# Alternative Methods Challenge - Slant sided Jewelry Box



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Welp, Here goes nothing...

For this challenge, I selected the slant sided jewelry box.

Having only a photo to go by,









I have spent a couple of days figuring out my own set of plans before cutting anything. 









I'm not a Professional Wood Worker by any means, just another guy who enjoys making things with my hands and seeing the looks on the faces of family and friends when I give the things I've made as gifts. So you will see some mistakes and goof-ups along the way. Remember, its not the mistakes that matter, its how you deal with them that counts.

The box is built using contrasting woods. The light and dark colors add a nice detail to the project. Not being able to afford the more expensive woods, I used what I had on hand for this project. I'll be working with S4S Poplar and Red Oak for this build. Both of these are available at either Home Depot or Lowes and will not cost an arm and a leg. We'll see if these less expensive woods look as nice when assembled as some other selections that can cost over $100.00 and still need to be planed down to size. So far the total cost of lumber is $10.00 for a 3/4 x 6 x 48 length of Poplar and $0.00 for the Red Oak as this was given to me by my Brother in Law last year.

First lets talk about the tools needed for the build. I decided to use the fewest tools I could to show what could be done with only limited tools working in a confined workspace. We'll be working on half of a screened in car port, in a back yard 10'x10' shed, and out on a 8'x 8' deck.

First we'll need some things to layout and machine our work pieces.









A pencil, Tape Measure (a small 12 footer will do) A square, and an adjustable square handle the layout work.

A 10" Compound Miter saw, Contractor's Table Saw, Router, and Router table with both a 1/2" and 3/4" straight bits, Awl (or ice pick) drill motor, small drill bit, hand saw (I'll be using both a Dove Tail saw and a cross cut saw), screw driver, 3/4" chisel and finally a sander (either electric or hand operated) will take care of all the machining to complete the project.

We'll also need some wide tape for use during assembly, a good wood glue, and maybe a little waxed paper to prevent glue from dripping onto the work bench.

Before getting into the actual cutting, please refer to your owner's manual for directions on adjusting the saw blade on any power saws you plan to use. Accurate cuts are required for the proper fit of the pieces. So take extra time to insure all your tools are set properly and working freely.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Now, let's start to make some cuts.

But first, let me try my best to imitate our old friend Norm.

A word about shop safety. Be sure to read, understand and follow the safety instructions that came with your power tools, and always wear eye protection (and ear protection) when working with any of the tools in your shop.

My plans call for the finished box to be 11"x7"x4 3/8" tall. That comes to just over 36" total material needed to make the 4 sides. Adding for the saw kerf between pieces, I cut 37" from my 48" piece of Poplar. Always remember, you will loose some wood as the saw passes through the wood, so never lay out your pieces butting against each other. Leave room for the blade!

I'm somewhat lazy when it comes to measuring and just a little blind, so I usually cut my first piece and then use it to mark any others of the same length.




































With the work pieces cut to length, its time to layout the miters. Rather than reposition the saw for each 45 degree cut, I often mark the cut on opposite sides of my work piece and then simply "flip" the piece in the saw to make the miters.










It helps if you mark the Long and Short sides so as not to make your miters in opposite directions on the wrong sides of the work pieces. I also like to extend the lines onto the short face from each miter line. This way I can quickly see that I have things laid out correctly and it also acts as a safety for making the cuts. If I can see the extension lines, the piece is in the saw backwards. You can see in the above photo how I mark the pieces with an "S" and an "L" for the Short and Long sides, and the extended cut lines on the short face.

Taking the marked pieces to the miter saw, carefully align your saw to the 45 degree mark. You should double check that the saw is indeed set to make a 45 degree cut. I use a drafting triangle to make this check, but you can just as well use the angled side of a combination square. Align your square's 90 degree side with the saw's fence and the 45 degree side with the blade. With everything aligned you're ready to cut.










Set your work piece on the saw table and align your cut mark with the blade. Now, clamp the piece to the saw's fence. 









This is for two reasons. First, it will hold the work piece in place as you lower the blade into it, ensuring that it does not move and ruin the cut. It also allows you to keep your hand away from the blade! A metal clamp holds the work, not a flesh and blood hand! We want to keep all the parts we were born with in the same place as they started .. right? :thumbsup:

Once all the miters are cut, its time to move to the Router table.

This first pass will be to cut the rabbit in the bottom of each piece for the bottom of the box. I plan to use 1/4 Baltic Birch plywood for the bottom. So I set my 1/2 straight bit in my router at the table to make a 3/8" wide x 5/16" deep cut and passed each piece through.



















Look closely and you'll see the first of those mistakes I mentioned in the first post. I'm a little shaky on my feet these days and as I was passing the end pieces through the router I lost my balance. This caused me to relax my hold and the router to cut too deeply into the pieces. 

Oh well... I'll fix it... you'll see....

