# "A special case" (my 18x18x18 entry)



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

While I have no grand ideas of winning anything or even finishing in time to qualify, I thought it would still be fun to enter a project in the Baileigh contest. Also, its been a long time since I did a build thread and showed off the sorry excuse for a shop that all of my projects come from. :laughing:

I'm going to hold off on giving away all of its secrets until the very end and hope everyone is surprised (including myself) should it actually work. For now all I'll say is, it is going to be a different sort of case for storing something that should never be allowed to fall into the hands of children.

To begin I sorted through all of my available wood, hardware, and finishes to insure I had everything I'd need. Then I selected a piece of 1/4" oak veneer plywood that at 10-1/2" x 8" just so happened to be the correct size for this project.











I next measured a distance of 10" to the right of the blade on my radial arm saw, placed a stopping block, and cut a piece from a 3/4" Oak veneer plywood slab.










With the desired length cut, I set the stopping block to the left of the blade and made a second cut to create a piece of 3/4" plywood the 10" x 7-1/2" size I needed.










Then I checked the two pieces to insure that I had created the relationship that I wanted, and once happy with the outcome, I traced the outline of what will become the area to be cut out of the 3/4" piece.










The next step is to head to the drill press and cut a few entry holes for the scroll saw.










Finally, by carefully cutting around the traced outline, I was able to remove the waste section from the center of this plywood slab. This being only the rough cut in 3/4 ply, I wasn't worried about how smooth the edges were. So I used one of the aggressive looking blades that came with my saw and things went very quickly and actually the cut turned out really nice.










Not too shabby for a "cheap" Craftsman scroll saw using one of the "comes in the box" blades.










And now between the opening statement, and this hint, those in the know should be able to figure out what this case will be used to store. For those with out any idea where this is going, stay tuned, all will be made clear.

...


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Alright! I'm glad to see you taking part in this. I'm glued to this now, anxiously standing by to see what you have in store.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

What was posted above is what happened on Saturday and everything went according to plan with no surprises.:thumbsup: Today was a totally different animal. :thumbdown: But first things first.

I grabbed a piece of 5/4 curly maple from my lumber stack and began the process of dressing it.

I rolled my joiner out of the shed and got it hooked up to the "dust collection system" that is really just a cyclone in place before a 6 gallon Sears shop vac.










I next checked the joiner fence for square,










and cleaned one edge of the rough cut 5/4 material.

I then moved to the table saw to cut away the opposite edge and give myself two parallel surfaces as a starting point.

First I checked the blade to verify that it was at 90 degrees to the table,










and then made the squaring cut.










It was after this step that things fell into the crapper in a hurry. My plan was to rip the board at 3" width, then locate the center line and head to the band saw to resaw the board into two equal thicknesses. My hopes were to use those to build the main case.

Well, about an inch into the cut, the band saw blade began to turn into the fence and nothing I did prevented it. So I removed the straight fence and relpaced it with one that would allow me to guide the board freely. It was then that the blade moved forward and off the tires! Nothing I did would allow me to get the blade back on the machine and into the proper position. Even when I did manage to mount the blade, turning it by hand and it still came forward and jumped off! :furious:  :furious:

Never fear Mousekateers! Where there is a will (and more curly maple) there is a way!

Moving back to the table saw, I finished the resaw cut through the 3" piece even though I knew all hopes of having two usable pieces for the case were destroyed. Never fear, They will be used for the top.










The thicker piece is the cut off from making the first 3" wide cut and is just under 2" wide. It will be used later in the project.

One lesson I've learned is _*NEVER *_try to work on a project when you're upset and the whole issue with the band saw upset me a lot. Last time I used it the saw worked perfectly. Now it doesn't, so I'll be tearing it apart after this project is done to find out why. I guess now is a good time to change the stock tires for those urethane ones I've wanted.


----------



## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Hang in there Johnnie. I'm having a similar rough start. Just haven't come out and said it yet! :laughing: :wallbash: :icon_rolleyes:


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Shop Dad said:


> Hang in there Johnnie. I'm having a similar rough start. Just haven't come out and said it yet! :laughing: :wallbash: :icon_rolleyes:


If you've followed my past builds you know that one thing you can count on me to do is to show everything including the screw ups. :laughing:

I figure that if the newer guys see me making a mess of things and then figuring out how to save a project, then they will be encouraged to go for more complicated projects themselves. Heck if some crippled old man can do it, anybody can.


----------



## srestrepo (Sep 28, 2012)

so far so good. you got my interest and a subscription


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Any progress is good progress. It's a shame that your band saw is having issues. What you're describing sounds like the blade got a kink or slight twist in it. Did you check to make sure the tracking adjustment wasn't out of whack?

You'll figure it out.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*new blade also!*

To make certain the old blade is not the issue...probably is.... start with a new one. Center the tracking of the blade on the gullets. Then set up all the guides like the Alex Snodgrass video recommends. It only takes a few minutes and as he recommends, remove the table to access the lower guides more easily. From then on it's a piece of cake! :yes:


----------



## buggyman1 (Nov 16, 2011)

Glad to see you back working in the shop. It's looking good, i'm gonna guess some type of gun case.


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Looking good so far. Sorry to hear about the band saw. Maybe post a picture of the saw/blade/guides setup for the thickness you were cutting. IOW a picture of the tabletop and blade, with the stock to be cut next to the blade. Leave the saw adjustments the same as where they were.









 









.​


----------



## Baileigh Inc (Nov 1, 2012)

More hints!


----------



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Looking good Johnnie. Just keep pluggin along. It will get done. Loving what I'm seeing so far.


----------



## Tommie Hockett (Aug 26, 2012)

looking good man I can't wait to see it done:thumbsup:


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Looking good Johnnie. Love following your builds.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> To make certain the old blade is not the issue...probably is.... start with a new one. Center the tracking of the blade on the gullets. Then set up all the guides like the Alex Snodgrass video recommends. It only takes a few minutes and as he recommends, remove the table to access the lower guides more easily. From then on it's a piece of cake! :yes:
> 
> Band Saw Clinic with Alex Snodgrass - YouTube


I have seen Alex give this presentation in person at the woodworking show here in Tampa last year and got to talk with him just this year. A very pleasant and well informed gentleman.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

buggyman1 said:


> Glad to see you back working in the shop. It's looking good, i'm gonna guess some type of gun case.


What gave it away? Was it because I keep calling it a case? Was it the Florida shaped cut out? Or were you actually paying attention a couple of months ago when I asked about what materials to use as liners?

