[Mean_Dean]

A little more on the mitered dovetails

When I left off I had completed the first of four for this box.

I thought I would share a little more on the process of the mitered dovetails and update the progress on this project.

Something I have learned about dovetails in general is to clearly mark the waste sections to be cut away. It only takes a few seconds and really makes the difference when clearing the waste. I can't tell you how many times I have cut on the wrong side of the line. Marking them clearly is the answer.

Additional tips for successful dovetails.

A sharp true saw is a must.
Sharp chisels with a really flat back are an absolute must. Take the time to strop often and don't resist going back to the stone for a touch up.

Be aware of the hardness and grain properties of your wood. Poplar tools really easily compared to this plum which is very hard, brittle, and wears the tools much faster.

On the mitered dovetails DON'T cut all the way through like a standard dovetail cut on the waste side of the line at a 45 degree angle.

With the cuts complete you can resume excavating and paring the joints as described in the previous blog entry.

With all four dovetails cut I found I had to re-size the top and bottom panels. Nothing a few minutes on a shoot board could not handle.

The reddish curlies are from the plum top panel, the lighter curlies are from the poplar bottom. You can see the top panel in this photo.

Another tip. Leave any precise router table setups in place until you know the project is complete or you no longer need it. I had to re route the grooves on the trimmed side of the top and had to reshape the raised bottom panel. I used the very same router setup to cut the rebate on the bottom panel. Having the setup in place saved me a ton of time.

Now all of the joints are cut, and I'm dry fitting.

Sides, Back Top and Bottom are complete. I need to finish dry fitting the front (It's still a little too tight)

I need to patch these joints as they aren't as precise as I would have liked. Each one gets better though.

Once that is done, I can do the initial finishing (Finish the inside pieces BEFORE glue up!) and then proceed to glue up.

Looks like she's coming along great!

 

[TerryDowning]

Dry fit and glue up

In the last segment I explained a bit more about the process for creating the Mitered Dovetails.

Using that process I continued to refine the fit by repeated dry fittings.

A couple of words on dry fitting and dovetails.

The more you fit those joints, the looser they become. I had heard this before. The reality is the more you fuss with it the worse things get. Eventually you need to gain enough confidence in your skills (both in the initial cutting and clearing of the joints and what you will do if the joint is not what you expect)

I don't have any pictures of the joints during the fitting process mostly because with each fitting the sloppier the joints got, the frustration increased, and thinking about taking photos was not on my mind.

Eventually I decided enough was enough and any further working of these joints short of starting over was just wasting time. Starting over is not an option for 2 reasons. 1. The wedding is less than three weeks away and I still need to turn 2 pens and write a speech. 2. I don't have enough of this plum wood to make a box this size.

I'm trying a new to me glue and going with the Liquid Hide Glue from Titebond. I used this on the prototype that kept breaking apart and it held great. Much better than the regular yellow glue I typically use.

I was very pleased with the longer open time as it gave me time to apply glue to all facets of each pin/tail combination on all corners and still have time for clamping which is important when the joints start getting sloppy.

We'll see how it comes out when I get home tonight. BTW doing a glue up before you leave for a while is a great way to make sure you leave it alone for several hours.

After the glue dries I'll have to see how the joints turn out and what I'll do with any gaps. Anyone ever use the sawdust and glue trick with liquid hide glue?

 

[dbhost]

Dry fit and glue up

In the last segment I explained a bit more about the process for creating the Mitered Dovetails.

Using that process I continued to refine the fit by repeated dry fittings.

A couple of words on dry fitting and dovetails.

The more you fit those joints, the looser they become. I had heard this before. The reality is the more you fuss with it the worse things get. Eventually you need to gain enough confidence in your skills (both in the initial cutting and clearing of the joints and what you will do if the joint is not what you expect)

I don't have any pictures of the joints during the fitting process mostly because with each fitting the sloppier the joints got, the frustration increased, and thinking about taking photos was not on my mind.

Eventually I decided enough was enough and any further working of these joints short of starting over was just wasting time. Starting over is not an option for 2 reasons. 1. The wedding is less than three weeks away and I still need to turn 2 pens and write a speech. 2. I don't have enough of this plum wood to make a box this size.

I'm trying a new to me glue and going with the Liquid Hide Glue from Titebond. I used this on the prototype that kept breaking apart and it held great. Much better than the regular yellow glue I typically use.

I was very pleased with the longer open time as it gave me time to apply glue to all facets of each pin/tail combination on all corners and still have time for clamping which is important when the joints start getting sloppy.

We'll see how it comes out when I get home tonight. BTW doing a glue up before you leave for a while is a great way to make sure you leave it alone for several hours.

After the glue dries I'll have to see how the joints turn out and what I'll do with any gaps. Anyone ever use the sawdust and glue trick with liquid hide glue?

