Bob Scarle - Box - Now Finished

[bobscarle]

This is the start of my WIP thread for the box competition.

I spent a little time yesterday sorting out some wood for this project. I bought some ash for a toy box (must post the pictures of that) recently from Whitmore's, I could use some of that. Just finished a jewellery box and a toy box in ash and I have a dressing table still to make. Maybe something different.

Whilst I was at the timber yard, I bought a couple of boards of chestnut. I have never used it before, but I have seen it in pictures and it looked good so I thought I would "give it a go". Hard to tell in the rough what it is going to look like, oak like maybe?

So the sides of the box will be made from chestnut, that's a good start. I really like to mix different woods so I looked around for something to contrast the chestnut, This is what i found.

It's a piece of maple, with some lovely grain but what looks like a water stain. Just hope it is not too deep. That will do for the lid. It will need to be cut and jointed but that's ok.

That's the lid sorted, now I need some more for the inner lining and for the try. Looking around I found a few more bits of maple including one piece that I re-sawed by hand with a Japanese rip saw. I need some 6mm thick maple for the lining so that will be fine.

So there's my pile of wood. The chestnut is in the middle. A little hard to see but it looks good. There is enough maple to make the lid, lining and tray, although I might make the tray from a mix of both of the woods.

That's it for now, more soon.

 

[carlb40]

Nice mix of woods, and yes all the images i have seen of chestnut it does look like oak

 

[alexw]

Hi Bob,

looking nice. Did you find all the bits you were looking for?

Alex

 

[bobscarle]

Alex. Yes, I think so. For this project at least. I would love to come and see you at your yard, some of the timber looks fabulous, but it is a long way (Google reckons 124 miles) to go for a few bits for a box! That said, I may have to go to Aldershot sometime, I'll let you know if that happens.

Bob

 

[bobscarle]

A little bit more progress on the box. I now have the four sides sorted and cut to size. The figuring looks nice.

Even starting to look like a box now

After cutting to size all of the edges needed to planed up. The back of the box on the shooting board.

I quite like the look of the chestnut (not sure if it is Horse, Sweet or something else) but the grain is proving difficult. On the second picture above you can see how the grain tears out. I have found the best tool to calm it down is a card scraper, and a sharp one at that. I am learning quickly how to sharpen one, might even get good at it.

That's all for now, dovetailing and the lid to follow.

 

[bobscarle]

I had a little time in the shed, so started cutting dovetails tonight. The box will be constructed using standard through dovetails. Start off by cutting the tails.

Once that is done, clamp both boards into my homemade alignment jig and mark out the pins. I used to use a plane on it's side in the same way Rob Cosman does, but I find this method works quite well for me.

When parring back the pins I use a backer board to prevent breakout. I have cut a couple of these just shy of the knife line.

At last, with a bit of tapping the joint goes together. They don't look to fit too badly.

Just three more sides to do now and I will have something that resembles a box. Likely to be the weekend before much more gets done though.

 

[Anima]

Looking good bob.

I'm wondering: are those are ashley iles chisels you have there and if so would you recommend them?

 

[bobscarle]

Thank you Anima. In response to your questions, yes and yes. They are Ashley Iles chisels and I would recommend them. I have 3 dovetail chisels and 3 butt chisels and I have just sold 6 Mk1 bevel edge chisels. I sold the Mk1's not because they were no good but because the handles were simply too big for me, they just didn't feel right. The steel AFAIK is exactly the same across the ranges. The Mk2's have smaller handles.

 

[bobscarle]

A little bit of an update, but not much.

Well, it's glued up! No going back now. The dovetails went together quite well, nice and tight, even to the extent that I didn't clamp it. The base is made from a piece of 6mm mdf that will be covered later by a piece of felt.

I like the grain in the chestnut. I tried some french polish on a little offcut last night. I have never used it before so not too sure what to expect. I have a few more finishes to try so I will post the results later.

 

[bobscarle]

Found a hour or so today do do a little more in the shed.

Found a couple of pieces of maple to make the tray supports for inside the box. These are planed and shot square and will be fitted once the base has been lined.

A bit more maple and chestnut make up the four sides of the tray. Cut to size and squared off ready to be dovetailed tomorrow.

I cannot decide what to do about hinges. I have a pair from Ironmongery Direct which I quite like but as you see the leaves only close together at the end. That lifts the back of the lid away from the box. I know that I could deepen the mortice, but that looks clumsy. I don't want to go to the expense of buying Brusso hinges so I need to look around. Anybody got any suggestions?

More next week

 

[bobscarle]

Bit of progress. The tray has now been dovetailed all round.

The tray will have two dividers in it so, time for a quick jig. One piece of 18mm MDF to which I screw a short bit of scrap. At right angles to that I screw a small strip of 6mm MDF. I put the two tray sides in against the sides of the jig and then firmly attach another strip of 6mm MDF to the right hand side. I keep the tray sides bottom edge to bottom edge. You may be able to see from the pictures, I always mark out for the grove for the base.

A piece of oak (that's what I had to hand) is fitted across to act as a fence, ensuring that it is square to the jig. The jig is clamped to the bench and a housing is then routed across the two sides. I slightly loosen the fence, turn the tray sides and rout once more. That ensures that the outside compartments will be the same size.

The tray dividers have been cut to roughly the required size, these will be fitted once the tray lining has been done.

There it is, it almost fits. In fact it will go down all the way but is quite a tight fit. Needs a little work but quite pleased with the way that has turned out.