In any case... Give that man a Cupie Doll! He guess it almost right.... With any kind of luck it will be more than just a gun case.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

cabinetman said:


> Looking good so far. Sorry to hear about the band saw. Maybe post a picture of the saw/blade/guides setup for the thickness you were cutting. IOW a picture of the tabletop and blade, with the stock to be cut next to the blade. Leave the saw adjustments the same as where they were.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'll pull some pics and post them in the power tools section once I get this build finished. Maybe you'll spot something that I'm overlooking.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Baileigh Inc said:


> More hints!


Patients Grasshopper... All shall be revealed in proper time. :laughing:


----------



## buggyman1 (Nov 16, 2011)

johnnie52 said:


> What gave it away? Was it because I keep calling it a case? Was it the Florida shaped cut out? Or were you actually paying attention a couple of months ago when I asked about what materials to use as liners?
> 
> In any case... Give that man a Cupie Doll! He guess it almost right.... With any kind of luck it will be more than just a gun case.


 I always pay attention to the woodworking masters.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Today's build time was cut short because of a trip to the tire store to get a slow leak fixed on my truck. A word of advise... and as its free you know it costs nothing and its worth the price...

Anyone who buys a new set of tires for their vehicle, be sure to buy the road hazard protection plan. I pretty much destroyed a 6 month old tire that cost me over $150.00 when new by driving it for over a month with a slow leak that had me adding 10 to 15 LBs of air each week. Total of today's repair cost me $21.64 for a brand new matching tire and to renew the road hazard coverage plus about 2 hours of down time waiting for the work to be done! That's right boys and girls, a brand new tire, with valve stem, balanced and mounted on the truck for $21.64 thanks to having the road hazard coverage!

Once I finally managed to get back to work on the project, things went pretty well. I won't bore you with all the pictures, I'll just say that I took my remaining piece of Bird's eye maple and followed the same procedure as I did on Saturday to first run it through the jointer, then the table saw to square up the board. I then ripped it into sections at 3", 2 1-2" and 1" wide. Finally I ripped each piece at the table saw to a thickness of 3/4". Here is the end result of the process showing the thickest of the pieces I tried to resaw on Sunday.










That piece that got ruined on Sunday when my band saw decided to act up will become the top panel and be used on the case lid. So, I cut it in half over at the Radial Arm Saw, lined up the grain pattern as best as I could and marked the halves as an aid to glue up. If you look closely you can see the marks in the following photo.










I then cut the 3" pieces into their required lengths at the radial arm saw to make the main case.










By the time I finished with all this saw dust making, it was getting late in the day and I had not eaten, so rather than push too hard again, I took the two top panel parts and did a glue-up.

Out to my beautiful outdoor work bench :thumbdown: and get setup with my favorite aluminum cawls, add a hefty bead of glue to one board then set it next to the other board and rub then together to get glue spread on both. I've found that when gluing panels this small together I only need to apply glue to one board, not to both. Not only does this work just as well as smearing glue on both boards, it is far less messy!










I then follow up by clamping the boards flat against each other in the cawls with one on top and one under the panel. I next put clamping pressure on the edges to form a somewhat book matched panel.










This whole arrangement is allowed to sit for 20 minutes before I use an old chisel to remove the glue squeeze out from both sides of the seam. Then it is set aside in the shed for the night to dry.

That's as far as it went today gang. I figure I have maybe one more day of the boring stuff before this starts to get really interesting. The old timers around here know that I can not do things in a hurry anymore, and they know why that is. For now I'll just refer any of you who are getting too bored over to Steve's build as his is far more interesting than mine.... :laughing:


----------



## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

looks like you are overcoming well ...


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Have you ever had one of those days when you could not wrap your brain around a problem and all progress on things stopped? That pretty much describes me today. The next few steps are heading into untested ground for me as I'm trying something this time out that I've never done before and there are several things that have to work together for it to work and not just turn into a stack of fire wood that will fit into an 18 x 18 box. :laughing:

Just so you don't think I was goofing off all day, here is a little of the design work that I did to figure out the needed sizes of some parts yet to be made.










No... I'm not going to explain what the lines are.... That is my secret for now. 

I'll try to have pictures of actual wood work tomorrow.


----------



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

I feel your pain, Johnnie. I have a tendency to over think everything, so I have a new attitude.... Screw it and start making firewood. 

That being said, it looks like whatever you are making, is pretty complicated. You could probably make quite a bit of firewood, trying to figure it out. :laughing:

I gotta say, this "competition" has really motivated us to "up" our game, in trying to do things we have never attempted.


----------



## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

yea that going to hold a big gun...


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Maybe not as big of a gun as you think Groovy... we'll just have to wait and see.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Back to work today gang... or rather yesterday....

In a moment of weakness I ordered one of those lock miter router bits and figured this might be a good project to try using it. So I got everything set up in my router,










Ran a couple of scrap pieces through to see how it worked and learned real fast that I need some kind of sled to really hold things....












So, over to my trusty old Delta miter saw and get set up to simply miter the corners.



















And now my friends, I ask for a moment of silence for a dearly departed old friend.  
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.


That saw and I have done many jobs together over our 30+ year relationship. We built Aluminum screen rooms, pool enclosures, decks, flooring in rooms, entire room additions and many really nice wood working gifts. Hardly a project has gone by that we did not do at least one cut together. You name it and together we build it. For the first five years that it was with me it lived in the back of an uncovered pick up truck in all kinds of weather and never once failed to operate. Yesterday, after only the second set of miters, the entire motor and blade assembly broke away from the support arm. 
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Alas, the end has come......

Hear ye, Hear ye....

The saw is dead!

Long Live

THE NEW SAW!










Seems this project is really taking a toll on my tools. :thumbdown:

When my old faithful Delta died, I ran over to Lowes and picked up their 10" sliding compound miter saw, brought it home and got it set in place and adjusted so that I know its making good true cuts, and finished off the corners of the case.










I still have some work to do on the new saw to get it set up the way I want it so I guess this will be the last post in this project for at least a couple of days while I get the new saw all gussied up fancy. 

(Which will give me more time to figure out the next few steps in the project without seeming to be goofing off instead of working)


:laughing:


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

That's a shame about your saw. It lived out in the weather for 5 years?! Wow, it was a real trooper.  I'm glad you were able to get another to replace it. She looks like a real beauty. I can't wait to see what you do with it and your new router bit.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

*This happened on Friday 19 April*

This new saw will have a much easier life. I'm no longer building screen enclosures or anything else that would have me working outside in the rain. 

I spent a portion of the day removing a factory sliding fence extension from the top of the stationary fence that (to me) seemed less than useless and installing my own close clearance fence complete with "T" track and stop block. My "home made fence allows the use of a stop block where the factory set up didn't have one close to the blade.