Never done that with hide glue, actually never used hide glue before. Only Gorilla Glue, Titebond II, III, and the old Elmers wood glue. Be interested in seeing how that turns out.

I tend to do my glue ups / get things in clamps just as the last thing to do before cleanup and closing out the shop for the night if I can, that way I know I have had at least 12 hours before I touch it.

 

[shipwright]

Dry fit and glue up

In the last segment I explained a bit more about the process for creating the Mitered Dovetails.

Using that process I continued to refine the fit by repeated dry fittings.

A couple of words on dry fitting and dovetails.

The more you fit those joints, the looser they become. I had heard this before. The reality is the more you fuss with it the worse things get. Eventually you need to gain enough confidence in your skills (both in the initial cutting and clearing of the joints and what you will do if the joint is not what you expect)

I don't have any pictures of the joints during the fitting process mostly because with each fitting the sloppier the joints got, the frustration increased, and thinking about taking photos was not on my mind.

Eventually I decided enough was enough and any further working of these joints short of starting over was just wasting time. Starting over is not an option for 2 reasons. 1. The wedding is less than three weeks away and I still need to turn 2 pens and write a speech. 2. I don't have enough of this plum wood to make a box this size.

I'm trying a new to me glue and going with the Liquid Hide Glue from Titebond. I used this on the prototype that kept breaking apart and it held great. Much better than the regular yellow glue I typically use.

I was very pleased with the longer open time as it gave me time to apply glue to all facets of each pin/tail combination on all corners and still have time for clamping which is important when the joints start getting sloppy.

We'll see how it comes out when I get home tonight. BTW doing a glue up before you leave for a while is a great way to make sure you leave it alone for several hours.

After the glue dries I'll have to see how the joints turn out and what I'll do with any gaps. Anyone ever use the sawdust and glue trick with liquid hide glue?

Fine sanding dust in hot hide glue (called mastic) has been used to fill the kerfs and small gaps in marquetry for a couple of hundred years. I can attest that it works well as a filler but not for it's strength in bridging gaps. I can say that it dries very hard.

 

[TerryDowning]

Dry fit and glue up

In the last segment I explained a bit more about the process for creating the Mitered Dovetails.

Using that process I continued to refine the fit by repeated dry fittings.

A couple of words on dry fitting and dovetails.

The more you fit those joints, the looser they become. I had heard this before. The reality is the more you fuss with it the worse things get. Eventually you need to gain enough confidence in your skills (both in the initial cutting and clearing of the joints and what you will do if the joint is not what you expect)

I don't have any pictures of the joints during the fitting process mostly because with each fitting the sloppier the joints got, the frustration increased, and thinking about taking photos was not on my mind.

Eventually I decided enough was enough and any further working of these joints short of starting over was just wasting time. Starting over is not an option for 2 reasons. 1. The wedding is less than three weeks away and I still need to turn 2 pens and write a speech. 2. I don't have enough of this plum wood to make a box this size.

I'm trying a new to me glue and going with the Liquid Hide Glue from Titebond. I used this on the prototype that kept breaking apart and it held great. Much better than the regular yellow glue I typically use.

I was very pleased with the longer open time as it gave me time to apply glue to all facets of each pin/tail combination on all corners and still have time for clamping which is important when the joints start getting sloppy.

We'll see how it comes out when I get home tonight. BTW doing a glue up before you leave for a while is a great way to make sure you leave it alone for several hours.

After the glue dries I'll have to see how the joints turn out and what I'll do with any gaps. Anyone ever use the sawdust and glue trick with liquid hide glue?

Thanks Paul! I was hoping you would chime in. I'm running an experiment now with the glue I have to see how things come out. I don't have a hot hide glue setup yet and this is my first time with any hide glue product. So far I'm very impressed.

Fortunately the finish has been decided and it will be straight shellac so I don't have to worry too much about different absorption rates like I would with any kind of stain or oil. The glue up worked very well. I took the clamps off last night and this box is very solid. My next blog entry will be the clean up process and cutting apart the top from the bottom.

Then cut the mortises for the hinges and lock, then final sanding and finishing. I'm not in the home stretch yet, but the end is in sight.

 

[shipwright]

Dry fit and glue up

In the last segment I explained a bit more about the process for creating the Mitered Dovetails.

Using that process I continued to refine the fit by repeated dry fittings.

A couple of words on dry fitting and dovetails.

The more you fit those joints, the looser they become. I had heard this before. The reality is the more you fuss with it the worse things get. Eventually you need to gain enough confidence in your skills (both in the initial cutting and clearing of the joints and what you will do if the joint is not what you expect)

I don't have any pictures of the joints during the fitting process mostly because with each fitting the sloppier the joints got, the frustration increased, and thinking about taking photos was not on my mind.

