reclaimed oak box

[mickthetree]

My neighbour is having his living room completely redecorated and pulled out an oak alcove seat that his father built in the 1950s. Some knarly old bits of oak, glued and nailed together but I managed to rescue some descent wood out of it. I thought it would be nice to make him something from the salvaged wood.

Planed and thicknessed down, cut to size on the nobex, grooves and mortice/tenons routed on my makeshift router table. All pieces were sized on my shooting board. I used a very small round over bit this time, but I'll probably go back to using a block plane again next time, just because I prefer less dust and noise.

Glued up. Everything was nice and square but added some clamps for reassurance.

Shot lid to exact fit

Drilled sides and lid for brass pins

Sculpted the thumb hole with some files and sandpaper on a stick.

Two coats of sanding sealer and some chestnut wood wax and done.

And here it is with another box I make from some Victorian reclaimed oak a while back.

I have enough left over to make another 2 or three of these for some other people. Might even try to sell one!

I really enjoy making these.

 

[Zeddedhed]

I chuffin' love that. Exceptionally simple clean design but really well made. It looks very nice indeed.
Do the hinge pins show through on the sides of the box?

 

[AndyT]

That's the sort of project I really like!

Materials that are too good to waste making a lovely box that you couldn't go out and buy. Very satisfying.

 

[Woodmonkey]

Very nice, love the flecks on the q/s oak. I would end up hitting the wall with my plane with that shooting set up!

 

[gregmcateer]

Lovely work, sir.
Thanks for sharing

 

[Glynne]

Beautiful boxes.
Any chance of seeing some more shots of the larger box please?

 

[Sheffield Tony]

It is nice to re-use some old wood; it is amazing how a bit of tatty looking stuff can be transformed. Very nice.

Your bench looks a bit like mine. I hope the 043 is not in as perilous a position as it looks !

 

[John15]

Really attractive boxes.

John

 

[Racers]

Very nice box Mick.

Pete

 

[mickthetree]

Cheers fellas. I really enjoy making these boxes and its nice to hear that others like the simple design and execution.

Zed, the pins do show through. This time I managed to polish them and dome them slightly. I have some temp pins I use for fitting then I make final ones that are just shy of full depth. This way they dont move when its in. I would like to be able to knurl the last few mm so it grips in the box side, but I haven't worked out how to do that yet.

Yes Rich the plane does look close doesn't it!! Those shooting boards certainly make for accurate work. The flecks are very apparent in this one. Amazing how different tow bits of oak can look.

Glynne, I dug through my old threads and found a post on it. Not much detail on actually building it I'm afraid. but some more pictures. This used the same pin type hinge but it was of set slightly. I think I had a more detailed post on the old woodhaven site that is no more.

This is another similar box, but I gave it away to a friends daughter before getting many shots of it. I really like the proportions of that one.

Tony, that plane is now safely in its box. I did try using it for the grooves but chickened out and whipped out my small router table instead. I really really need some tool storage so I can put things away as I use them. My last shed (tiny though it was) had a tool cabinet right next to the bench, made for much more effective working (and safer for the tools!!)

Thanks again for the comments. Glad you like them.

 

[Glynne]

Thanks Mick. I hadn't realised that I had already seen your box and liked enough to comment (age is a terrible thing). Out of all the boxes I've made I have yet to one with a tilting lid so you may have just inspired me.

 

[gwaithcoed]

Excellent job, and a good use of reclaimed timber, love it

Alan

 

[xy mosian]

I would like to be able to knurl the last few mm so it grips in the box side, but I haven't worked out how to do that yet.

Very nice boxes Mick, very nice.

If the knurling is to help keep the pins in place, how about distorting the pin end by flattening a little. Either the whole thickness of the side, or just a little perhaps with a cold chisel type edge?

xy

 

[beganasatree]

Thanks Mick,you have just inspired me to take break from turning and clear the bench and do some bench work.Some 30+ years ago my son asked if I had any old wood that was of no use,I told him that under the dirt it was all good wood ,that is something that he remembers to this day.

Thanks again, Peter.

 

[mickthetree]

Cheers XY - I did an experiment this time trying to mushroom over the end of the rod but without much success. The last 6-7 mm of the bar ballooned and distorted instead. That may have worked if I forced it it but I was too far down the line by then. I held the bar in a thick piece of wood so just 6 - 7 mm was showing. Perhaps I would need to use a piece of harder metal as the holder instead and just have the last couple of mm showing. Some experimentation is required!! I was surprised how hard the brass rod was though. I thought it would have mushroomed over much easier whilst I was clobbering it with my hammer.

Really glad you got something from it Peter.

 

[rafezetter]

Cheers XY - I did an experiment this time trying to mushroom over the end of the rod but without much success. The last 6-7 mm of the bar ballooned and distorted instead. That may have worked if I forced it it but I was too far down the line by then. I held the bar in a thick piece of wood so just 6 - 7 mm was showing. Perhaps I would need to use a piece of harder metal as the holder instead and just have the last couple of mm showing. Some experimentation is required!! I was surprised how hard the brass rod was though. I thought it would have mushroomed over much easier whilst I was clobbering it with my hammer.

Really glad you got something from it Peter.

Are you trying to create a mushroom rivet shape or just burr up the end so that when hammered in the burr end grips?

A good way to burr over a head in metal without it sort of squashing and distorting is to slot the rod into a hole of the same size in a reasonably thick bit of good metal that's harder than what you are forming - it's basically the same technique as planishing the head of a rivet - the metal cannot go sideways too much so the top has to go flat. An ideal way would be a block of metal set to the depth of the pin with a mm above and hammer away to create the burr. If you've got one of those metal engineering vices with a flat plate on the back you could drill a hole into that, just make the hole a bit deeper than the length of the pin required to take into account the other end will form into the tip shape of a hss drillbit.

For actually doming like a rivet you'll ideally need to have a dome shaper as the striker.

 

[mickthetree]

Hi Austin, thanks very much for explaining. I had tried the same thing but holding it in a block of wood. That didnt work!

I'll try as you say using a piece of drilled metal instead. I often make these with different depth holes, so I suppose I could standardise the hole depth I make, then batch some pins.

Many thanks

 

[xy mosian]

Cheers XY - I did an experiment this time trying to mushroom over the end of the rod but without much success. The last 6-7 mm of the bar ballooned and distorted instead. That may have worked if I forced it it but I was too far down the line by then. I held the bar in a thick piece of wood so just 6 - 7 mm was showing. Perhaps I would need to use a piece of harder metal as the holder instead and just have the last couple of mm showing. Some experimentation is required!! I was surprised how hard the brass rod was though. I thought it would have mushroomed over much easier whilst I was clobbering it with my hammer.

Really glad you got something from it Peter.

Hi Mick,
Some time after my post I began to think that "cold chisel type edge " could be an old pair of pincers. From the dimensions you mention perhaps nipping the brass 3mm, ish, from the and and giving the jaws of the pincers either a sharp tap or a gentle squeeze.

Still good looking boxes, you have me looking for odd bits of " that will come in useful one day ".

xy

 

[stewart]

Great looking boxes.


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[n0legs]

Lovely job Mick =D>