This is as far as I got today. The Florida sky turned dark, and the wind picked up. A sure sign around here that a heavy rain storm is only minutes away. Besides it was time to put the toys away and go eat. So there will be more tomorrow hopefully provided the weather lets me do anything.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Looking great so far. There's a ton of detail in your descriptions which will most certainly help out the newer wood workers. Very nice job. I'll be watching this one for sure.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Great write up so far Johnnie. I'll see if I can get you the official plans emailed out tonight. I've unfortunately been putting in 15 hour days this week, which has left only time to eat and get some sleep before returning to work.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

*Go Jonnie GO!*

Looks great! Thanks for putting the time into documenting this. Can't wait to see how it comes together. :thumbsup:


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

Looks good so far. I'm looking forward to seeing how these all turn out.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Nice job so far and I'm looking forward to seeing this come together!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Did not get much time today to work on the box. I was busy with appointments and meetings. 

About all I managed to get done was to verify that everything was going as it should up to this point.

Taking my work pieces in hand, I set them into position and secured them with a ratcheting clamp. Then I checked the corners to ensure proper fit and measured from each corner on a diagonal as shown below. The parts are being "dry fit". No glue at this time!



















We are looking at the bottom of the box here. The top looked just as nice. (many thinks to my wife who held the tape as I took pictures)

By the time I finished this test , the weather had turned.










Shortly after this was taken, the sky opened up and neighborhood was treated to a downpour! :boat:

So unfortunately the shop stayed under wraps...












With luck, tomorrow will be a better day and we can get back to work on our box!


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

Darn that weather!!! 

It has no right to slow down this build, and keep us waiting.

You're doing great, there, Johnnie


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Loving this build. Being that this is the alternative methods challenge, it is nice to see that you have already done a couple of things that I would have chosent to do differently. Both correct, but different. This challenge is awesome. Keep up the great work and I'm looking forward to the next post.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

You have no idea how funny it was to read your post Kenbo....

I do it on purpose! I first read your post, see how you have done something, _then do it differently_! I usually do much the same as you when building things.... :laughing:

Yippee! Sun is shining so its off the the races!


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

your build is fantastic...I 'm so impressed with documentation I 'm thinking about starting over.........thanks for the steer to the right forum listing


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## Warnock (Apr 4, 2011)

I keep on learning from the "pros" here. This is a great idea and allows some of us a grand opportunity to learn different techniques and acquire new approaches to building.

Thanks to all who are posting, some of us really are learning from you guys.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Are we ready?

The sun is shining, so its time to get busy. Our first step this morning is dealing with the presents left by Mother Nature yesterday. Copious quantities of left over water always finds its way into every possible pocket in the covers on my machines.


















First step in today's build is to carefully dump the water, dry the tarp, and get everything set up to work.

I'm sure that somewhere, someone, has the perfect router bit to make a sloped sided box at a price far beyond my ability to even dream of owning. Therefore, when the time comes, I'll be cutting the slopping sides at the table saw. Today I discovered that my saw will not make a cut deep enough to slope a 4 inch side. So its back to the drawing board and some quick math. We need to lower the sides by an inch, and even at that there may be some cutting by hand to get the full effect.

I set my fence to remove 1/2" and proceeded to rip away a little from both the top and bottom of each side piece.









Notice how thin the cut off of the already rabbited bottom edge is. This cut could never have been made using the stock Craftsman fence that was issued with my saw. However, the Delta T2 fence system makes this kind of cut as simple and safe as any other cut made on a table saw. If you own an older Craftsman and are looking to improve its performance, putting a T2 fence on it is the best money you will ever spend.

After nearly destroying the project when I lost my balance on the first day, I decided to adapt my technique at the router table to match my now limited abilities at standing up-right and holding onto stuff. This build is as much of a learning experience for me as it is for others... :laughing:

I made an aux fence from 1/4 hard board and clamped it to the router table fence. Now instead of a wide opening at the bit, the space is a mere 1 inch wide. I also swapped over to a 3/4" straight bit instead of the 1/2" bit that I used the first time. This new arrangement makes it possible to lay the work pieces flat on the table rather than running them on their edge creating a much more stable arrangement that even I feel safer working with.









So, once again, we measure and mark the location of our rabbit, and using the marks as a guide, we adjust the bit to about half of the needed cut. Connect the shop vac to the dust collection port on the fence and prepare to route our pieces.









Run each piece through once, then reset the bit to finish the cut and run each piece through a second time to get our final rabbit.









Repeat the process for the opposite edge, adjusting the depth of cut for the difference in the top and bottom rabbits, and the finished piece is sheer perfection...









(See, I told you I'd fix that mistake from the first day:yes

Please note, the ear protectors are not holding the aux. fence, they are being shown to remind everyone to always wear ear and eye protection when using machines. I'd show you the safety glasses, but then I could not see to take the pictures...

Everyone has heard the rule, make multiple passes at the router table. Has anyone ever showed you why?

Here is a piece of scrap set up to make a full rabbit cut in a single pass.









And here is what happened while attempting to make the cut..