Eventually I decided enough was enough and any further working of these joints short of starting over was just wasting time. Starting over is not an option for 2 reasons. 1. The wedding is less than three weeks away and I still need to turn 2 pens and write a speech. 2. I don't have enough of this plum wood to make a box this size.

I'm trying a new to me glue and going with the Liquid Hide Glue from Titebond. I used this on the prototype that kept breaking apart and it held great. Much better than the regular yellow glue I typically use.

I was very pleased with the longer open time as it gave me time to apply glue to all facets of each pin/tail combination on all corners and still have time for clamping which is important when the joints start getting sloppy.

We'll see how it comes out when I get home tonight. BTW doing a glue up before you leave for a while is a great way to make sure you leave it alone for several hours.

After the glue dries I'll have to see how the joints turn out and what I'll do with any gaps. Anyone ever use the sawdust and glue trick with liquid hide glue?

Looking good Terry. Clean up the glue residue with cold water and a scotchbrite type scouring pad. Wipe it dry and look for shiny spots. Make sure you get them all. It's easy to clean up but you still have to get it off.

 

[CFrye]

Dry fit and glue up

In the last segment I explained a bit more about the process for creating the Mitered Dovetails.

Using that process I continued to refine the fit by repeated dry fittings.

A couple of words on dry fitting and dovetails.

The more you fit those joints, the looser they become. I had heard this before. The reality is the more you fuss with it the worse things get. Eventually you need to gain enough confidence in your skills (both in the initial cutting and clearing of the joints and what you will do if the joint is not what you expect)

I don't have any pictures of the joints during the fitting process mostly because with each fitting the sloppier the joints got, the frustration increased, and thinking about taking photos was not on my mind.

Eventually I decided enough was enough and any further working of these joints short of starting over was just wasting time. Starting over is not an option for 2 reasons. 1. The wedding is less than three weeks away and I still need to turn 2 pens and write a speech. 2. I don't have enough of this plum wood to make a box this size.

I'm trying a new to me glue and going with the Liquid Hide Glue from Titebond. I used this on the prototype that kept breaking apart and it held great. Much better than the regular yellow glue I typically use.

I was very pleased with the longer open time as it gave me time to apply glue to all facets of each pin/tail combination on all corners and still have time for clamping which is important when the joints start getting sloppy.

We'll see how it comes out when I get home tonight. BTW doing a glue up before you leave for a while is a great way to make sure you leave it alone for several hours.

After the glue dries I'll have to see how the joints turn out and what I'll do with any gaps. Anyone ever use the sawdust and glue trick with liquid hide glue?

Thanks for sharing your insights Terry. So new to dovetails I hadn't considered how much time it wouod take to apply glue to all the surfaces or that the joints would loosen up with a lot of manipulation. Makes sense.

 

[TerryDowning]

Clean up and First Look at what finish will be.

Previously I completed the glue up.

After the glue cured, I removed the clamps and got started cleaning everything up.

I trimmed off the excess material on the pins using my 60 1/2 LA Block Plane which worked great.

I did notice a small crack in the top panel (Which I already knew about before the glue up. And with the pins cleared off, gaps from poor fitting began to show. I experimented with a couple of adhesives and saw dust as gap fillers. I tried the hide glue with saw dust and felt the result would be too dark. So I went with Sawdust and CA Glue to fill the gaps.

First fill the crack on the top panel. I'm using straight CA for this. Starting with this as it will take a couple of applications to fill completely and it needs time to cure in between applications.

Lets look at what we have to work with so far.

Front Panel Gaps on the dove tails and some tear out from the plane.

right Panel (Looking pretty good)

Back Panel Even larger gaps a knot and some tear out.

Left panel some small gaps around a previous repair where I accidentally cut all the way through instead of mitering around the pins. Visible lower left.

Bottom Panel

Top Panel

The next day I sanded the CA from the crack on the top.

And then applied a second coat of CA to the crack

Now for those Gaps around the Dovetails on the back panel

Helpful hint: Make sure to trap and save some of the saw dust or sanding dust from the same wood you're working with. I just took it off my miter saw after cutting the panels and put it in a dixie cup.

I smashed and tamped sawdust into the crack using my finger and small stick.

Then applied some CA Glue

Did this to all of the cracks and gaps yu can see the first one on the bottom right is already starting to lighten up.

Let sit over night.

Before:

After: I Hit it with 120 sand paper to remove all of the proud material and excess CA.

After all of the gaps are filled.

Before I left for work this morning, I hit it with some dexawed shellac

After initial drying and just before I left.
Front

Back

Rear Oblique Left side of Box

Front Oblique Right side of box

More finish to come. This is just a first coat and will mostly get sanded off. I was just impatient to get an idea of how the finish would look and how the filled gaps would look.

It's looking much better now than I was originally dreading.

 

[terryR]

Clean up and First Look at what finish will be.

Previously I completed the glue up.

After the glue cured, I removed the clamps and got started cleaning everything up.

