Small Dovetail Oak Box

[Phlebas]

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[thetyreman]

nicely done =D> I like the linings, is that suede? also like the mitred lipping on the lid, that's a nice touch, dovetails look very tight, can't see any gaps at all.

 

[AndyT]

Excellent!

I've looked at similar sample bits and mentally made boxes from them, so it's extra nice to see it done for real.

And that's a really neat trick for hiding the groove on the ends. I can't remember it being suggested anywhere else, not even by people who advocate a similar rebate to locate the dovetails snugly. So I shall file that idea for future use, thank you.

Down here the spring weather is too good to miss but I may be back in the workshop as soon as it turns wet or windy again.

 

[MikeG.]

Very nice! The joints look great.

Now you're getting good at these, maybe start slimming things down a bit. Thinner stock for the sides etc. It doesn't make anything more difficult, unless you are planing stock down by hand (and even that's not a big deal).

 

[Phlebas]

nicely done =D> I like the linings, is that suede? also like the mitred lipping on the lid, that's a nice touch, dovetails look very tight, can't see any gaps at all.

Thank you.

It's not actually suede, but a textile. Looks and feels remakebly like suede and the sales assistant in Remnant Kings where I got it referred to it as vegetarian suede.

The mitred lipping just seemed to me to be the best way to do it.

 

[Phlebas]

Excellent!

I've looked at similar sample bits and mentally made boxes from them, so it's extra nice to see it done for real.

And that's a really neat trick for hiding the groove on the ends. I can't remember it being suggested anywhere else, not even by people who advocate a similar rebate to locate the dovetails snugly. So I shall file that idea for future use, thank you.

Down here the spring weather is too good to miss but I may be back in the workshop as soon as it turns wet or windy again.

Thank you.

I found the oak from the samples quite different to work with compared to the pine I've used previously. Much less forgiving, albeit easier to chisel across the end grain without tearing chunks out.

And I'm sure the rebate to hide the grooves is not an original idea - if it is it would be the first one I've had since the 1990s.

 

[Phlebas]

Very nice! The joints look great.

Now you're getting good at these, maybe start slimming things down a bit. Thinner stock for the sides etc. It doesn't make anything more difficult, unless you are planing stock down by hand (and even that's not a big deal).

Thank you.

Thinner sides for aesthetics or economy in the use of materials? I suppose someone like William Morris would say those are the same things.

And yes, it is all done by hand. But most operations on something of this size are manageable.

 

[woodbloke66]

Nice box, well executed =D> From my limited experience of oak flooring timber, it's always kiln dried and has all the 'life' sucked out of it; as a consequence I found it really awful stuff to try and work with. If you have a chance to grab some properly kilned (a rarity these days) or even better, air dried oak you'll find there's there's a vast difference in the way they behave - Rob

 

[Blackswanwood]

When you say properly kilned Rob what do you mean? Is it just dried more slowly rather than "baked"?

 

[woodbloke66]

When you say properly kilned Rob what do you mean? Is it just dried more slowly rather than "baked"?

'Baked' would be closer. It appears to have been kilned to such an extent that the wood feels 'carroty' to such an extent that it's almost impossible to plane the stuff. Difficult to explain but if you ever come across a piece of oak with no 'life' in it, you'll see exactly what I mean.
Some years ago I recollect I made a small box for my brother which was absolutely impossible to plane so the only way I could clean it up after jointing was to start with 60 or 80g paper and work down the grades. Nightmare - Rob

 

[Blackswanwood]

When you say properly kilned Rob what do you mean? Is it just dried more slowly rather than "baked"?

'Baked' would be closer. It appears to have been kilned to such an extent that the wood feels 'carroty' to such an extent that it's almost impossible to plane the stuff. Difficult to explain but if you ever come across a piece of oak with no 'life' in it, you'll see exactly what I mean.
Some years ago I recollect I made a small box for my brother which was absolutely impossible to plane so the only way I could clean it up after jointing was to start with 60 or 80g paper and work down the grades. Nightmare - Rob

Thanks - sounds like something to definitely avoid. I have noticed how much easier air dried oak is to work with hand tools than kiln dried. I live a couple of villages away from the Robert Thompson Mouseman workshop and museum and was put on to trying it after talking to one of their guys.

 

[Hornbeam]

Nice box. I like the lining and the contrast with the oak

 

[Phlebas]

Nice box, well executed =D> From my limited experience of oak flooring timber, it's always kiln dried and has all the 'life' sucked out of it; as a consequence I found it really awful stuff to try and work with. If you have a chance to grab some properly kilned (a rarity these days) or even better, air dried oak you'll find there's there's a vast difference in the way they behave - Rob

Very kind of you Woodbloke66.

Well, I certainly found it different to work with, but, as I said, almost all of my previous botchery has been in pine. I found it more brittle, if that is the word, and hard to plane around the knots, but I had put that down to my lack of ability.

I'll try some real oak next if I can get some.

 

[Phlebas]

Nice box. I like the lining and the contrast with the oak

Thank you.

The lining contrast is purely serendipitous (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong), as it was what I had to hand. Still, the recipient seems to like it, albeit only having seen it in photographs so far due to current restrictions.