Part of the way through, the work piece refused to move and a large piece chipped off, leaving the mangled mess you see above. I still haven't found the clip that flew off the work piece. Hopefully its inside the shop vac. If not I'll find it in the sweepings at clean up.

At this point I took a break, went inside to get out of the heat, poured myself a cup of coffee and relaxed.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Dude!*

I gotta admire your attitude regarding the rain and having a "shop" under a carport or open patio. The puddles of water would drive me nuts. Seems like your shop vac would be sucking more water than dust. :laughing: Makes me grateful for my crowded but dry shop even if it's up 15 stairs and I have to carry everything up. 
Nice work on the project BTW, keep it up! :thumbsup: bill


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## Spilperson (Sep 24, 2011)

Hello from a newbie!

This is a great walk through of your build. Impressive amount of time and effort invested, so thanks for that!

A few comments:

I hope this one isn't against the rules... You mentioned the cost of the materials... there are sellers on ebay that sell small thin stock of hardwoods for really good prices. For example a 18" x 4 1/2" x 3/8" piece of purple heart for a couple of dollars. I swear I am not one of the sellers! But I do buy from them a lot for box-making stock.

Second, I think a crosscut sled would allow you to cut those miters a lot easier on your table saw. I am a pretty new woodworker and when I made one it was like a huge jump in the quality of all my cuts. I have one for normal perpindicular cuts and another for bevels. Plans are all over the web. You can just about make one out of scrap.

Third...crud, I had a third but my wife came in and after talking to her I forgot it, darn!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Alright everybody, breaks over. GET BACK TO WORK! 

Before going farther, its time to see if we've made a deep enough rabbit on the top edge so that the lid will extend over the top of the box and have enough room to round over the edges. Using a piece of scrap the same thickness as the proposed lid, we set it in the rabbit and stand the pieces upright.









Looking good!

The next step is to mill out the relieve on the front face to make it possible to open the lid.

Find the mid point of the front face, and then mark over an equal amount to each side of that mid point.










Place the work piece in the vise... oh wait, I don't have a vise!!!! Time for one of those "ALTERNATIVE METHODS".









Now using a 3/4" chisel, make a small cut at both outside marks.Do not use a hammer or mallet for this, just apply a firm pressure by hand.









The reason for this is to provide a "pre- kerf" (my personally made up term) to guide the saw as you start the cut. Now using a Dove tail saw (or any other hand saw you happen to have) make straight cuts down through the front face to the bottom of the rabbit.









Once you have made the straight cuts, make two more cuts, this time at an angle so that you end up with a small section being cut away.









The reason for this is to provide a clear space between the edge of the relief cut and the material to be routed so as not to allow the material to be "ripped" out as it is plunged into the spinning router bit.

Our first step is to prepare stop blocks on the router fence at the start and stop of the finger relief. We do this by first finding the edges of the bit and marking them on the fence.









Now we determine how wide to make the cut and clamp stop blocks at both places.









Now we carefully make our first pass on the front face of our work piece. Place the workpiece firmly on the table withe the face side up, brace it against the stop block at the right and "plunge it into the bit until it rests on the fence. Then move the piece through until it comes up against the stop block at the left of the bit.









The first pass removes most of the lip at the top of the piece . The second removes even more of the lip. Finally flip the piece onto its face, adjust the fence to make a deeper cut, and the third pass removes the remaining lip and begins to form the finger relief.









Now reset the fence to make a deeper cut, check to ensure the stops blocks are still in the proper location (adjust as needed) and make a forth pass in the same manner as the previous passes.

Make as many adjustments as needed to complete the feature. I made five adjustments before I arrived at my desired configuration of 1-1/2" wide x 1-1/4" down x 1/2" deep.

















This looks far too deep right now, but remember we will be cutting a lot of material from the top of the piece when we make the slope.

And of course... once again... the ever present Florida rain put an end to production! Yes, those are puddles forming in my front yard and water running down the screening.  SUNSHINE STATE *MY LEFT FOOT*!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Spilperson, Firstly, Welcome.

You are exactly the kind of wood worker these "Alternate Method" posts are being done for and your comments are most appreciated. 



Spilperson said:


> Hello from a newbie!
> 
> This is a great walk through of your build. Impressive amount of time and effort invested, so thanks for that!
> 
> ...


I built this using only the stock I already had on hand. If I were going to buy stock There are a couple of lumber yards where I live that have good lumber at great prices. I'm always too impatient to wait for mail order lumber. :laughing:



> Second, I think a crosscut sled would allow you to cut those miters a lot easier on your table saw. I am a pretty new woodworker and when I made one it was like a huge jump in the quality of all my cuts. I have one for normal perpindicular cuts and another for bevels. Plans are all over the web. You can just about make one out of scrap.


I have one myself. I chose not to use it here because I wanted to show the guys who may not have one that it could be done a "different way" and still come out nice. If you look through some of the other ALTERNATIVE METHODS threads being done by a few of us you'll notice that we are all using methods that may not be the normal way we would do it. The idea is to help those with lesser knowledge.