I trimmed off the excess material on the pins using my 60 1/2 LA Block Plane which worked great.

I did notice a small crack in the top panel (Which I already knew about before the glue up. And with the pins cleared off, gaps from poor fitting began to show. I experimented with a couple of adhesives and saw dust as gap fillers. I tried the hide glue with saw dust and felt the result would be too dark. So I went with Sawdust and CA Glue to fill the gaps.

First fill the crack on the top panel. I'm using straight CA for this. Starting with this as it will take a couple of applications to fill completely and it needs time to cure in between applications.

Lets look at what we have to work with so far.

Front Panel Gaps on the dove tails and some tear out from the plane.

right Panel (Looking pretty good)

Back Panel Even larger gaps a knot and some tear out.

Left panel some small gaps around a previous repair where I accidentally cut all the way through instead of mitering around the pins. Visible lower left.

Bottom Panel

Top Panel

The next day I sanded the CA from the crack on the top.

And then applied a second coat of CA to the crack

Now for those Gaps around the Dovetails on the back panel

Helpful hint: Make sure to trap and save some of the saw dust or sanding dust from the same wood you're working with. I just took it off my miter saw after cutting the panels and put it in a dixie cup.

I smashed and tamped sawdust into the crack using my finger and small stick.

Then applied some CA Glue

Did this to all of the cracks and gaps yu can see the first one on the bottom right is already starting to lighten up.

Let sit over night.

Before:

After: I Hit it with 120 sand paper to remove all of the proud material and excess CA.

After all of the gaps are filled.

Before I left for work this morning, I hit it with some dexawed shellac

After initial drying and just before I left.
Front

Back

Rear Oblique Left side of Box

Front Oblique Right side of box

More finish to come. This is just a first coat and will mostly get sanded off. I was just impatient to get an idea of how the finish would look and how the filled gaps would look.

It's looking much better now than I was originally dreading.

That plum is awesome, Terry! Box is coming along nicely, bud…

 

[TerryDowning]

Clean up and First Look at what finish will be.

Previously I completed the glue up.

After the glue cured, I removed the clamps and got started cleaning everything up.

I trimmed off the excess material on the pins using my 60 1/2 LA Block Plane which worked great.

I did notice a small crack in the top panel (Which I already knew about before the glue up. And with the pins cleared off, gaps from poor fitting began to show. I experimented with a couple of adhesives and saw dust as gap fillers. I tried the hide glue with saw dust and felt the result would be too dark. So I went with Sawdust and CA Glue to fill the gaps.

First fill the crack on the top panel. I'm using straight CA for this. Starting with this as it will take a couple of applications to fill completely and it needs time to cure in between applications.

Lets look at what we have to work with so far.

Front Panel Gaps on the dove tails and some tear out from the plane.

right Panel (Looking pretty good)

Back Panel Even larger gaps a knot and some tear out.

Left panel some small gaps around a previous repair where I accidentally cut all the way through instead of mitering around the pins. Visible lower left.

Bottom Panel

Top Panel

The next day I sanded the CA from the crack on the top.

And then applied a second coat of CA to the crack

Now for those Gaps around the Dovetails on the back panel

Helpful hint: Make sure to trap and save some of the saw dust or sanding dust from the same wood you're working with. I just took it off my miter saw after cutting the panels and put it in a dixie cup.

I smashed and tamped sawdust into the crack using my finger and small stick.

Then applied some CA Glue

Did this to all of the cracks and gaps yu can see the first one on the bottom right is already starting to lighten up.

Let sit over night.

Before:

After: I Hit it with 120 sand paper to remove all of the proud material and excess CA.

After all of the gaps are filled.

Before I left for work this morning, I hit it with some dexawed shellac

After initial drying and just before I left.
Front

Back

Rear Oblique Left side of Box

Front Oblique Right side of box

More finish to come. This is just a first coat and will mostly get sanded off. I was just impatient to get an idea of how the finish would look and how the filled gaps would look.

It's looking much better now than I was originally dreading.

Thanks.

It is starting to look much better. I was freaking out a few days ago before the glue up.

The plum is pretty and I like the look of it. But it's very hard, very brittle and a just a PITA to work with, lots of tearing even with the sharpest, high angle, mouth as tight as I can get, skew the angle of attack, none of it helps. It tears some where on the pass.

Chiseling even paring caused the opposite side to break no matter how little pressure or how backing support was there. The chisel gets close to the edge and there's a 50 505 change it will break. Very Brittle.

Good learning experience. But very difficult to make it look pretty in the joints.

I'm much happier now.

I'm limiting my tooling to sanding now.

 

[shipwright]

Clean up and First Look at what finish will be.

Previously I completed the glue up.

After the glue cured, I removed the clamps and got started cleaning everything up.

I trimmed off the excess material on the pins using my 60 1/2 LA Block Plane which worked great.