I cut some scrap to make sure everything was aligned properly and we'll see this new toy at work on Monday or Tuesday.

With the new saw set up, I returned to the project and marked the top panel that I had glued up yesterday at the appromx. half way point and cut the long panel in half leaving two shorter panels.










After separating the one long top panel into two shorter ones, I also squared up the edges in preparation for another glue up.

I decided it was time to stop thinking about how to make the next cuts and just go ahead on make them. It is possible to bring a project to a complete halt by over thinking a process, and it seems I've become very good at doing just that.

Taking the front case piece out to the shed, I marked it to locate where I wanted to make a slot down the front of the piece. Got out my trim router and installed a dovetail bit. I set up a guide bar clamp to drive the router along, secured the piece to the work surface using clamps, and began the cutting of the slot.




























Sorry for the overly bright photos. It had been overcast all day until I went to take these pictures.... ah Florida.. :thumbdown:

With the slot cut, I then went back to the table saw where I cut 1/2" from the top of each of the four main case parts. Normally I would not cut the top section away before gluing the case together with the top and bottom in place, but like I said before, sometimes you just gotta stop thinking about it and do it. Also, I'm sure someone is wondering why I just finished making a dovetailed slot in the front piece only to cut away 1/2". Stick around, you'll understand everything soon.

Last but not least for today, I glued the two new top panels together to make one short fat panel using cawls and clamps in the same manner described earlier. This was then set aside to cure over night.










You may ask why I only used two clamps on the cawls and I'd answer that it is because there is only one very short glue joint this time instead of one long joint and with cawls at both the top and bottom of the joint everything remained nice and flat without a center cawl.


----------



## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

Poor miter saw .... I bet you were attached to the little feller, and the lock miter bit seems like a good idea, but a bugger to set up .....


----------



## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Looking great Johnnie. Sorry to hear about the saw but it's always nice to get new tools. :thumbsup:
Looking forward to seeing the rest of this project.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

*Photos in this post were taken on Saturday 20 April*

Thanks guys. Honestly I already miss the old gal, much more than I did my first wife. :laughing: Not only did the saw never fool around with other woodworkers, it always did anything I asked it to do. If the new one turns out to be half the saw the old one was, I'll be happy. :thumbsup:

So, shall we play some more of the boring old, cut the wood a day late game? :laughing:

Today (Saturday actually) I have nearly all of the main pieces cut and am beginning to get into some more interesting things.

With the newly glued top panel cured overnight, I started out the day doing some sanding with 100 grit paper to knock down any high spots and begin the process of getting that ready for finish.










Then I moved inside to the Radial Arm Saw snd cut the panel down to its finished size.










The first step in this process of course was to hook up the dust collection to the RAS, if I can ever find the darn thing... Looks like its time for a nice fire out in the fire pit.










Carport DC is another of the small Onieda Cyclones only this one is mounted on top of a 30 gallon metal garbage can with a plywood top. The vacuum hose comes from a 5hp shop vac to the cyclone, and then out to the machines with a movable hose. Both systems (the one in the shed and the one on the car port) are operated with shop vacs and 2 1/2" hoses. My systems may not be worth a darn in a large shop but for my needs, working in an open shed and on a screened carport where fine dust in the air is not a big problem, they do just fine, when I can find them :laughing:

Anyway, after finally getting the DC connected, and making 4 squaring cuts I double checked my piece by measuring from diagonal corners of the panel. Each measurement was 11 7/8" exactly.










Its not noticeable right now, but once this piece receives its finish I hope that the double book matches will pop out and the center grain match will at least look like it is aligned. I guess we'll find out together in a few more days.

Following the squaring of the top panel, I took all of the case pieces out to the shed and sanded each with 100 grit paper and my ROS sander. The narrow 1/2" pieces will be sanded to 200 grit before assembly only because of their small size and my desire for them not to break.










The observant person has already seen the miniature lock and key assembly which will be the next step in this saga.

Using a chisel, I carefully made a small notch around the area marked for the lock. Following that I gathered my trim router again only this time I used a 1/4 spiral upcut bit and carefully set the depth to the thickness of the brass plate of the lock. After securely clamping the workpiece to the bench, I removed material to clear the lock plate area.










Once I had finished that first step, I readjusted the router to make a deeper cut and removed the material where the lock body will sit in the front piece. Then I removed the clamps holding the piece and placed it in the vice to remove the area on the edge of the piece so the top of the lock body will sit flush with the top of the case.










A word about safety is perhaps in order here. Never use a router without ear and eye protection. The high pitched whine and flying chips can cause major damage to your hearing and eye sight. Please work safely.

With both the front dovetailed slot, and the lock mortise cut I pressed the lock into position to create a dent in the wood. This will tell me where the keyhole must be drilled.










That bright red "X" is not a man made red "X", its the crosshairs of the laser alignment system I have on my drill press. With old eyes that are only getting older, that laser was one of the best investments I've made as far as drilling holes in the right place in a very long time. :laughing:

With the hole drilled, I moved to the scroll saw to create the keyhole slot.









.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Moving right along,

I installed a sacrificial fence to the table saw.










You can understand why I did this if you look closely at the brownish piece to the left of the blade. That piece is thin enough that it could slide under my T-2 fence system and the addition of the sacrificial fence sitting directly on the table top prevents anything from getting under the fence.

Taking careful measurements and using extreme care in adjusting the fence position, I cut equal amounts from both sides of the brownish piece and a piece of 1/4" thick poplar. 









What the pictures do not show is that the brownish piece is actually a finger board. It has one flat side and one curved side. Hence the need to remove the same amount from each side of the piece when making it narrower than the 2 5/8" it is sold as being.

With the finger board and the poplar piece cut to proper size, I headed back to the shed for another glue up. This time I applied glue to both pieces and made sure I had an even coat of glue before clamping both pieces together to form a laminate of the two.










This assembly was set aside to dry overnight. I didn't even worry about cleaning off the squeeze out because tomorrow's milling will take care of the drips nicely.

As it was getting late by now and the sky was not looking very friendly, I made one last setup before calling it quits.

Back at the router table, I used my home made depth gauge to get an accurate measurement of the depth of the dovetailed slot I had cut in the front case piece. 










I then installed a dove tail bit that matched the front case piece's slot in the router and set its height according the the depth gauge setting. Then I put my toys away and went inside for the night.

I'll be posting more tomorrow to get everyone (including myself) caught up with where I stopped work today (Sunday). Who knows, I may even post Monday's progress (if any due to rain in the forecast) on Monday... :laughing:


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

GROOVY said:


> Poor miter saw .... I bet you were attached to the little feller, and the lock miter bit seems like a good idea, but a bugger to set up .....


