - earlier than usual - not a good sign Thought I would be clever while taking the veneers off by pushing one board through with the next as a pushstick - might have been OK if I had been holding it downwards as well as pushing and NOT using a 1.3tpi resaw blade. Fairly mangled one end as it tipped it into the blade slot but I persevered and dug an offcut out of the bin to match and patch - worked so well I can hardly see it myself
patching.jpg
So the substrate and veneers are already to go but I've got no glue - waiting for some West Systems to come and Ozpost have been shocking lately. Could use Titebond but I keep seeing people on the forum recommending epoxy so I'll wait.
veneers.jpg
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10th November 2020, 08:46 PM #3Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important...
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10th November 2020, 09:31 PM #4GOLD MEMBER
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TTIT,
I’m with Powderpost on this. For something the size of a box with straightforward flat surfaces I’d normally use Titebond (any variety) or Aquadhere. Or hide glue. I’ve never had a veneer failure with these.
Epoxy is good, too - just more exacting to work with. Once it sets it is like concrete and not at all friendly to chisels. Times I use epoxy on boxes are mainly:
* when I need a longer open time,
* where I need a truly rigid bond such as making curved pieces.
* where I need gap-filling properties and
* where I need to colour it.
If you haven’t used epoxy with veneers before I’d mention it bleeds through veneers easily as it is very liquid unless you add West’s microfibre fillers or apply very thinly (I use a small foam roller). Probably not a problem for you as you’re cutting your own thicker veneers, but if you use standard 0.6mm veneers - and especially burr veneers - it is easy to have the epoxy bleed through and spoil the piece.
Looks like an interesting project. I’ll watch with interest.
Brian
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11th November 2020, 01:43 PM #5
Might go home and dig out the Titebond then! I thought it was important to use something that didn't 'wet' the veneer/substrate. The veneers are 2mm thick and only on the drawer front and the back of the box as the grain is running vertically and I don't want them blowing the box apart when the weather changes - the hinged lid is staying as solid timber as it can expand/contract a little with no issues and I wanted to see the long grain on the side of the lid when it is opened, particularly the Milkwood as it has a quilted look to it.
What am I gonna do with the epoxy now - hate using the stuff to be honest - hope it has a long shelf-life
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11th November 2020, 02:00 PM #6
Thought I'd try cutting the rear dovetails for the drawers while I was waiting for the glue (which I'm not going to wait for now!). Tried cutting the pins first for a change and wished I hadn't - the first set was atrocious, the second only slightly better and I just about got it right on the last one pictured on top. Must remember to get rid of the pencil lines before gluing up.
rear-dovetails.jpg
Though I'd be clever then and cut the half-blind dovetails for the front before gluing the veneers on - my theory is that all I will have to do afterwards is open up the back veneer to complete the cutting instead of hacking into blind corners - will probably regret it
front-dovetails.jpg
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11th November 2020, 05:26 PM #7
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16th November 2020, 01:51 PM #8
Little bit of progress . . .
Cutting the dovetails before applying the veneers turned out to be a very easy way to produce the half-blind dovetails on the drawer fronts. OK, so they might not technically be half-blinds in the traditional sense but they are going to work very nicely for me
half-blind-cut-thru.jpg
Got all the rebates/trenches routed so now I just have to cut some ply for the bases and I'll be able to do a dummy fit up. Thinking about shortening the drawers a couple of mm before I cut the tails to the fronts as I cut the sides to the exact length for the cavity - figure I can always buffer them out to align with the lid, but it would be a bit dodgie to remove a mil or so from the back if needed - thoughts??
rebating-done.jpg
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23rd November 2020, 01:17 PM #9
Nearly done . . .
Made some good progress over the weekend. Ply floors cut and fitted and the carcases glued up.
carcase-glue-up.jpgcarcases-glue-cleaned-up.jpg
I have to look twice to find my patch job on the back of the camphor box myself - very happy with that save.
carcases-back-view.jpg
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23rd November 2020, 01:31 PM #10
Then set about joining the lids. Decided slip-feathers on just one edge would look odd so I thought about using stopped spline joins instead . . . and then decided short dominos were easier . I've circled the depth-stop mod I use to get the right depth for my shortened dominos in thin stock like this. Also use a piece of 2mm sheet to raise the work so the domino goes right to the inside of the join to enable maximum length of the dominos.
domino-setup.jpgdominos-cut.jpgmitre-clamp-setup.jpg
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23rd November 2020, 01:37 PM #11
. . . and also managed to get the drawers together. Some of the dovetails are a little sloppy but I'm improving all the time
drawers-ready-for-glueup.jpgdrawers-clamped.jpg
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27th November 2020, 01:16 PM #12
Got the drawers cleaned up and sized to fit and the dovetails don't look quite so bad with a bit of glue in them Couple of problems with the drawers though. The first was the piston-fit which made opening and closing slow and tedious so I drilled 3 x 5mm holes in the base near the back to let some air in/out - helped, but might need another couple of holes yet.
Main problem is the racking with the drawers being wider than they are deep - any tips to reduce the racking before I start putting a finish on??? (he asks an audience of 1 )
drawers-sized.jpg
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29th November 2020, 08:56 PM #13
Little bit more progress this weekend.
As the offspring of an engineer I tend to make things so they can be repaired/maintained so I don't like gluing hinge-pins in place and decided to make this lot removable. Some 5/32 brass threads are a nice size to work with and they turn down to a neat 3mm just before the thread disappears - used to do these on the wood-lathe or even in the drill press with a file but the mini-metal lathe makes a very tidy job of them. A quick rub on the metal buff puts a shine on the tops so they don't look quite so industrial.
Making-hinge-pins.jpgHinge-pins-done.jpg
Then set up a jig to hold the boxes in place to get the holes centered on the lids (5mm in from the back and 5mm down from the top). Guesstimated I would need to raise the lids from the back about 1mm to have them lay back enough to stay open but went with some strips of laminex at 0.75mm in case I was wrong. With the jig positioned 5.75mm each way from the drill centre, I used another strip of laminex to space out the relevant side when switching from one end to the other. Thought I would screw at least one up but managed to get them right for once.
Hinge-pin-jig.jpgDrilling-hinges.jpg
Could have gone with the 1mm spacing! They were a little too far forward but it didn't take much to shave a wee bit off the back of each lid to get them laying just where I wanted them Then I ran a 5/32 tap through the pin holes in the box sides and countersunk the faces, followed by a drop of CA to stabilize the threads.
Hinges-before-adjustment.jpgHinges-done.jpg
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29th November 2020, 09:07 PM #14
The handles on my original design didn't appeal to me by the time I got this far so I rethought them a little. I wanted them to look like one knob/pull but didn't want them sticking out too far and came up with these two versions. I'm happy with the one on the Milkwood box which was turned a bit larger diameter from the Acacia used on the sides with a 12m filler in between which was cut out after turning, but the Rosewood knob on the Camphor box looks awful so I've glued up another blank to make it the same as the Milkwood box. Can't decide whether to glue them or screw them on in case I change my mind later
Knob-trials.jpg
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29th November 2020, 11:43 PM #15
There are no rules for boxes.
I'm enjoying watching your journey
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