I did notice a small crack in the top panel (Which I already knew about before the glue up. And with the pins cleared off, gaps from poor fitting began to show. I experimented with a couple of adhesives and saw dust as gap fillers. I tried the hide glue with saw dust and felt the result would be too dark. So I went with Sawdust and CA Glue to fill the gaps.

First fill the crack on the top panel. I'm using straight CA for this. Starting with this as it will take a couple of applications to fill completely and it needs time to cure in between applications.

Lets look at what we have to work with so far.

Front Panel Gaps on the dove tails and some tear out from the plane.

right Panel (Looking pretty good)

Back Panel Even larger gaps a knot and some tear out.

Left panel some small gaps around a previous repair where I accidentally cut all the way through instead of mitering around the pins. Visible lower left.

Bottom Panel

Top Panel

The next day I sanded the CA from the crack on the top.

And then applied a second coat of CA to the crack

Now for those Gaps around the Dovetails on the back panel

Helpful hint: Make sure to trap and save some of the saw dust or sanding dust from the same wood you're working with. I just took it off my miter saw after cutting the panels and put it in a dixie cup.

I smashed and tamped sawdust into the crack using my finger and small stick.

Then applied some CA Glue

Did this to all of the cracks and gaps yu can see the first one on the bottom right is already starting to lighten up.

Let sit over night.

Before:

After: I Hit it with 120 sand paper to remove all of the proud material and excess CA.

After all of the gaps are filled.

Before I left for work this morning, I hit it with some dexawed shellac

After initial drying and just before I left.
Front

Back

Rear Oblique Left side of Box

Front Oblique Right side of box

More finish to come. This is just a first coat and will mostly get sanded off. I was just impatient to get an idea of how the finish would look and how the filled gaps would look.

It's looking much better now than I was originally dreading.

Looking good Terry.

 

[NormG]

Clean up and First Look at what finish will be.

Previously I completed the glue up.

After the glue cured, I removed the clamps and got started cleaning everything up.

I trimmed off the excess material on the pins using my 60 1/2 LA Block Plane which worked great.

I did notice a small crack in the top panel (Which I already knew about before the glue up. And with the pins cleared off, gaps from poor fitting began to show. I experimented with a couple of adhesives and saw dust as gap fillers. I tried the hide glue with saw dust and felt the result would be too dark. So I went with Sawdust and CA Glue to fill the gaps.

First fill the crack on the top panel. I'm using straight CA for this. Starting with this as it will take a couple of applications to fill completely and it needs time to cure in between applications.

Lets look at what we have to work with so far.

Front Panel Gaps on the dove tails and some tear out from the plane.

right Panel (Looking pretty good)

Back Panel Even larger gaps a knot and some tear out.

Left panel some small gaps around a previous repair where I accidentally cut all the way through instead of mitering around the pins. Visible lower left.

Bottom Panel

Top Panel

The next day I sanded the CA from the crack on the top.

And then applied a second coat of CA to the crack

Now for those Gaps around the Dovetails on the back panel

Helpful hint: Make sure to trap and save some of the saw dust or sanding dust from the same wood you're working with. I just took it off my miter saw after cutting the panels and put it in a dixie cup.

I smashed and tamped sawdust into the crack using my finger and small stick.

Then applied some CA Glue

Did this to all of the cracks and gaps yu can see the first one on the bottom right is already starting to lighten up.

Let sit over night.

Before:

After: I Hit it with 120 sand paper to remove all of the proud material and excess CA.

After all of the gaps are filled.

Before I left for work this morning, I hit it with some dexawed shellac

After initial drying and just before I left.
Front

Back

Rear Oblique Left side of Box

Front Oblique Right side of box

More finish to come. This is just a first coat and will mostly get sanded off. I was just impatient to get an idea of how the finish would look and how the filled gaps would look.

It's looking much better now than I was originally dreading.

Great design

 

[Mean_Dean]

Clean up and First Look at what finish will be.

Previously I completed the glue up.

After the glue cured, I removed the clamps and got started cleaning everything up.

I trimmed off the excess material on the pins using my 60 1/2 LA Block Plane which worked great.

I did notice a small crack in the top panel (Which I already knew about before the glue up. And with the pins cleared off, gaps from poor fitting began to show. I experimented with a couple of adhesives and saw dust as gap fillers. I tried the hide glue with saw dust and felt the result would be too dark. So I went with Sawdust and CA Glue to fill the gaps.

First fill the crack on the top panel. I'm using straight CA for this. Starting with this as it will take a couple of applications to fill completely and it needs time to cure in between applications.

Lets look at what we have to work with so far.

Front Panel Gaps on the dove tails and some tear out from the plane.

right Panel (Looking pretty good)

Back Panel Even larger gaps a knot and some tear out.

Left panel some small gaps around a previous repair where I accidentally cut all the way through instead of mitering around the pins. Visible lower left.