So the last thing left is the lid. I have the wood but I need to get a small dovetail cutter for the router. I also need to spend some time looking at hinges, I am not altogether happy with the ones I have (earlier post).

 

[carlb40]

Looking good there Bob, liking that curly maple

 

[andersonec]

Don't know if these will help.

http://www.nichelocks.com/Cabinet-Hardware/Box-Hinges

Ian Hawthorne does some Quadrant casement hinges too and he supplies screws, drill bit and instructions to fit them. Its the nickel one on this page, you may need a router table to fit them though or you may be able to knock up some sort of jig, needs to be accurate though.

http://hawthornecrafts.com/box-hardware/

Andy

 

[bobscarle]

Andy

Thanks for the links. The top one looks interesting. At £13 for the pair, they work out at about half the price of Brusso hinges, although they don't have a stop. The bottom link to Ian Hawthorne's page is less interesting. Quadrant hinges (or Smart or Neat Hinges for that matter) will not work as the lid fits inside the sides of the box. This means that I am going to have to use butt hinges.

 

[carlb40]

Bob i won these the other week, was going to offer a pair to melinda. However i see she is sorted now. So you can have a pair if you want?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200903179167? ... 1497.l2649

Just checked, once closed a standard .6mm veneer keeps the leaves parallel with a nice gap.
38mm long, 22mm wide, the leaf is about 1.25mm thick. Ohh and solid drawn brass.
Just say if you want a pair

 

[andersonec]

Andy

Thanks for the links. The top one looks interesting. At £13 for the pair, they work out at about half the price of Brusso hinges, although they don't have a stop. The bottom link to Ian Hawthorne's page is less interesting. Quadrant hinges (or Smart or Neat Hinges for that matter) will not work as the lid fits inside the sides of the box. This means that I am going to have to use butt hinges.

Bob, I don't know what the thickness of those top ones is when they are closed.

When you say the lid will fit inside the sides, is it then going to be glued in and a section of the box cut off to form the lid or is the lid going to swivel in and out of the box?

Andy

 

[bobscarle]

Andy

Just popped out to take a couple of pictures that I hope will explain a little better. The sides of the box are slightly taller than the front and back. About 5mm difference. This is one of the reasons why the lid must sit down properly and not be higher at the back. It would be noticeable at the sides.

In the next picture there is a piece of MDF pretending to be a lid. You can see that it will fit between the sides, hinged at the back and resting on the front.

Does that make it a little clearer?

 

[andersonec]

Clear as day, The only reason I asked was if the lid was sitting down enough you could have used some brass rod in through the side for the lid to swivel on.
The way it is it will have to be butt hinges, you have nothing to fit Quadrant hinges into and you cannot use butterfly hinges on the back because the lid is too shallow.
You liked the nickel hinges on the Niche Locks site and I would have thought they would be the choice, although you will have to sink them in they will be a feature in their own right, brass being a bit dull and even if you polished them they would tarnish in time, the nickel ones you can shine up and they will stay that way.
Wonder what it would look like if you rounded the top edges of the slots for the hinges ever so slightly? could be worth experimenting on a piece of scrap.

Andy

 

[bobscarle]

Ok, so a little bit more progress. Although after looking at Andy's box I am not sure it's worth it.

I have now lined the bottom of the box and the tray with a burgundy baize. Simply glued in with PVA then cut to size with a scalpel. The next job was to fit the tray supports inside the box. These had already been cut and planed to size so just needed gluing in. Two pieces of maple make up the supports. I don't have clamps with a wide enough throat to clamp them so I used four thin lengths of oak (I had some scrap to hand). Each length is cut just too big and then simply wedged in. I have used this method a few times before and it works quite well.

The hinges have been causing me some serious thought. One suggestion was to set them a lot lower and round the edges (thanks Andy). Tried it on an offcut and I have to say that I was not unhappy with the result. I think I may just go with the hinges I have. I have had an offer of some other hinges which I am very grateful for. Carl, I will be in touch if I change my mind.

On to the lid. The lid will be made up of four pieces of chestnut to form a frame and a panel of maple sitting in a grove. The chestnut frame will be joined using mortice and tenon joints.

As usual I cut the mortices first using a router. For stability I clamped each section in a simple jig, it's just three lengths of MDF joined together with coach bolts. This holds the work and provides a bigger area for the router to sit on. Four mortices cut then four grooves.

The tenons are cut using my home made jig. Once more these are cut using a router and the fence.

The panel is fitted and the lid glued up. I was hoping for a little more contrast between the maple and the chestnut, but never mind. I like the grain pattern so I went with it.

It's almost finished. I have got the hinges to fit and a little maple handle. That's it then, only a finish to apply.

Probably going to use French polish for the body of the box, maybe lemon oil for the tray. That should smell nice when you open the box.

 

[bobscarle]

So, this is it! The box is finished.

The hinges have been fitted and a small handle / finger lift fashioned from a maple off cut glued into place. The box has then had several coats of shellac and a final buff with wax.

The pictures........

So there you have it. A jewellery box made from chestnut and maple.

Lessons learnt. Chestnut is quite nice to work with but tears out very easily. Sharp is the watch word for tools. I am a little disappointed at the lack of contrast between the woods on the lid. For such a prominent piece I need to be a little more careful. Filling knots with araldite and coffee granules works really quite well.

Over to the judges now, don't be too harsh.