> Third...crud, I had a third but my wife came in and after talking to her I forgot it, darn!


I have that problem myself. Then again, I've had two strokes in the past seven years which makes me partly brain dead anyway. :laughing:


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## Spilperson (Sep 24, 2011)

Ah, I did not understand the premise, gotcha now, thanks, and thanks for the welcome.

Unfortunately, I only have one place around here (New Orleans area) that has a selection of hardwoods. They have an OK selection and prices, but they are only open M-F and not very late, so that is a pain. Other than that it is just whatever the big box stores decide to stock.

I have a bad habit of laying in bed at night surfing the web, and buying stuff. $20 here, $30 there...never much at any one time, but it adds up. I check ebay for stuff, and have built up a little stock of that kind of stuff. Some tooling from Shars from time to time, or various metal scraps. Its a bad habit!

Frank


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Spilperson, we have several NO woodworkers that visit regularly. Keep reading and you'll find they're quite helpful and I think a couple are even amenable to meeting folks in real life and sharing knowledge first hand (along with a beer, perhaps). I believe you might even be surprised by the local stock available if you find those folks like RRBrown who are near(ish) to you.

The original Frank  okay, just FrankP


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## Spilperson (Sep 24, 2011)

Thanks, that would be great. I am actually in Laplace, just to the west of the NO metro area, but nobody except locals knows where the heck that is, so I just refer to New Orleans.

If they know of any good resources in the area, fantastic!

FrankS


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I guess its time to get back to this. Of course, I'm half way thorough the build and the "official" plans arrive. :blink: Oh well.... as Sinatra used to say... I DID IT MY WAY!!!! 

Our first step will be to sand the inside surfaces of our work pieces. Once the box is assembled, its will be next to impossible to get a nice smooth surface.

Starting at 100 grit, we work our way down to 220 grit. This provides a very smooth surface especially on S4S stock that has not been altered in any way (except being cut to size from a 4 foot board) from "store bought" condition.









(Yes, I have a joiner, and a planer, but someone else may not. So I'm mostly using the lumber as it comes from the store instead of doing any touch up that isn't really needed.)

I must apologize, the camera batteries died and I had to change them. I forgot to get a photo of the next step which is to lay the pieces end to end, face up in a row on a flat surface. Carefully align the edges of each piece and apply tape to each. Turn the entire unit over and apply glue to all the corners.









Now fold all four pieces together to form the box.









Align everything to be square, and apply the clamps.









Now go do something else while the glue dries. :laughing:

To make the splines for our box we will need some strips of scrap Red Oak cut to be 1/8" thick. First we need to determine exactly where to make our cuts so we measure from the cutting tooth of our saw blade 1/8" to the left of the blade and mark the location by holding an adjustable square firmly in the miter gauge slot.









Once we have established the distance of the cut, we adjust our fence to that location by placing the piece we plan to cut against the square and sliding the fence over to meet the work piece. Then we set a feather board in place and lock it down.









This serves two purposes. First, it helps to prevent kick back, and second it acts as a positive locator stop to make multiple 1/8" cuts. After the first strip has been cut, position your stock against the feather board, adjust the fence and cut your next strip. Do this as often as you like until you have enough material to make all the strips you'll need. I made two strips which will give me the eight splines needed.

With our strips cut to proper thickness I cut them into 2" long splines at the band saw.









This could have also been easily done with a hand saw, or at the table saw. I suppose if you happen to be a Black Belt, you could just give them a good chop with your hand. The point is the length if the splines is not critical. They can be any length that is more than needed to fill the slots we will be cutting in the corners of the box. They do not need to be square or in any other way "pretty". They only need to fill the slot, and fit snug.









So we have reached a stopping point as the glue continues to dry. I like to give the glue a good 8 hours of drying time before removing the clamps and tape.

:sleep1::sleep1:

Thanks to the magic of the internet, it is now the next day and the glue should be dry!

Today we will begin by making the cuts in the box corners for the splines.

Something else I forgot.:bangin: Before putting the glue on and folding the pieces into a box, I like to cover the inside corners with painter's tape. Any glue squeeze out will be on the tape, not the wood. Let the glue set up for a few minutes and remove the painter's tape. Presto.. no glue clean up needed.

With the clamps and tape removed its time to double check that our box has remained square. If you have done everything right up to this point, it should be perfect.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

So naturally, the site informed me that I had too many images in one post... so ....

After you are sure everything is as it should be.

Here is the jig I use to cut spline slots.









Its a couple of pieces of 2x3 that I ran through my joiner to ensure a flat surface. Then glued and screwed onto a plywood back at a 45 degree angle. It is wide enough to allow me to use a dado blade should I wish to have 1/4" splines. There is also a small block that I use on the inside of whatever I am cutting as a safety precaution. I also gave it a couple of coats of exterior Spar Varnish to try to protect it from humidity. I use it fairly often and like so many other of my tools, it lives on the carport.... I've had it for 3 years and so far its as good as the day I made it. Actually this is only the second "pretty" project I've tried to build in a year! Its taken that long to be able to feel comfortable and safe at the power tools after my last stroke.