You can mark my words on this one, I will not attempt to use the lock miter bit again before I figure out how to make a jig to hold the workpieces solidly against the router fence! That thing took my wood and hurled it across the carport even when I had it clamped in a parallel clamp! I had the router running at a slower speed and the piece firmly held by the clamp and it still threw the workpiece like nothing! Thank the Lord it was only some scrap I was using to try the bit before running my good stock through it. The thing is dangerous!


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

*Pictures from Sunday 21 April.*

I decided to play catch up today and get my posts back in step with the actual build and of course that lousy weather liar did it to me again. It was supposed to rain all day today and so far not a single drop has fallen!

If you remember, we left off last time having glued up a laminate of poplar and a piece of Florida rose wood finger board that I had cut down to 1 5/8" wide after which I setup my router table with a dove tail bit.

First thing I did on Sunday was to pull the clamps off the laminate and start running the piece through the router.










I carefully tested after each pass and increased the amount removed from the poplar section until I arrived at a piece with a dovetail centered on the finger board.










One last test to make sure it fit and was able to slide in the dovetail slot cut into the case front.










It is imperative that this piece be able to move freely on the finished case. If it hangs of gets wedged in place because it is too loose, the entire effort is for naught. So I had to make sure that it was firmly fitted, but not overly tight.

Someone once taught me that it was never a good idea to use similar woods in a joint that was supposed to slide against each other. They never did tell me why, just taught me to always use different woods. I always have, and have never had a drawer get stuck, so I guess it works. That is why I am using poplar to slide against the birdseye maple.

With this part cut, I moved on to work on the lid.

I set up my mini raised panel bit in the router table. This is a regular raised panel bit like you would use to make fancy cabinets, except it is much smaller.









Then I ran the top panel through the router taking shallow cuts and being sure to run the edge grain sides (long sides of the part) before the long grain (shorter) sides until I arrived at this profile on the panel.










Moving back to the table saw side of this setup, I checked my blade for square, and ripped some stock down to 1 1/2" wide by 1/2" thick pieces.










Making these kind of narrow cuts is where a zero clearance insert for the table saw really comes in handy despite the extra saw dust that gets thrown across the saw top. I have been able to rip pieces as narrow as 3/32" against the fence with never a problem

Anyway,

With the pieces ripped to size for the styles of the lid, I cut them down to a shorter length for easier handling (basically I cut them in half), and with the mini panel bit still in the router, I formed what will be the outside edge of the lid.










With the edge taken care of, I reconfigured the router with a 1/4" collet and installed a 3/16 upcut spiral bit to cut the dados in the opposite edge for the panel to slip into.










With both the dados and profiles cut I simply could not wait to try out the new miter saw even though the sky was getting darker and darker by the minute and the wind was picking up more and more!

This saw is really sweet! Runs quiet, cuts smooth and clean, in fact my only complaint is the dust collection chute doesn't work worth a darn. The old saw threw almost no cuttings behind it. Seems like this one throws nothing up and into the catch bag at all. Even when hooked to the DC system, everything goes out the back.

Anywho,

I first checked the angle using my setup block.










This block is a machined piece of aluminum with 90 and 45 degree angles that I use to verify the set up of all my 45 degree cuts.

With confidence in the saw being set to the correct angle, I proceeded to set the stop block at the proper distances from the blade and cut each of the four style pieces to length.










Man it sure was fun making cuts with my new toy. :yes:

Wanna see how the lid came out? 









You know you do...










Of course the picture above is marred by the shadow cast by the dust hose on the Radial Arm saw because like I said, it was very cloudy and had begun to rain so I turned on a light to take the picture. You'll get to see it better later.....

The lid will be the largest single piece of the case and measures approximately 12 1/4" by 9 3/8". 

Of course we have those around here who always scream... with out pictures it didn't happen and to those I remind them that this is me trying to document a build.... remember what always happens whenever I'm trying to get some work done?

You guessed it.....:boat:










Imagine my surprise as I processed the pictures for today's posting only to discover that my camera focused on the screen rather than the rain? :laughing: However, you can see that the yard is filling with water and it won't be long before my carport shop will have water on the floor, so I put the toys away and went inside.



.


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

You're making some nice progress. I'm looking forward to your next update. I hole the rain didn't get you.


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Chaincarver Steve said:


> You're making some nice progress. I'm looking forward to your next update. I hole the rain didn't get you.


And before I mentioned it you were already posting an update. At least the rain held off long enough for you to a little work done. I'm liking the lid.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Thanks Steve. The rain held off just long enough for me to get the lid to the dry fitting stage. I really wanted to get it glued up and ready for finishing, but oh well.... :thumbsup:


----------



## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

Thanks cant wait to see hoe the Florida Rosewood Fingerboard, plays into this..


----------



## Wema826 (Jul 22, 2012)

Hey Johnnie! I love the box so far, I really like the Grain in the birds eye!


----------



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Great looking build johnnie! I can't wait to see it all come together!

How is the start up on the new saw? We got one for work a couple years ago (must have been when they first came out) and every time I hit the switch, there is so much vibration that it always shakes the work piece off my mark. Just curious.


----------



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Wow, John, you have been a busy bee. I really like all the progress you made so far. I too, feel bad for you, for the loss of your saw. I had a bearing go out on my fav bandsaw last year, and I though I lost it for good, but the fine folks of this forum helped me out to get a replacement. Too bad yours was a cast thing. Great news you got a nice looking replacement. After you get done using it for awhile, maybe you could do a review in the review section?

I bought one of those miter bits as well, and tried to use it to make a column out of maple ply, to give the illusion of a solid piece of maple.... They work good if you can make sure to hold it securely.

Loving what your doing here with your build. :thumbsup: LIke you, I am also on a time crunch, so I haven't been on here much. Thanks for keeping us updated. Now I'm off to my garage....


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

thegrgyle said:


> After you get done using it for awhile, maybe you could do a review in the review section?
> 
> I bought one of those miter bits as well, and tried to use it to make a column out of maple ply, to give the illusion of a solid piece of maple.... They work good if you can make sure to hold it securely.


I'll be happy to review the new saw once I get used to it. It does have some things that are very different from the old one and will take some getting used to before I'm completely comfortable using it.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

captainawesome said:


> How is the start up on the new saw? We got one for work a couple years ago (must have been when they first came out) and every time I hit the switch, there is so much vibration that it always shakes the work piece off my mark. Just curious.


