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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast
    Age
    70
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    2,730

    Default WIP Playing Card boxes

    Some time ago I made my first box using an adjustable finger joint jig that seemed like a good idea at the time but was way too heavy and complex to use.

    A couple of years ago I made another similar card box for the Fuzzette's twin sister. This box was made as a quickie Christmas pressie and I simply hand dovetailed the box from scraps of Tasmanian Myrtle. It was well received and a few others have since mentioned wanting similar boxes.

    myrtleBox.jpg

    I recently decided to use up some more scraps and do a card box run. I started by making a much simpler finger joint jig which I was just getting dialed in and comfortable using when my old contractor saw motor burnt out.

    fingerJointJig.jpg

    I had cut the sides for two boxes in American White Oak and was playing with some Jacaranda sides for the next box using smaller fingers and making allowance for the thickness of the saw kerf when cutting the lid off when my saw motor blew. I finished the inserts for tops at the Men's shed last week and have glued them up yesterday. Here are the boxes currently in the raw after planing off the finger joint projections.

    threeBoxes.jpg

    The first is Oak and NewGuinea Rosewood, second is Jacaranda and Queensland Maple, third is Oak and Queensland Maple.

    Also just Visible on the bench behind is the material intended for another 2 boxes, Huon pine and some unknown Grevillea from branches picked up along the roadside somewhere.

    My first attempt at making allowance for the kerf cut in the finger widths went slightly awry due to lack of concentration , but I think the patches in the top fingers wont be too obvious. I was looking forward to getting it better on the Huon which I was going to start next.

    botchedFingers.jpg

    I'm not sure what to do about my saw now. It was a rusty old contractor saw when I got it and it has a lot of issues. Definitely not worthy of $300+ for a new motor.
    Franklin

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast
    Age
    70
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    Default

    Having lost my TS, I proceeded to separate the lids from the bodies using a bandsaw and have now completed the internal dividers for 5 packs in each box. The girls usually play a foursome game that requires one more pack than the number of players.

    I still have the parts for another couple of boxes. I've been looking at new table saws but I think I might try modding my current finger joint jig to fit the Men's shed saw to finish the run.

    dividers.jpg
    Franklin

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Leopold, Victoria
    Age
    65
    Posts
    4,677

    Default

    They've come up looking really nice so far. Look forward to seeing them completed.
    Dallas

  5. #4
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast
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    70
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    Default

    I sorted out the jig to work on the club saw and proceeded to cut the joints for the Grevillea body but then lost the plot adjusting for the saw kerf thickness when doing the Huon sides.

    Anyway I found a few more pieces of White Oak for the 5th box and that is now assembled and waiting for the lid to be cut off, which will be delayed a few more days with SEQ going into Covid lock down.

    The other 4 boxes are essentially finished, having been given two coats of a light oil. The wild grain of the NGR is soaking it up unevenly and I think will need a top coat of wax to even out the chatoyancy a bit more.

    IMG_20210629_120124.jpg IMG_20210629_120054.jpg
    Franklin

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Leopold, Victoria
    Age
    65
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    4,677

    Default

    I like the lid panels on the front left and rear right boxes in that first photo. They look really special.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    Default

    Lighting and grain are funny things! Both of the lid panels on the rear boxes in that first photo are from the same board of Queensland Maple. I've rearranged the boxes in this photo to try and show the continuous grain across those two lids.

    lids1.jpg

    The bottom left panel then is the New Guinea Rosewood and the one on the right is Brushbox.

    The top right lid in this picture is also showing another problem, you can make out some 'streets' of colour variation in the top right corner. I believe these are due to the spiral head thicknesser they were run through. Somehow I think the compression from the cutters affects the grain. I scraped the panels after thicknessing and sanded before oiling, then rubbed in the oil with W&D, but the streets still show. These streets can also be seen on the NGR, visible in the pic in the previous post.
    Franklin

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 1999
    Location
    Westleigh, Sydney
    Age
    77
    Posts
    9,542

    Default

    Very nice work. Re the 'streets' of colour, are you putting the panels through a drum sander? It's possibly that could be causing it. Steaming, light scraping and hand sanding should fix it. Re the uneven absorption of the oil, I give the wood a light coat of shellac after sanding, then give the shellac a light sand. This gives the wood a nice feel, and also evens up the oil absorption.
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