Enough of that...

First determine the depth of the cut to be made. I use the spline material to make this decision. By putting a piece of the spline material near to the jig, then adjusting the blade height, I always know exactly how deep the cuts will be when finished.









We need to change inserts at this time as the splitter will not work with this jig. So after changing the insert for a zero clearance insert without a splitter, set the spacing of the cuts. Simply put the jig against the fence and measure to the outside of the blade. I wanted my splines to be centered at 3/4" from the top and bottom of the box. So I measured from the plywood jig to the center of the cutting tooth on the blade.









Now simply place the box in the jig, hold it down using the safety block, and cut each bottom corner of the box. (Notice how the safety block prevents my hand from being anywhere near the spinning blade.)









Turn the box over and repeat to cut all four corners near the top of the box and the slots are finished.











Don't go away... we'll be right back....:yes:


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

This project is looking fantastic man. Great write up for sure. Love the tape holding the mitered corners until you can get some clamps on it. Gonna have to try that one.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

My Grandda taught me that tape trick when I was but a wee lad who was only allowed to sweep up the saw dust in the shop. He used that old shipping tape that had to be wet before it would stick to anything. Then he had to sand it off...

He taught me pretty much everything I know about wood working and I still haven't got half the knowledge or ability that he had.

That man was a real craftsman who literally built every stick of furniture in my Grand parents home and most of my parents also. All I have left of his work now is a jewelry box he made for me when I was 12. He died while I was on my second tour in Vietnam. I sure do miss him.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Ready for more? Or have I bored you all to tears?

Well here goes nothing...

With the spline slots cut, its time to address the back of the box. I'm sure by now someone has to be wondering just how I plan to get a hinged lid to work with a rabbit going all the way around the top of the box.

Remember how we cut the finger slot in the front? I'm going to repeat the process on the back of the box. I waited until now so I would not run the risk of breaking off a very small piece of mitered corner. With everything glued up the corners now have the added strength of the sides to protect them.

So, once again, we lock the box in our other "ALTERNATIVE VICE", mark the cut lines and make relief cuts in the corners.









Follow the same procedure as we did for the finger relief. Mark the cut line, make a pre-kerf with a chisel, and use a dove tail saw to cut down to the rabbit. Then make angled cuts to meet the cut you just made.

Then I put a tall flush cut bit in the router, and adjusted the height of the bit to remove the extra material above the rabbit.









Adjust the bit so that the bearing is above the material to be removed, yet still below the inner surface of the box. This allows the bearing to use the rabbit as a guide when making the last cutting pass. The corner reliefs prevent the bit from tearing out the delicate mitered corners of the back side of the box. When finished, there will be some extra material to be cleaned up with a chisel, but it far better than blowing out the corners because the bit grabbed the wood and tore a chunk out!

Finally, clamp on the stop blocks at the beginning and end of the cut and remove the waste by taking several small passes, NOT ONE DEEP PASS!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Nice work and great write up*

There's only one concern I have..... I see that you got your "plans" today and you said you built it "all wrong." 
We really don't care if the sides don't slant, it's still a nice looking box, and actually I prefer yours. There is too much slant on the one in the photo for my taste. About 1/2 as much would be better. This one reminds my of those things the elephants in the circus put their feet on... just sayin. I guess your takin' the term alternative method right to the extreme :laughing: bill


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Our box is starting to look like something now. So let's get those splines in place.

Apply glue to both the splines and in the slots. I use a thin strip of wood for this. Its a little messy, but it reaches all the way into the slot and gets a good covering of glue deep into the slot and even at the very bottom where the spline will seat.









Now instal the splines and set the assembly aside to dry.









While we waiting, let's start on the lid. By the way, since I will be cutting teh sides and front to create the slope, I didn't bother cleaning up any of the glue squeeze out. Its all going to be cut off anyway.

A measurement from the inside of the front rabbit to the back of the box tells us that the lid must be 6-7/16" wide, and another measurement from each side tells us it needs to be 10-1/8" long. I like to leave at least 1/16" around the sides of the lid where it will sit inside the rabbit. So first I rip the lid to 6-1/2"









And then I cut it down to 10".









Then I check it by looking at the piece.