Mine seems like it has a soft start as it takes a second or two to come up to speed. Maybe its a flaw, but my table saw and radial arm saw act the same way, so maybe its been designed to do that. I'll know soon enough if it decides to suddenly stop working.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

*Hurray! I'm back to posting on the same day as I work!*

Not much progress to show for the day though. Wife wanted to go shopping, so that shot most of the day, then I had a couple of issues that I needed to work out with the new saw. Nothing wrong with it, just my method of using it I'm thinking.

I did get some work done though. I spent over an hour searching for just the right graphic to use as a pattern.

Then I had to scale it to the correct size to be used in the case and using adjustable spray adhesive, I affixed it to a piece of walnut that was in my scrap pile.










I then used my scroll saw to reproduce the graphic in walnut.










I won't be cutting out the "R" from the middle. I'll leave all that super fancy stuff to Kenbo for now. :laughing: Then again, I may decide to do it anyway. You never can tell what I'll come up with....

(BTW, you already know its going to be a gun case. If you know about guns, you should also now know the manufacturer.)

I already described the process of hogging out the mortise for the lock assembly using a trim router, well today I used a chisel and finished cleaning out the waste, then drilling pilot holes for the #2 screws to be used to secure the lock to the case.










I was waiting to finish the lock mortise and get the holes drilled before gluing the case together. I brought out Kenbo's favorite Canadian clamps and set about the first assembly stage.










You can see one of my combination squares to the left of the case. I used it to test that the case was clamped together squarely before setting the assembly aside for the night to dry. Yes I know, there is no bottom and no top.... just four sides.... 

Making that walnut emblem gave me a couple of ideas, so don't be surprised if I remake the lid styles using walnut. :laughing:

That's all folks.... More tomorrow. :thumbsup:


----------



## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

now I cant wait to see how the Ruger emblem and fingerboard play into this, I will be sanding by


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

It won't be much longer before it all starts to come together Groovy. Even though I still have a lot to get done and the Ruger logo will be one of the last things to be put on.

Today will be another of those days when I only have a few photos to share, but understand there was a lot of work to get everything figured out. the actual work done, and then take the pictures. 

Like this first shot of the modified fingerboard.










This is all that I'll be using of that fingerboard you watched me glue to a piece of poplar and then mill with dovetails. Had I known then what I know now I'd have made the piece smaller, but I didn't want to be trying to mill a small piece at the router. Better a longer piece that creates some waste than a short piece the fly's up and takes out an eye.

Because Groovy has been such a good fellow and waited to see how the fingerboard was going to be used, Here is a little teaser....










After taking that photo, I took all the pieces for the lower lid out to the bench, brought out Kenbo's favorite Canadian clamps again, and glued up the lower lid. Of course I checked for square before walking away.










Once the glue had dried enough to be worked, I used my random orbital sander and finishing sander to remove any glue squeeze out, and begin the process of sanding the entire piece. Again, I'm still using 100 grit. Finer grits will come later before finishing.










Last picture for today shows when I had glued the gun base in place inside the case.










The next steps will be just a little rough on the case, so rather than trying to do them with only the four walls glued, I put in the gun base now to add some strength and hopefully prevent a disaster later.

I spent the remainder of the day remaking the lid styles. This time I'm using walnut just because I have a stick of it that has been in my shed for over a year without a project. Its got one now. :laughing: I'll be nice to you all and not make you watch me remake the styles. If you really want to see the styles being made, just scroll back a few posts and pretend the wood is brown instead of white. 

I also experimented with some dye for a finish color, but I really didn't care for the results.










The top one is a blend of dark walnut brown and light mahogany red. The bottom one is plain old Danish oil in the light walnut color.

I'll have to experiment some more...


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Sorry, I meant to comment on this earlier. Excellent work on the emblem. Fine scrolling, my friend. The box is looking pretty darned cool too. I can't wait to see what you've got in mind.


----------



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

I don't know if I missed this, but are you making this for someone, or is it for you? Either way, I am enjoying this. 

I think if you use "kenbo's favorite canadian clamps" one more time, then I will start refering to them as "Kenbo and Johnnie52's favorite canadian clamps." :blink: :laughing: I have to admit, when I saw them in his frame tutorial, I had to order a few pair for myself. They are perfect for jobs like this. :thumbsup:

I'm glad that you didn't like those stain colors too.  I didn't like them either, and I have every faith in the world that you will find the perfect color.

Keep up the great work, bud.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Our laws here require any firearms to be in a locked container if there are minor children around the house. While all our kids are grown now, sometimes the grand kids spent the nite with Gradma and me... so I'm making something that will be able to locked and put out of the reach of the little ones. So I guess you could say I'm building it for them. :yes:

Of course its also my entry in the Baileigh contest if I manage to get it finished in time to qualify.

And on another note, I'll be using the clamps at least twice more. Gotta keep throwing Kenbo's name out there after his comment in another thread about his name being used by others.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Sorry gang, but it was another slow day here at the Damn Yankee Workshop.

After getting a late start, I carefully took the cut out from the base section.










Cut a rectangle from it, then marked out the shape of a magazine, drilled an entry hole for the scroll saw blade (waste not, want not),











and then made the necessary cut to create a pocket to store a magazine.











I then took the wife and together we went to a local restaurant for lunch.

When we returned, I tackled the bandsaw issue because later in the build I'm going to need it and if I was going to need to order parts, I figured I should find out now.

I don't know about you guys, but whenever I change blades I always remove the table. It just makes things easier for me to get all the adjustments correct.











I removed the 1/2" WoodSlicer resaw blade, and installed my 1/4" blade. Guess what... the darn saw worked perfectly! Apparently I need a new resaw blade even though the one I have has only been used twice before I had the problem.

ANYWAY

Turning back to the build, I decided to add a couple of screws to the back and on one side of the case.










I'll be adding screws to the other side and the front, just not yet.

What is going to happen next still has me a little bit confused as to exactly how to go about making it work the way I want. So I went inside and started trying to figure it out. I really can not show you how I went about using my brain for this, but perhaps this might help explain things.





















What? They said they wanted videos...

More tomorrow gang.


----------



## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Hey johnnie, I haven't read to much of this thread, due to time.
It's looking really nice. I'm intrigued by the work your putting into this build and the description as well. 
Thanks for sharing.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Most of what has gone before is just the same old boring stuff.. you know, measure, cut, measure, cut, use Kenbo's favorite Canadian clamps. The interesting stuff probably won't happen until Saturday or Sunday.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Today's post starts to get into the more interesting stuff and I'm going to have to be careful how much I show you all before the final post or all of the secrets will be out in the open and there won't be any surprises left for the video.

