Project Information
Oak box to hold a birthday present. Actually, the box was meant as the birthday present, but my grandson was more interested in the truck.
A couple years ago, I pulled a fireplace log out of a dump truck at a West Virginia gas station. The guy was selling a load of oak firewood, but he gave me the one piece I had spotted when I told him about it, and what my plan was. Most of the logs, because of how they are split, are somewhat pie shaped in cross-section. This one was more rectangular, and I thought I could cut some little boards out of it that would be more or less quartersawn. So that's what I did. I believe it's white oak, and it has those medullary rays as part of the figure.
I built this box to fit around the little F-150. Handcut dovetails. I cut the first few with my Japanese Dozuki saw, but then used a little Zona saw (made in USA) for the rest because I hadn't really used that one before. Chiseled out the sockets with a couple of 1/8" chisels (Narex and Lie-Nielsen). Things went together well, but what I had planned for a Saturday morning project went well into Saturday night, and then most of Sunday morning.
The box bottom is a piece of poplar captured in grooves, and oriented so that any expansion would be in opposition to the dovetails. Considering the time of year and the fact that I have no air conditioning, I imagiine it's at its greatest expansion now.
I brought it home to apply some finish, and to figure out some kind of handle for the lid. Not using hinges. I cut a rabbet around the underside of the lid so it sits into the box about 1/8". The box is about 9-1/2" × 4-1/2" × 4" deep.
Edit: someone asked about the finish in the comment section. I'm inclined to rub some boiled linseed oil on it, and then come back with shellac after a few days.
A couple years ago, I pulled a fireplace log out of a dump truck at a West Virginia gas station. The guy was selling a load of oak firewood, but he gave me the one piece I had spotted when I told him about it, and what my plan was. Most of the logs, because of how they are split, are somewhat pie shaped in cross-section. This one was more rectangular, and I thought I could cut some little boards out of it that would be more or less quartersawn. So that's what I did. I believe it's white oak, and it has those medullary rays as part of the figure.
I built this box to fit around the little F-150. Handcut dovetails. I cut the first few with my Japanese Dozuki saw, but then used a little Zona saw (made in USA) for the rest because I hadn't really used that one before. Chiseled out the sockets with a couple of 1/8" chisels (Narex and Lie-Nielsen). Things went together well, but what I had planned for a Saturday morning project went well into Saturday night, and then most of Sunday morning.
The box bottom is a piece of poplar captured in grooves, and oriented so that any expansion would be in opposition to the dovetails. Considering the time of year and the fact that I have no air conditioning, I imagiine it's at its greatest expansion now.
I brought it home to apply some finish, and to figure out some kind of handle for the lid. Not using hinges. I cut a rabbet around the underside of the lid so it sits into the box about 1/8". The box is about 9-1/2" × 4-1/2" × 4" deep.
Edit: someone asked about the finish in the comment section. I'm inclined to rub some boiled linseed oil on it, and then come back with shellac after a few days.