You could say I cheated here. I took the picture after the glue had dried and I'd cut the splines, but you get the idea... right? Besides, I think it is starting to look pretty good at this point.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Oh dear.... Did you see that I planed for sloped sides in my drawing? I guess I better let the audience vote before I go much farther cause I cut the slopes part way through today...... The plans call for rabbits at the rear where the back of the box attaches to the sides (not miters), and say it should be about an inch shorter than what I've made. Also, they wanted a dado cut for the bottom to sit in. I planned to attach the bottom differently and its far too late to cut a dado in it now. Also, I'm going to be making separators for the inside. Those are not in the plans at all... One more thing, I will NOT be adding a music box to this particular build.



woodnthings said:


> There's only one concern I have..... I see that you got your "plans" today and you said you built it "all wrong."
> We really don't care if the sides don't slant, it's still a nice looking box, and actually I prefer yours. There is too much slant on the one in the photo for my taste. About 1/2 as much would be better. This one reminds my of those things the elephants in the circus put their feet on... just sayin. I guess your takin' the term alternative method right to the extreme :laughing: bill


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

What the heck happened? I blinked and the next thing I knew, your box had a lid. Nice work. This project is flying along. Enjoying watching this one Johnny.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Johnnie, it's really coming together. I love that you dove in and "did it your way" without the plans. That's how it usually happens anyway right? Find your inspiration and take your "slant" on it!

Staying tuned... :thumbsup:


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I'm catching up on 2 days worth of stuff...:laughing: It will have sloped sides in a few minutes....

Thanks for the kind words. Seeing you work makes me feel like a real amateur. Your comments make me believe that there is hope for me yet in this hobby.



Kenbo said:


> What the heck happened? I blinked and the next thing I knew, your box had a lid. Nice work. This project is flying along. Enjoying watching this one Johnny.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Last post for tonight. This will bring everything up to here up to the point I am currently at in the build.

So, now that the glue has dried on the splines, we first cut off the excess. Again, take your Dove Tail saw and cut away everything not clued down...









Then find the angle of the slope and mark the box for the cuts to be made...









It turns out that the angle is 5 degrees. I arrived at this by determining how much material I wanted to have remaining at the top of each side. I figured that 1/4" would be nice. So I measured in from each top corner 3/8" and marked a slope up to the bottom corner at the edge.

Next comes the fun part, changing blades on the table saw!

I figured that as this was going to be an angled cut at the maximum possible height of the saw, it would be better to use a 24 tooth "rip" blade instead of the 40 tooth combination blade I usually have in the machine.









As you can see, while I don't have the "Best" blades, I do have the best blades I can afford. Even though I use cheap blades, its still necessary to make sure they are mounted correctly. Measure from the miter slot to a tooth at the front of the blade,









Then spin the blade backwards by hand and measure to the same tooth at the back of the blade.









If both measurements are the same you're good to go! But first check that you miter gauge is set at 90 degrees to the blade!









Next comes adjusting the angle. I set my fancy protractor to the 5 degrees I already determined to be my desired angle.









Then adjusted the blade to match the protractor.









And here is why you can never really trust the gauge on the saw!









Its a very expensive and finely tuned machine that has an accurate gauge mounted to it!

With the blade adjusted, I next mark the little plastic do-hickie thing on the table. I mark the cutting edge of the blade, and the amount of material I want to have the saw remove. In this case, 3/8". Remember that the cut will be removing material across the full thickness of the blade. In other words, the side of the blade that will be against the wood that you want to keep is where you have to begin to figure the total amount to be cut away from the outside edge.









Using a backer board to prevent tear out, align the edge of work piece with the cut-off line (the one farthest away from the blade) and firmly clamp it in place on the miter gauge,









then make the cut.









DO NOT pull the piece back past the spinning blade! Wait for the blade to stop before bringing it back, or lift it completely away from the saw.

Repeat the above procedure for the opposite side, then remove the miter gauge and set up the cut for the front using the rip fence.









I chose not to slope the rear face. I decided I wanted that to remain flat in order to have plenty of meat for the hinges. Also, my saw can not cut the angle all the way through the material, so I ended up with about a half inch at the bottom of the box that is not slopped.









Here is where you all get to have your say. Shall I finish off the slope by hand, or leave it like it is? Personally I think it looks interesting the way it is, but I'm going to ask you guys to decide. Follow the plans, or don't...

The last thing I got done today was to flatten the back top and remove the material left by the router.









There you have it. This is the point I am at now in the build. Tomorrow (weather permitting) I'll instal the bottom, the feet, and begin to shape the lid.

Don't forget to vote. Full slope, or lipped bottom.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*lipped bottom*

my vote because the sides are too wide, the lip reduces that look a bit.

Or... run a 3/4" bevel up all around the bottom to lighten the look and it will reduce the vertical slab of the side. Small feet or pads to lift it off the surface will also help lighten the look, putting a little air under it.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I'm sitting on the fence for this one Johnny. I mean, I like the lipped bottom, but I also would be interested in seeing how you remove the lip. I know how I would do it, but you might do it differently. Looking great.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I guess we'll wait and see if anyone else votes. Right now I feel like the ugly stripper... leave it on.. take it off... :laughing:

Today I headed out and the first thing on the agenda was to fit the bottom. I have the measurements written down somewhere, but can't find them at this minute... I'll edit this when I have them.

Meanwhile, 

The bottom of the box will be made from 1/4" thick plywood. I cut it to size at my radial arm. This could have been done using any type of saw except perhaps a hack saw.