I still have a lot to get finished and they are forecasting rain for Monday and Tuesday which will most likely eliminate me before I get this finished. Of course after what Fabian said in his post, there is a good chance the Baileigh guys don't even know I have entered.

That doesn't matter though. As long as you guys tell me you want to follow this to the finish, I'll continue the thread right up to the final laying of the velvet.

So lets get started. A few of you will know in minutes exactly what I am trying to build. Well you'll almost know....

Today's build started by checking that the sides of the case were at 90 degrees to a surface.










I did this to prevent any surprises at the router table. Happy with the results of the test, I routed a "beauty" face on the strips to be used along the base of the case.










Then I went out to the work bench and glued poplar backing strips to them exactly as I glued the poplar strip to the finger board a few days ago.










Except this time, rather than use a bunch of spring clamps, I used my private set of New York red neck clamps.










Sitting out in the Florida sun on a hot day makes the glue dry in under 2 hours. So after lunch, I set up the router with a edge trimming bit and made sure that both the Bird's eye and the Poplar were even only this time I did not use the fence. I chose to use a starter pin instead.










This step is needed due to the red neck clamps allowing the woods to slide some while drying and therefore ended up not being even all the way along the edge.

After truing the edges of both of the strips, I loaded up my dove tale bit again and routed two slots in the case. One slot along the right side, and another across the front.










So far so good, said the optimist falling from the sky scraper. But now its time to route the matching tails in the edge pieces.

Again I followed the same methods shown earlier in the post and carefully marked the locations of the slots, then cut small bites from the poplar portion of the base strips until they fit into the slots with "just enough play" to allow them to move freely along the path of the slot.










And they even move!










Knowing that these two *EXTREMELY* important parts fit and operated correctly took a huge burden off my mind. These two small pieces and their related slots are the meat and potato(e)s of the entire build! Without these parts working, the entire effect is ruined and it becomes just another box.


I then began the process of cutting the base edging to fit using mitered corners. I'll be making several smaller sections, so I clamped a temporary fence extension to the miter saw so that the small cut offs (many of which I will be needing later) are not destroyed or lost.










Last step for today was to glue up one front piece to its matching corner piece.










I have to make a trip to the local ACE Hardware tomorrow to pick up some small dowel that I thought I already had, but either can not find, or did not have. So this may be as far as I get in the contest because as most of you know, I can not work in my out door shop when it rains and rain is forecast beginning some time tomorrow through until Wednesday. :thumbdown:

That pretty much means I won't finish in time for the contest, but as I said before, if you guys tell me you are interested, I'll continue documenting the build.

You all are the boss... just tell me what you want to see.


----------



## Longknife (Oct 25, 2010)

Of course we want to see this all the way to the end! Anyway, your weather man has been wrong before, hasn't he?
Don't leave us hanging out here trying to figure out what it is you're actually making. Gun case yes, but fingerboards and sliding dovetails on two sides?? Keep them coming :thumbsup:


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

You bet your sweet bippy we want to see it through. And please try to make it in time for the contest deadline. Remember, they're weather LIARS for a reason.

It's coming along very nicely so far.


----------



## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Of course we are interested Johnnie. I, for one, would love to see the conclusion of this project. It's looking awesome so far.


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it finished!


----------



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Johnnie, if it takes me driving down to FL to cheer you on to finish this box, I'll do it! Contest or no contest, I'm really liking this build and I'm learning a few things along the way.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

captainawesome said:


> Johnnie, if it takes me driving down to FL to cheer you on to finish this box, I'll do it! Contest or no contest, I'm really liking this build and I'm learning a few things along the way.



One way or another I'll get this finished. The question is when. You've never seen the conditions I work under. Everything is exposed to the weather, plus I have trouble walking and chewing gum... That cane you see in a few of the photos is how I manage to stand upright. :laughing:


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Well, the weather held out and I got a few things done. Everything today required me to think through each process, so it was really slow going.

I began with doing a lot of sanding on the lid pieces. Also, I'm really glad that I decided to redo the styles in walnut. Personally I love the way it looks.










I wish I knew how to take better pictures outside. That double book matched Bird's eye maple panel in the Walnut frame looks awesome!

By the way, did I happen to mention that those are Kenbo's favorite Canadian clamps?

While the glue was drying, I decided that it was time to get started on another part of this built that has to be just so or else. I wanted to do this at the drill press, but my table top machine would not lower the table far enough to drill a 1/4" hole in the side of the case. So, using a bullnose bit and my battery operated drill motor, I carefully drilled a hole by eye approximately 1 1/2" from the back right corner.










I used a bullnose bit to help prevent the bit from wandering as I began to enter the wood. With a taller drill press I would have used a regular twist bit.

Having drilled the hole in a position that I can live with, I mounted a 1/8" inlay bit in my router and after carefully marking the distances needed, I plunged the case onto the bit and routed a 1/8" slot through the hole in the bottom of the dove tailed slot on the right side.










And then the next step was to route a matching slot into the poplar of the right side case base. I should note here that for each of these slots, I turned off the router and let it come to a full stop before lifting the parts off of the bit.










With all this finished, I mitered the remaining base pieces to fit. I may try to design some kind of stops for the sliding dovetail pieces, so I did not glue any of the base parts on yet. 













Just because I think you guys have earned a sneak peak at something other than a bunch of cut up wood. Here is the case during a dry test fit of everything I have made to date.










You'll have to forgive the blue tape. Its holding things together for the photo. (what did we ever do before they invented blue tape?)

This took me pretty much all day from 2:30 in the afternoon until 7:00 pm and it was getting dark out on the carport and the wife was beginning to yell at me for not eating. So the last thing I did today was to apply a bit of 2 part epoxy to a circuit board threaded insert and affixed a spring in place.










I know the Baileigh guys said it was supposed to be all wood, but this will be completely hidden, so no one but us will ever know its there. :laughing:

Keep your fingers crossed gang. If the weather holds tomorrow it will be time to hang the hinges and finish up installing the lock. Then all that will be left is to make the walnut legs, add the remaining finger board parts, sand everything one more time and apply the finish. Once the finish has been applied and had time to dry, I can do the velvet interior in the house rather than outside. So that should make life somewhat easier as far as working after the sun has gone down.

I'm hoping to have a video ready before the time is up so I can show you the interesting workings of the project in time to qualify. If I go over, I'll still make the video, but it will be just for your enjoyment. It may cost me a place in the contest, but unless you manage to guess it on your on, no one will know how this will work before seeing the video.


----------



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Well, Johnnie, it seems we are both in kind of the same boat. I am glad you continued on with this build, and even if you don't get it done in time, it seems like the general consensus is that WE WANT TO SEE IT FINISHED! 

I know I sort of gave up as well, but am trying to get mine done in time.

