Nice boxes.Don't over think it Mark.
Here's some candle boxes I made - the sides are all 10mm
View attachment 191649
Perhaps they needed to be 10mm as they have a sliding lid but even if it wasn't I'd still probably not go too much below.
Are you going to use hinges? If so that will determine the minimum thickness.
You'll be okay with dovetails at 6mm. Not sure I follow what you mean by mitred edges? you could do a mitre joint at 6mm but it won't be very strong - it just depends what the box will be used for as to whether it's suitable. I use 6mm mitre joints for jewellery box trays and they are fine.
Dovetailing with softwoods can be a bit of a pig. Cherry or Sycamore are (imho) two relatively inexpensive hardwoods that are easy to work with hand tools when starting out. You may find a local timber yard with an offcuts section?
On sizing I find having the golden ratio (1 : 1.618) in mind comforting. That may say something about how my mind works than anything else though!
Yes that blue Evostick will do for just about everything.
Might be an idea as you are inexperienced to start with boxes made with Lap joints. Surprisingly strong joints that can if wanted be reinforced with a couple of pins, ( but not through the thin lap).
Ian
It's not box related but a really useful hand tool exercise that gives you something that will help with future projects is this ...
https://woodandshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/christopher-schwarz-sawbench.pdf
I’m sorry to say this really but in my opinion for (nice) outdoor work like those I would have used the Gorilla glue, the blue in my experience isn’t as waterproof as they would have us believe.Thanks - the blue I bought for my recent outdoor work - in particular these:
View attachment 191677
And for my shed windows as well.
I'd kinda forgotten about lap joints - possibly because I'd mentally categorised them as "table saw" work and not "hand tool" work, but worth a re-think as well - thank you. I do like how the top and bottom panel rebates are hidden in the lap joint - very clever design.
I’m sorry to say this really but in my opinion for (nice) outdoor work like those I would have used the Gorilla glue, the blue in my experience isn’t as waterproof as they would have us believe.
Ian
I don't know if anyone can empathise with my excitement for embarking on this journey???
This is a good start. (Yes, I know faults can be found, but hey ho.)
Dunno about excitement, the whole shed build has pretty much wiped me out in terms of enthusiasm right now lmao (still have a long list of tasks related to that, sigh), and right now I'm sort of wincing at the amount of money I've spent, and still to go.
But you're asking much better questions than I am, so watching thread with interest . I'm basically trying to be Peter Millard at the minute, rather than Stumpy Nubs, simply because I'm aiming on making a bunch of ply/MDF cabinetry type things when I actually get going, and I have tracksaw but no table saw.
Bathroom box I don't have and hadn't considered. That's a fine idea . Nice easy one (he said). Maybe make it just like that picture, using dowels.
I'm following this thread; I think we're not too far apart on our journeys.
Now, I could pay a lot of money for a pint of Old Speckled hen...
For learning, best to start planing edges of boards rather than faces. You get more of a sense of how it works and you can see the shavings as they pop out, differently across the mouth depending on adjustment and camber......
Neither my saw skill or my hand plane skill are up to much at the moment, but that's kinda what this practice was for.
D3 won't turn straight back into gunge on exposure to moisture but D4 is a lot better - that indicates a cross linking PVA (as the glue sets, the PVA molecules form cross-links between each other which makes it much less re-soluble). Evostik don't do a D4, but the Everbuild one from Toolstation is fine.Damn it. I used it specifically because it's labelled as a D3 variant. This is where my lack of experience shows...
For learning, best to start planing edges of boards rather than faces. You get more of a sense of how it works and you can see the shavings as they pop out, differently across the mouth depending on adjustment and camber.
Camber is absolutely essential for most purposes; planing a wide face with a dead straight blade edge is difficult.
You don't need your oil can unless you are in a very damp workshop, but a quick squiggle of candle wax on the sole makes planing much easier. Sawing too. After sharpening it's the single most effective thing you can do to improve performance. One candle can last years.
D3 won't turn straight back into gunge on exposure to moisture but D4 is a lot better - that indicates a cross linking PVA (as the glue sets, the PVA molecules form cross-links between each other which makes it much less re-soluble). Evostik don't do a D4, but the Everbuild one from Toolstation is fine.
Or polyurethanes are good although can be messy unless approached with care (gloves etc).
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