Again, I'm showing the ear protectors to remind everyone to always use eye and ear protection when working with machines.

With the bottom panel cut, I fitted it into the box, and secured it using two brads at the mid point of the front and back. I allowed a 1/16" for movement of the plywood and placed a couple of brads to act as wedges rather than actually nailing the panel in place. 









Next I had cut several small triangles from the same material I used for the splines. Today I first determined how small of a triangle could act as a foot for the box, and still double as a corner holder for the bottom.









Then I marked out the remaining pieces,









cut them close to size at the band saw,









and fine tuned them at the disk sander.









With all four corner feet now cut, I applied glue to each corner of the box using my applicator stick. (a scrap piece of Bamboo left over from laying the floor in our computer room)









Being careful to get only a small amount of glue on the work and only on the corners of the box. No glue on the bottom panel. The panel is supposed to "float".









Then I used two brads in each corner to secure the feet,









and finally clamped the feet in place using cawls to ensure even pressure.









As you can tell, today was spent out on the deck by the shed in bright sun shine and 90+ degree temperatures. I had reached a point where I had to come inside and cool off. Now the sky looks really nasty and the news says there is a sever storm warning in effect....

If I can, I'll start work on the lid today.


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## ArmedFerret (Aug 24, 2011)

I say leave it as is; the lip at the bottom adds some very interesting architecture to the piece. Makes it even more interesting than with plain (albeit slanted) sides.

Either way, I'm truly enjoying this write-up. Vicarious living, if you will.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

2-1/2 votes to leave it on and 1/2 vote to take it off.... Plus the wife says leave it on.... So it stays.

Kenbo, the plan I had to remove it was to either turn it over and run it through the table saw again to cut away the lip, or remove it with a hand plane. Either way, I wanted to get the feet attached first so they would also have the angle if I decided to make the angle all the way to the bottom.

I guess everyone else actually has a life, or aren't interested in a silly old box.....


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## Chris86 (Aug 27, 2011)

I'm following this thread with great interest:yes:

I love these tutorials and I'm seriously thinking my next project may be a mitered spline box:thumbsup:


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Apparently its going to be one of *those *days. Batteries died in the camera so half the photos I thought I took are not taken. 
I'll try my best to walk through today's work.

I started out today by putting a 45 degree chamfer on the edge of the lid. First I set up a chamfer bit in the router and aligned the fence with the bearing.









Then set the depth of cut.









When routing a profile on the end grain side of any work piece I always use and backer board and the miter gauge. It is one of the few times I use the router's miter gauge. 









I always route the end grain first so that any blow out can be removed when I route the long grain. However, the backer board usually prevents any blowout on the work piece.

With the end grains finished, I run the long grain sides through.









Now it time to see if this is going to actually look like I envision it in my head.









Its getting there.....

I need to make a very small piece to go inside the finger relief. So using a piece of Oak that was cut off earlier in the project, I set up my home made fence and zero clearance insert at my band saw and "resaw" my piece of scrap down to 3/16" thick.









A band saw is (IMO) the only safe way to cut something this thin, without a special jig or sled at the table saw.

A few careful measurements and some layout work to determine the size needed, and the use of a circle template to get the 3/4" diameter curves correct









and its off to the disk sander to shape the insert. (this is where the camera died.)

It took a few trips between the box and the sander to get the fit I wanted. Then came sanding the insert to remove the saw marks from the band saw. I used some carpet tape to hold the insert onto a small block of wood for a "handle" to hold the insert and clamping a scrap piece of plywood to the sander's table to act as a ZCI, used the disk sander to smooth away the saw marks.

Before going any further, I wanted to clean up the face of the box to remove the saw marks from ripping the angled face. As you can see, there is a lot to be done.









I set the box in yet another of my "Alternative" vices and starting with 80 grit paper I worked the front face smooth through several grits, ending with 220. 









Since it has been decided to leave the lip on the bottom of the box, The lip has to be sanded by hand as it is too narrow to use an electric sander without causing the edges to become misshapen. I simply wrapped sand paper around a small block of scrap and worked from 100 down to 220 grit.

And of course, just when I found batteries that would work, it started to rain! I often feel like God is out to get me...








( you can see my wife at the back door telling me to get inside)

So it was hurry up and get everything off my outdoor work table and into the shed where the last thing I did was glue the insert in place.









You can see that I wasn't fast enough getting things inside. That blotch on the face is from a rain drop!

It will be a couple of hours before the camera batteries are charged enough to take more pictures and of course now the storm has passed and the sun is shinning!:wallbash:

Figured I hang the last couple of photos for the day onto this....

When the back yard had dried enough after the rains... I reset my clamping system to my work bench and then secured the box to it and completed the sanding of the outsides. Removing the saw marks required a heavy grit of paper, so I started with 80 grit and then worked my way down to 220 grit rounding over the edges to soften the look. 