As far as letting the Baileigh guys know, make sure to post a link to your build thread in the actual contest thread... I think they will see that... Just make sure to do it by the deadline.

I really like this build. Try to get a closeup on the lid... maybe that might help show how nice it is.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

edit


----------



## Ozone (Apr 28, 2013)

johnnie52 said:


> What was posted above is what happened on Saturday and everything went according to plan with no surprises.:thumbsup: Today was a totally different animal. :thumbdown: But first things first.
> 
> I grabbed a piece of 5/4 curly maple from my lumber stack and began the process of dressing it.
> 
> ...



I had a job once from Kenworth to make wood pieces that tapered from 1 1/4 inch to 3/4 inch across 14 feet. These went under dump beds, over the frame. I thought I could start wide and cut two from each board. Even with decent (36 inch throat) bandsaw, it never worked. I jigged and jagged to no avail. I ended up hand turning the crank on the planer and they came out nearly perfect. This may not apply here precisely, but may spark an idea.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> edit


He said instead of giving his true opinion....  :laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Its the day before the deadline, and there is much to do. Better scrap some of the plans and concentrate on getting this finished.

Monday started early with me out at the shed as soon as the morning dew was gone. Its hard to work with your bench covered with water.

First off today I'll be prepping to add the hinges. I'm using those 10mm hidden hinges that I bought from Woodcraft and after reading several reviews on them I learned that alignment of the mounting holes is extremely important. I've never used this type of hinge before so we'll see if my method works or if I end up gluing the lid on and tossing the whole thing in the fire. 

First I measured for the hinge location using a combination square to mark both the distance from the edge and the mid point across the width of the back of the lid ring.










Next I used some 3" wide blue tape (life without Blue Tape just wouldn't be the same) to hold the lid ring and the case body in position.










And finally took everything in to the drill press and began the drilling. I set the depth of the hole on my drill press, aligned the laser pointer on the predetermined location, and set the drill press fence to hold the work in place. Then, and only then did I turn on the drill press and begin drilling.

Here you can see the first of several drilling steps to bring the holes up to the required diameter.










I used a brad point bit for the first hole. Again, this was done to help prevent any drill wandering on such a narrow part. Even though I'll be drilling completely through the lid ring and down into the case body, I felt it to be far better to be safe rather than have a miscalculation now destroy everything.

After drilling through several bit sizes (each time being careful to have the bit centered on the hole) I finally arrived on my chosen final diameter.










Here's a tip for you should you ever want to try these hinges. They are 10mm diameter so you may never try them because well Americans normally do not own metric drill bits and finding a 10mm bit is next to impossible on short notice. Plus the hole needs to be ever so slightly larger than 10mm.

Solution... 

A 13/32 bit works well, but makes a hole that is really too big around and leaves the hinge loose until you tighten it using the expanding screw. If you are lucky enough to own a set of lettered bits, a size "X" makes a hole with a nice tight fit that requires you to tap the hinge into the hole exactly as the directions say to do.

After drilling, I double checked the depth of the holes in the case body using my digital calipers.

First I measured the length of the hinge.










Locking this in place using the knob on the calipers, I then checked the depth of each hole.










Satisfied with the results, I moved on to the magazine holder.

First I used a circle template to mark a satisfying curve on one corner.










Here you can also see the piece of scrap I used to test the hole sizes for the hinges. Ignore the small hole, the lower hole is a 13/32's and the upper one is an "X".

With the curve marked, I used my disk sander to reshape the corner.










Finally I headed back to the carport where I installed a 1/8 round over bit in my router table and rounded all the sharp edges on the magazine holder where it might be possible for me to run my hand against it and get a splinter in my baby smooth fingers. (yeah right :laughing










While I was at the router table, I changed to a 45 degree chamfering bit and chamfered both sides and the back of both the case and the lid ring. I also applied the same chamfer to the top of the lid ring, just as a slight relief between it and the lid panel.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Moving right along, Its time to start on what I'll call the pedestal.

I took some of the narrow cut offs of walnut left over from making the new styles for the lid and mitered them to fit the bottom of the case.

I then took the one to be used on the front of the case to the drill press where I used a 1" forstner bit to create a 1/2" diameter curve at each end.










Next I went to the band saw and using an auxiliary fence to clear the guide bearings, I cut away the waste to form a simple long arch.










Back over to the carport and the router table where I installed a Roman Ogee bit. to give it a shape that almost matches the raised panel of the lid.










I had another photo to use here showing how Kenbo's favorite Canadian clamps played in important role in putting the four pieces of the pedestal together, but somehow I screwed up the focus and it was totally ruined. It would have been the last time we'll get to see those clamps in this build. I'm sorry gang, I know how much you all love seeing Kenbo's favorite Canadian clamps in action. :icon_smile: Wait until I get finished with the build for today (Tuesday) I've got something kind of special in store for everyone.

Back to the finish of Monday's build.

The final stage of today's build was to finally mate the lid ring to the lid. Because of the natural movement of wood, I chose to use #4 screws only to attach the lid to the lid ring.

So, using a 7/64" bit, I drilled shank pilot holes in the lid ring. Followed by a 1/16" pilot hole in the panel. I drilled a total of 7 holes around the perimeter from the ring into the panel.










I then used a steel screw to cut threads in the walnut, followed by the installation of the brass screws that will be the final assembly hardware used for these parts.










That hogged out area of the panel was going to be the location of a custom lock, however with time slamming me hard right now I'll be saving that for another project down the road.

The last thing I did on Monday was to size the remaining fingerboard pieces. Sorry again gang. By the time I finished that it was too dark for me to get a nice picture. You'll all get to see them on the finished case.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

*This is the end... the end my friend.*

Despite the weather's heartiest try, I got it finished before being drown.

The camera somehow ended up on the wrong setting, so I lost several of the morning's build photos and I was trying to finish, so I did not take as many as I could have. Let me run it down for you.

1. finish shaping the pedestal at the router table
2. Drive the barrel hinges in place and lock them in (they work great, but make sure they are installed correctly cause they are not coming out)
3. cut the mortise for the lock's pin using two different sizes of chisels and a utility knife.










4. cut and glue the remaining finger board pieces to the case.
5 glue the stationary bottom molding in place










6. glue the pedestal to the bottom of the case taking special care to not get glue on the sliding parts
7. glue in the flat bottom of the case 










8. Glue on the medallion.










That's how it looks before any final sanding or finish has been applied. The next couple of photos were taken after dark, so be prepared for them to look totally trashy.

9. Apply 5 coats of rattle can spray lacquer sanding with 600 wet/dry paper between coats.










10. add velvet liner to bottom and under the lid.