Bottom Panel

Top Panel

The next day I sanded the CA from the crack on the top.

And then applied a second coat of CA to the crack

Now for those Gaps around the Dovetails on the back panel

Helpful hint: Make sure to trap and save some of the saw dust or sanding dust from the same wood you're working with. I just took it off my miter saw after cutting the panels and put it in a dixie cup.

I smashed and tamped sawdust into the crack using my finger and small stick.

Then applied some CA Glue

Did this to all of the cracks and gaps yu can see the first one on the bottom right is already starting to lighten up.

Let sit over night.

Before:

After: I Hit it with 120 sand paper to remove all of the proud material and excess CA.

After all of the gaps are filled.

Before I left for work this morning, I hit it with some dexawed shellac

After initial drying and just before I left.
Front

Back

Rear Oblique Left side of Box

Front Oblique Right side of box

More finish to come. This is just a first coat and will mostly get sanded off. I was just impatient to get an idea of how the finish would look and how the filled gaps would look.

It's looking much better now than I was originally dreading.

You're very right about the learning experience! Every mistake you make you'll learn from, and that's how you get better. You did an excellent job filling in the gaps in the dovetails. That CA glue/sawdust technique worked really well, as you can't see the gaps even with the shellac on.

Keep learn'n and keep up the good work!

 

[Tim457]

Clean up and First Look at what finish will be.

Previously I completed the glue up.

After the glue cured, I removed the clamps and got started cleaning everything up.

I trimmed off the excess material on the pins using my 60 1/2 LA Block Plane which worked great.

I did notice a small crack in the top panel (Which I already knew about before the glue up. And with the pins cleared off, gaps from poor fitting began to show. I experimented with a couple of adhesives and saw dust as gap fillers. I tried the hide glue with saw dust and felt the result would be too dark. So I went with Sawdust and CA Glue to fill the gaps.

First fill the crack on the top panel. I'm using straight CA for this. Starting with this as it will take a couple of applications to fill completely and it needs time to cure in between applications.

Lets look at what we have to work with so far.

Front Panel Gaps on the dove tails and some tear out from the plane.

right Panel (Looking pretty good)

Back Panel Even larger gaps a knot and some tear out.

Left panel some small gaps around a previous repair where I accidentally cut all the way through instead of mitering around the pins. Visible lower left.

Bottom Panel

Top Panel

The next day I sanded the CA from the crack on the top.

And then applied a second coat of CA to the crack

Now for those Gaps around the Dovetails on the back panel

Helpful hint: Make sure to trap and save some of the saw dust or sanding dust from the same wood you're working with. I just took it off my miter saw after cutting the panels and put it in a dixie cup.

I smashed and tamped sawdust into the crack using my finger and small stick.

Then applied some CA Glue

Did this to all of the cracks and gaps yu can see the first one on the bottom right is already starting to lighten up.

Let sit over night.

Before:

After: I Hit it with 120 sand paper to remove all of the proud material and excess CA.

After all of the gaps are filled.

Before I left for work this morning, I hit it with some dexawed shellac

After initial drying and just before I left.
Front

Back

Rear Oblique Left side of Box

Front Oblique Right side of box

More finish to come. This is just a first coat and will mostly get sanded off. I was just impatient to get an idea of how the finish would look and how the filled gaps would look.

It's looking much better now than I was originally dreading.

Might have been tough, but worth it. Sure looks sweet.

 

[Slyy]

Clean up and First Look at what finish will be.

Previously I completed the glue up.

After the glue cured, I removed the clamps and got started cleaning everything up.

I trimmed off the excess material on the pins using my 60 1/2 LA Block Plane which worked great.

I did notice a small crack in the top panel (Which I already knew about before the glue up. And with the pins cleared off, gaps from poor fitting began to show. I experimented with a couple of adhesives and saw dust as gap fillers. I tried the hide glue with saw dust and felt the result would be too dark. So I went with Sawdust and CA Glue to fill the gaps.

First fill the crack on the top panel. I'm using straight CA for this. Starting with this as it will take a couple of applications to fill completely and it needs time to cure in between applications.

Lets look at what we have to work with so far.

Front Panel Gaps on the dove tails and some tear out from the plane.

right Panel (Looking pretty good)

Back Panel Even larger gaps a knot and some tear out.

Left panel some small gaps around a previous repair where I accidentally cut all the way through instead of mitering around the pins. Visible lower left.

Bottom Panel

Top Panel

The next day I sanded the CA from the crack on the top.

And then applied a second coat of CA to the crack

Now for those Gaps around the Dovetails on the back panel

Helpful hint: Make sure to trap and save some of the saw dust or sanding dust from the same wood you're working with. I just took it off my miter saw after cutting the panels and put it in a dixie cup.

I smashed and tamped sawdust into the crack using my finger and small stick.

