Some people have requested pictures of my last woodworking project and it is about time for a blog post! These pictures are all from my box project... I started with rough lumber and was only allowed to use hand tools (except a powered router) to complete a box of my own design. Despite being incredibly tedious, I learned how to fine tune and use most of the handtools, especially the planes and scrapers. And the box turned out great!
Lumber!Western birch and black walnut for the top and handle.
Making shavings...lots and lots of shavings.
Laying out dovetails.
Tails cuts, pins marked out and ready to be cut.
Just one more side to cut.
Four corners? Done.Lid? Not done yet.
Gluing up a panel for the bottom.
I routed 2 grooves in the sides for the bottom and top panels.
And I routed a groove in the top because my top panel is raised and overlaps the sides. The panels "float" in oversized grooves so that when the humidity changes and the wood moves, it won`t split the box sides.
All glued up!I know... there is no way to open the box yet. I later sawed the top of
the box off and planed it to fit flush with the bottom.
After the first coat of finish, all the tedious work was worth it!
The handle close up. Some of my classmates boxes are in the back ground.
2 comments:
Scott, I need some help with this, because I don't understand the box quite yet. Why are the grooves in for the top and bottom in the sides when the sides are already joined? How can you get anything into the grooves when the sides of the box are tighter than anything that fits the groove?
And how are dovetails cut with diagonal sides and when the box is joined the dove tails are at right angles, i.e. straight sides of the dove tails. My 3D thinking is failing me here... HELP! Christine
It's a beautiful box, even if I don't understand the building process :) CP
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