Then cuss out the cable provider because half way through posting this 2 hours ago the cable went out and only just came back on line. Did I mention its almost 3:00am?

With luck, I'll get a video done in the morning and have this all done and a few better photos of the finished piece, under the time limit. I hope... :boat:


----------



## buggyman1 (Nov 16, 2011)

Dang!!! Great job Johnnie. I'm glad i'm not a judge for this contest. What a way to start back after your injury. Dude, you've been holding-out on us with your talents. I absolutely love the Ruger emblem, thats a fine piece of scrollsawing. The box looks great also. I would love to have one of those for my P-85 (hint hint wink wink). You did Sturm Ruger proud man. Great job Johnnie.


----------



## Longknife (Oct 25, 2010)

I knew you would make it :thumbsup:. Great job, I can't wait to see the video so I can see how it actually works.

BTW, why not send the video to Ruger as well? Maybe they have a prize for you too.


----------



## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Beautifully done Johnnie! From the emblem to the hinges to the finish it looks terrific. So does this go on display or does the whole box go under your pillow? :blink:


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

First of all I want to say thanks to everyone who followed along. It means a lot to a guy who is physically hindered in almost everything I do to have folks approve of my feeble efforts.

Thanks guys. You all are the greatest.

What follows may be posted too late to be allowed in the judging, but that rain I have been trying to out run has arrived with a vengeance which makes doing videos and such outside impossible. However, I want to offer a more detailed view of the finished case and its workings.

So, here goes nothing.... enjoy

The case measures 12" x 9" x 3-1/2" tall. It will surely fit in an 18 x 18 x 18 box with lots of room.

First up is a close up shot of the lid showing off the beautiful grain of the double book matched panel.










Next up is a close up of one of the hinges showing just how clean the instal really is,










Here is a close up of the front. Here is where those Florida Rose wood finger boards were used.










Finally, a cleaner shot of the case looking down the right side to show the contrast of the three woods used (Bird's Eye Maple, Walnut, and Florida Rose Wood).










Now. Here is the fun part.... :icon_smile:

This case was built to provide a secure place to store my personal firearm whenever the grand kids come to visit. It will hold my Ruger LC9 plus an extra magazine. It locks and can easily be placed up where the little ones can not reach it. :thumbsup:

But how to open the dang thing is the mystery as no where is there any apparent place to unlock it plus there are not signs of hinges sticking out of the back side. It may just be a fancy block of wood....

It is indeed a case. Its easy to open once you know its secret.

First you have to slide the front molding to the left.










Next slide the right side molding to the front to release the key.










Now that you have the key, where is the lock?

Well to locate the lock you must return the right side molding to its closed position.

Next you must locate the release pin on the front molding and slide just a portion of the molding to the right as far as it goes.










Finally, slide the remainder of the front molding to the left until it stops and the panel hiding the lock will slide down.










You can now use the key to open the case and retrieve the firearm.










To close things up, reverse the process and that is basically all there is to it. The original plan was going to include a second locking system where the lid was secured by a series of levers connected through the lid to the emblem on top. To release the lid you would not only need to locate the key and the lock, but also twist the emblem to release the lid and open the case.

It will never stop a determined thief, but it will protect the weapon from little hands that should never touch it until they are older and have been taught the proper use.

Some of youse may have seen a variation of this case on the net being called a Hungarian Hell Box, or the Emperor's Treasure box. Both of those allow the sliding parts to fall completely away and IMO get lost. My design keeps all the parts attached to the case.


----------



## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

I can't wait to get home to see this my phone just ain't big enough. Dang 12 hour shift......


----------



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Well, Johnnie, I finally have caught up to your build. As you know, the last week has been real tough to get anything done, let alone comment on all the builds. I can't imagine having to work around mother nature, AND have to do all the complicated things that you did. Way to go. :thumbsup:

I really liked the way you drilled for the barrel hinges. That was really slick, and all but eliminated the alignment problems. I used those hinges in my mobile chopsaw station (NYW) for the extendable wings. I too had a problem locating the right drill bit for them.

The case turn our phenomenal! That whole locking mechanism is just too cool! That case is PERFECT for what you want it to do, and will look great sitting on any shelf. Dude, that case is incredible. I don't know what else to say.

Now, go and sit down, and enjoy a cold one.... You earned it!


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

I was finally able to read through what I've missed of your build thread the past week or so. Johnnie! Man, I am blown away by this. The mechanics of it are very cool. I've seen those puzzle boxes you mentioned. But what you've made is much more beautiful than any of those I'm aware of.

Your choice of woods is awesome. The execution of it all is perfect. The fact that you've had to dodge all this rain we've been having and do it all during daylight hours... and your space and working limitations... None of that shows in your work. This is a class-A example of fine craftsmanship, my friend. I am proud of you. This is incredible work. Good luck in the voting round.


----------



## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Awesome job there johnnie. Nice clean work to.


----------



## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

Johnnie what you have here in addition to a fine example of woodworking, is probably the base for a Country AND Western song, you got rain, a dying miter saw, a runaway lock miter, more rain and guns locks and ammo! Thanks for the adventure


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Beautiful Job Johnnie*

It's a cool way to keep a handgun available, but you don't need a key to get to it. Nice build. :thumbsup:


----------



## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Wow, you pulled out all the stops man! Sweet hidden extras and nice features for the box. :yes:


----------



## wood shavings (Mar 20, 2009)

*Job well done*

Much enjoyed the build, the time spent sharing the craft that you love with others Would receive the words my wife's Grandma. A job well done, Keep up the good work.

Jerry


----------



## Ledhead (Aug 3, 2009)

Very nice case, clever implementation of security. Great job.


----------



## Ted Tolstad (Feb 20, 2011)

Awesome build! I was reading this for the first time and wondered where the lock had disappeared to.....totally cool.


----------



## Got Diesel (May 2, 2013)

Very nice build. Turned out great.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*recalling your post that got scrubbed...*

About not many replies.... not many votes either on the whole topic, 116 as of last count.
What's up with that?


You did a fantastic build and an even better photo documentary of the build .... step by step! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I admit I was a bit "busy" trying to finish my build and photos and all and didn't really get to read all the build threads until afterward. 
I was kinda consumed with it all, sorry. You had to overcome many roadblocks in your build, but YOU always found a way around them... whether it was the weather, the tools or your "achin' body" :laughing: I have the greatest respect for your effort and the end result. :yes: bill


----------



## ctwiggs1 (Mar 30, 2011)

Dang - that came out SWEET. Anytime people incorporate hidden locks or compartments I tend to subscribe right away!


----------

