Thread: First box

Looks good Danny. I hope my first attempt at a box comes out looking as good.

Pretty good for a first effort, well done Danny

Nice work, good use of different timbers. I like the 'cushioned' appearance.and the shaped handle.

A tip for your next one: for a box that size you could reduce the wall thickness and it would look even better.

Thanks folks!

Good idea, it would look better with thinner walls Alex! I am going to be away on holidays for a bit, but when I get back I think I'm going to try to make something similar out of some blackwood and silky oak I have sitting around, and will be aiming for a smaller wall:size ratio.

Danny

Nice box, one word of warning though, box making can become very addictive,...!!!

Paul

I actually like the chunky walls - it goes with the rounded edges of the lid to give a "soft but strong" kind of look. Also, the oil finish looks fine in the photos. When you say you had trouble rubbing it into the corners did you mean on the inside? If so then it could be because of glue squeeze out sealing those areas.

Already feeling the pull of the box making addiction!

The trouble rubbing the finish into the corners was more a case of me getting frustrated than a problem with the finish going in. There are one or two small spots with a glue problem, but it was just annoying trying to get large fingers to buff in a small area!

It's not a bad idea to put a coat of oil on the inside faces before assembly, but be careful not to get any on the mating surfaces. Doing this also makes it easier to remove any glue squeeze-out.

Well done, as others have said, the combination of timbers looks good.

David

So thought I would demonstrate the danger of learning from mistakes... My plan was to make something similar for my second box, trying for thinner sides and a more delicate look, but bent the sides under clamping, so this has some wonky mitres!





Blackwood and blackheart sassafras. All part of the fun of learning I guess!

Cheers,

Danny

Yep, we keep on keeping on making mistakes, that's how we learn.

The thin timber sides look a lot neater than your first box, beautiful timbers too - well done !

Can I suggest you strengthen your mitres with some keys in the corners, as this type of joint is not particularly strong, especially if your corners are a bit out of whack?

You must have really tightened the crap out of this poor box, or were you trying to pull the corners into alignment, especially if the cuts were not exactly 45 deg, or the opposite sides not exactly the same length. If you overtighten, you squeeze all the glue out, and end up with a weaker joint

Looking forward to your next effort

I think it was a combination of a little overtightening and a lot of bad clamp placement - when I went out to check on it the day after I could have kicked myself seeing where I put the clamps!

Thanks - keys are a good suggestion, I might make them part of the plan for the next box... I have some queen ebony pen blanks sitting around that could be turned into pretty great keys .