Then applied some CA Glue

Did this to all of the cracks and gaps yu can see the first one on the bottom right is already starting to lighten up.

Let sit over night.

Before:

After: I Hit it with 120 sand paper to remove all of the proud material and excess CA.

After all of the gaps are filled.

Before I left for work this morning, I hit it with some dexawed shellac

After initial drying and just before I left.
Front

Back

Rear Oblique Left side of Box

Front Oblique Right side of box

More finish to come. This is just a first coat and will mostly get sanded off. I was just impatient to get an idea of how the finish would look and how the filled gaps would look.

It's looking much better now than I was originally dreading.

Terry, what an excellent choice of material to use for this box, the sides on that plum look stunning. It's gonna be great to see this finished. Thanks for taking us all on the ride with you!

 

[TerryDowning]

separating the top from the bottom.

With all of the outer surface cleaned up, it's time to separate the top from the bottom.

On my prototype box I used only a handsaw to separate the top from the bottom. My saws are not sharp or true enough and I had to trim way too much afterward. So I decided to use the table saw function on Shopsmith instead.

I made sure the fence was adjusted o match the scribe lines on the box. and adjusted the depth of cut that ti would NOT cut all the way through the side wall.

First cut the short sides

Then cut the long sides

Now the top can be separated from the bottom using a hand saw.

Then use my block plane to trim off the flashing.

Looking good so far

Now to install the hardware.

 

[AandCstyle]

separating the top from the bottom.

With all of the outer surface cleaned up, it's time to separate the top from the bottom.

On my prototype box I used only a handsaw to separate the top from the bottom. My saws are not sharp or true enough and I had to trim way too much afterward. So I decided to use the table saw function on Shopsmith instead.

I made sure the fence was adjusted o match the scribe lines on the box. and adjusted the depth of cut that ti would NOT cut all the way through the side wall.

First cut the short sides

Then cut the long sides

Now the top can be separated from the bottom using a hand saw.

Then use my block plane to trim off the flashing.

Looking good so far

Now to install the hardware.

This step always creates a lot of tension for me. The entire project could be ruined in less than a heartbeat if anything slips and I never feel that I have adequate control of the box to prevent slippage. Yours succeeded and I can only imagine you are somewhat relieved. Keep up the good work.

 

[TerryDowning]

separating the top from the bottom.

With all of the outer surface cleaned up, it's time to separate the top from the bottom.

On my prototype box I used only a handsaw to separate the top from the bottom. My saws are not sharp or true enough and I had to trim way too much afterward. So I decided to use the table saw function on Shopsmith instead.

I made sure the fence was adjusted o match the scribe lines on the box. and adjusted the depth of cut that ti would NOT cut all the way through the side wall.

First cut the short sides

Then cut the long sides

Now the top can be separated from the bottom using a hand saw.

Then use my block plane to trim off the flashing.

Looking good so far

Now to install the hardware.

Actually I find the hardware fitting to be much more aggravating and fretful. This step was pretty painless for me.

But yes, as work progresses in this project and the time gets shorter (9 Days to be done - 1 day of travel, so 8 days) the fear factor is ratcheting up. Add to this the fact that I have no more of this material so a catastrophic failure at this point would be a hard pill to swallow.

Oh well, I muddle on. I have to finish fitting the hardware, final sanding, and then the finishing. I hope to complete this weekend.

 

[TerryDowning]

Hardware fitting

Let me start with a rant.

Specialty woodworking stores are quite a drive for me so I don't get to go very often. I chose to go to Woodcarft because it's a more enjoyable drive. Upon arriving I found out that the supply of small box hardware on hand was terrible (almost non-existent) many items were out of stock and my choices were severely limited. the size of my stock also severely limited my choices.

Why does Woodcraft not stock the same metal finish for their small box locks as they do for the hinges?? This makes no sense, but I'm kinda stuck at this point. Next time I'll try Rockler or order on line. By the way none of the small box hardware has any instructions or tips so fitting everything has been trial and error.

End of Rant.

I'm finally getting the hardware attached.

I started by cutting the rabbets for the hinges

I don't have many pics of this process. I initially marked the height of the plate as the depth of the rabbet.

I then used a brad point drill to cut the curved bit for the hinge. Then pared down to the line I marked previously. The hinges I chose have the arch support that keep the lid from opening too far and I had to make a mortise for those to go into. I drilled the mortise for the hinge support and attempted to clean it ups as best I could. I need to get a 1/8" chisel for sure, it would have helped out greatly for this.

Initially I wasn't too happy with the result so I set it aside to work on the pens instead.

I tried fitting the hinges and found out that using the thickness of the plate was a mistake I need to use half the height of the hinge. I was also hampered by the narrow stock of the material. I tried leaving a sliver of wood to hide the hinges but the wood was just not cooperating.

