Purpleheart Gun Box
Been burning thru my purpleheart inventory making pipes. So I just ordered more from
Craftsmen Supply in Ybor City (Tampa) Fl. They have a great selection of exotics and are good folx to deal with.
One of the pieces was calling to me to make a box out of it. Looking around I found the better half's hawgleg 1873 .45 Colt revolver and a project began.
It's 2-3/8" X 5-1/2" X 12" of 1/4" purpleheart
The piece of purpleheart started out as 15/16" x 7-3/4" x 24" rough. I got all six sides and the ammo block out of 18" x 5-1/2" after trim.
The ammo block holds 14 rounds plus six in the weapon for 20 total.
Material Prep:
The top, bottom and sides were resawn on the TS from a 15/16" x 12" x 5-1/2" block. Cutting in from both edges allowed resawing the 5-1/2" width but leaves a mismatch ridge in the cut face. The slabs were cut at 9/32" and planed flat to remove the resaw ridge. The outer faces were placed against the fence and the middle slab is a bit undersized and ridged on both faces. The thinnest (middle) slab was designated the bottom.
One of the thicker three wide slabs was ripped into two 2-3/8" sides with about 1/4" to spare.
The 6" not used for the top, bottom and sides was reserved for the two ends and the ammo block. The ammo block portion was cut first and then the remaining width was resawn to make the two ends. The undersized middle slab was given to scrap. The resaw side of each end piece was placed facing out during assembly so the ridges could be sanded out as part of initial sanding.
Cutting the Pieces:
The bottom is one side thickness narrower than the top. Using the top as a guide, the rip fence was set. Placing one of the sides between the fence and the bottom gave an exact spacing with no measuring and the bottom was ripped to width.
One of the sides was used to set the miter gauge stop block. Placing the two end pieces against the stop offset the bottom piece the correct amount as it was crosscut to length. Again no measuring.
The bottom width and the end widths must match. Using the bottom piece width as a guide, the miter gauge stop is set and the two sides are crosscut.
The groove for the lid is a little complex to cut. The lip on the lid is nominally 1/8" sq. In order for the lid to slide easily, the side grooves need to be 5/32" or so. However the groove on the end of the box is left at 1/8" and the lower edge of the lid is beveled by sanding to fit. This allows the lid to close and hold against gravity by the friction fit.
Brag: Having an Incra fence makes cutting accurate 1/8" and 5/32" grooves with a 3/32" blade trivial. Ditto for the Digital Height Indicator for setting the blade height.
One end piece is not grooved, rather the end is cut flush with the bottom of the side grooves. This allows the lid to slide in. The piece of scrap from this cut isn't. Retain the cutoff as it will be glued to the end of the lid as a handle in a later step.
The two sides and one end of the top is rabbeted 1/8" leaving a 1/8" thickness. Check the lip is a loose fit in the side and tight or nogo on the end. Do not try to fully insert the end as this will be addressed later.
Assembly:
All of the interior faces of all pieces are sanded to 240 grit. Sanding dust is blown & wiped off prior to gluing.
An assembly corner is clamped to the locked fence and the piece is dry fit. Once the fit is verified the pieces are assembled in this order:
- L side
- Grooved end
- Bottom
- Short end
- R side
As each piece is added it is held under hand pressure for 20S or so to let the glue start to grab. After the last piece is added wait a minute or two before unclamping the assembly block and moving the fence leaving the box alone on the saw. This allows the first clamps to be added without moving the assembly too much.
(an hour passes …)
Once the glue had set the box was removed from the clamps and rough sanded.
Ammo Block:
Now it is time to fit the ammo block.
Starting with a 4Ă—5 block of the full 15/16" thickness purpleheart it was positioned in the LRHC of the box. The revolver was lain on top and traced onto the block. A little bandsaw work and sanding and the block was contoured to fit.
Next came a little quick layout work for the .45 Colt rounds on a 1" grid. Some adjustment was made for better spacing. A few minutes on the drill press with a 1/2" carbide Forstner bit and the ammo block was ready for initial sanding.
The router was used to profile the ammo block with a roundover on the inside contour. Completing that, the router was then used to cut the decorative bead around the base of the box.
Ammo Block detail.
End detail showing decorative bottom bead.
After final sanding the ammo block to 240 grit, it was glued in place and clamped. For simplicity the block was only glued on the bottom.
Perfecting the Lid:
To make it easier to insert the lid the rabbeted end corners are sanded to about a 3/32" radius.
The rabbeted end of the lid is sanded on a bevel just to the point the lip will start into the groove. It should NOT bottom out in the groove but rather jam slighty to hold the lid in place. The fit should be overly snug (almost tight) but not impossible to open, the fit will loosen after the wax finish is applied.
Once the lid is holding properly when closed, the underside is marked and trimmed to be flush with the outside.
The cutoff saved from trimming the end piece is sanded to length and glued to the square end of the lid. This gives an easy grip for opening the box.
Final Finish:
The box was final sanded to 240 grit.
Two coats of Johnson's paste floor wax and a set of four brown felt feet complete the project.
I just love the look of purpleheart!