Several test fits later I managed to get both hinges attached only to find out that the alignment of the top and bottom are off. Off with the hinges Here's a tip. Keep a supply of wooden toothpick handy for filling holes as re-drilling for proper alignment is a common thing. At least it was for me.

If you look carefully on this you will also see a repair to the sidewall I wasn't paying attention to the angle of the chisel while clearing the mortise and wound up slicing through the side of the box.

More sawdust and CA to fix my own error Hopefully this hides a bit more once the final finish is on.

Fortunately removing the material for the lock mechanism was much more successful. I found the center of the front panel and marked out the dimensions for the lock.

Notice the knot and swirled grain. This is gonna be slow and go.

Then I started clearing away material. Have I mentioned that this wood is VERY Hard and VERY brittle? Especially in this kind of swirl.

I had a hard time getting tools inside the box to work. and the changing grain and knot also really slowed progress. All of my handles are too lung to fit so I had to get creative. I wound up using the blade out of my 12-101 block plane to clean the lines and keep them straight.

Before getting too carried away with stock removal I figured I should get the holes drilled for the key.

I measured and marked carefully to determine the location to drill through.

I actually drilled two holes to accommodate the shape of the key.

Close enough for now. I'll clean this up with files one the rest of the stock is removed.

With the stock removal complete and the hinges re-position a second time. Here is where I'm at.

I need to adjust the height of the lock mechanism (the mount screw hole is drilled a bit high)

And I need to adjust the top hinge attachment a bit more.

More Toothpicks and CA

This is where it was at when I left for work this morning. All I need to do now is the final hardware fitting and then it's on to sanding and final finishing.

 

[Slyy]

Hardware fitting

Let me start with a rant.

Specialty woodworking stores are quite a drive for me so I don't get to go very often. I chose to go to Woodcarft because it's a more enjoyable drive. Upon arriving I found out that the supply of small box hardware on hand was terrible (almost non-existent) many items were out of stock and my choices were severely limited. the size of my stock also severely limited my choices.

Why does Woodcraft not stock the same metal finish for their small box locks as they do for the hinges?? This makes no sense, but I'm kinda stuck at this point. Next time I'll try Rockler or order on line. By the way none of the small box hardware has any instructions or tips so fitting everything has been trial and error.

End of Rant.

I'm finally getting the hardware attached.

I started by cutting the rabbets for the hinges

I don't have many pics of this process. I initially marked the height of the plate as the depth of the rabbet.

I then used a brad point drill to cut the curved bit for the hinge. Then pared down to the line I marked previously. The hinges I chose have the arch support that keep the lid from opening too far and I had to make a mortise for those to go into. I drilled the mortise for the hinge support and attempted to clean it ups as best I could. I need to get a 1/8" chisel for sure, it would have helped out greatly for this.

Initially I wasn't too happy with the result so I set it aside to work on the pens instead.

I tried fitting the hinges and found out that using the thickness of the plate was a mistake I need to use half the height of the hinge. I was also hampered by the narrow stock of the material. I tried leaving a sliver of wood to hide the hinges but the wood was just not cooperating.

Several test fits later I managed to get both hinges attached only to find out that the alignment of the top and bottom are off. Off with the hinges Here's a tip. Keep a supply of wooden toothpick handy for filling holes as re-drilling for proper alignment is a common thing. At least it was for me.

If you look carefully on this you will also see a repair to the sidewall I wasn't paying attention to the angle of the chisel while clearing the mortise and wound up slicing through the side of the box.

More sawdust and CA to fix my own error Hopefully this hides a bit more once the final finish is on.

Fortunately removing the material for the lock mechanism was much more successful. I found the center of the front panel and marked out the dimensions for the lock.

Notice the knot and swirled grain. This is gonna be slow and go.

Then I started clearing away material. Have I mentioned that this wood is VERY Hard and VERY brittle? Especially in this kind of swirl.

I had a hard time getting tools inside the box to work. and the changing grain and knot also really slowed progress. All of my handles are too lung to fit so I had to get creative. I wound up using the blade out of my 12-101 block plane to clean the lines and keep them straight.

Before getting too carried away with stock removal I figured I should get the holes drilled for the key.

I measured and marked carefully to determine the location to drill through.

I actually drilled two holes to accommodate the shape of the key.

Close enough for now. I'll clean this up with files one the rest of the stock is removed.

With the stock removal complete and the hinges re-position a second time. Here is where I'm at.

I need to adjust the height of the lock mechanism (the mount screw hole is drilled a bit high)

And I need to adjust the top hinge attachment a bit more.

More Toothpicks and CA

This is where it was at when I left for work this morning. All I need to do now is the final hardware fitting and then it's on to sanding and final finishing.

Disappointing about woodcraft and the box hardware, my own woodcraft is similarly a long drive (45 mins on a good day). Always like watching builds, reminds me that no well laid plan goes exactly according to your ideas. Thx again for sharing Terry.