What is the wrench for you ask.... A 14mm deep well socket and extension made a perfect sanding block to smooth the 3/4"dia the finger relief.  After all, this is an Alternate Methods Challenge. So what if a deep well socket is a car tool and not a wood tool... it does the job!

One final thing to add today. Here is where I go completely away from the plan, and the reason for the added height to the box.

I cut two strips of Poplar 1/8" wide and 1 inch tall to fit against the inside front and back walls. Sanded each and glued them in place taking care to glue them only to the front and back walls of the box and not to the bottom panel. 









With these two pieces glued clamped and drying, its time to call it a day.

Tomorrow they promise that its not going to rain.... We'll see.....


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Didn't go near it today except to remove the clamps from last night. We are supposed to have nicer weather on the week end, so I'll get back to work. Its just been too hot, rainy, and humid to be outside trying to do anything.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Looking forward to when you can get back to it. I hope your weather changes for you really soon Johnny. I'm curious to see where your going with this now that you are deviating from the "plans". I have a pretty good idea what's coming next, but no idea how you are going to do it. Nice work so far my man. Looks awesome.


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## Warnock (Apr 4, 2011)

Johnnie, Looking fine so far, and I have learned a couple of things from your thread. I like the lip on the bottom, adds character.

Press on.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Just so the day won't be a total loss, I started a small project that I've been wanting to do for a while. Whereas the box now requires me to be out in the blazing sun where my delicate Irish skin turns red in under 5 minutes and sweat pours out everywhere, this project let me stay on the carport with a roof and fans.....

You'll see what this project is soon as I experiment with it later in the box build.

Anyhow, I uncover the table saw and find...









This is one of the hazards of having a carport in the heat and rain for a shop  :furious:. If the weather doesn't ruin things, you sweat all over them...

So out comes the mineral oil and Scotch Brite pads... and after about a hour we are back to this...









Sometimes I really hate owning tools....


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I got a lot finished today. We finally got a break in the weather. No humidity, temps in the mid 80's, gentle breeze, no rain.

Only problem is, I'm really tired right now and have to re-size the pictures before loading them and I really need to relax before starting on that or I'll mess things up.

Anyway... I haven't been sitting around doing nothing. Along with the box built check out my latest creation in the home made jig section.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/table-saw-thin-rip-jig-30403/#post250019

A note of thanks goes to Cabinetman for his suggestion on how to make the scale indicator. His way worked perfectly!


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Looking forward to the pics!! I'm sure it's awesome.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood... 

Today (as if I hadn't already butchered any chance of following the plans) I start on the major deviations from the plans for this box.

I start at the table saw, and rip a piece of 3/4"x6X24 Red Oak into two pieces. I need one piece measuring 2-1/2" wide. Once I have verified that my saw is properly aligned (blade parallel to the fence and set at 90 degrees to the table top) I make my first cut to get my 2-1/2" piece.

Then I set up my brand new home made thin rip jig! I set the depth of cut to 1/4", and resaw the 2-1/2" piece into two pieces that are 1/4" and 5/16" thick.









The jig works really well...









Then its out to the shed and the thickness planner to remove the blade marks from both pieces.









Taking only one piece back to the saws, I begin laying out the sides and a divider for a tray that will fit inside the box.

First I use my square to provide a true reference point of an exact measurement of the inside of the box.









Once I have this information, I subtract enough to give me 1/16" clearance between the out side edge of the tray and the inside edge of the box all the way around. This will tell me how long to make the front and side pieces and using my Radial Arm Saw, I make the cross cuts to make them.

I then raise the blade of my Radial Arm saw to make two cuts that are just over 1/8" deep in the pieces. I don't change blades for the 1/4" rabbits. Instead I make one cut at my line, and then nibble away at the remaining material to get the 1/4" needed. I also make 1/4" rabbit cuts on both ends and another at about 3" into the long piece.

With the rabbits cut, its time for a test fit.










My blade leaves a 1/8" kerf which is perfect for the material I plan to use for the tray's bottom. 









Now that I know everything fits, I set up to rip each piece in half. This gives me all 4 sides and two extra pieces. One of the extras will become the divider. Like this...









And will fit into the box like this,









Knowing that everything will fit together nicely, I set up the router table with a 1/4" core bit and cut a lifting area into each of the side pieces.









These parts are very small, so I am careful to use a good "store bought" push pad. Its never a good idea to allow anything made of flesh to come too close to sharp objects that are spinning a high rates of speed.:thumbsup:

I measure and cut my bottom material at this time and check fit everything again before leaving the saws and heading back out to the deck.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

And now comes the really messy part. 

After triming the divider close to the line at the band saw,









I then fine tune it by sanding to the line at the disk sander.









I then sand each piece beginning at 100 grit and ending at 220 grit.









This includes the grooves I cut as gripping areas in the sides.

Finally I glue and clamp the tray together









The bottom is fit into the slot during this assembly and again tape is used to help hold everything in place during assembly and until the clamp is applied.









The last thing for today is to layout for the hinges.

Using a square, I first marked the location of the hinges at 1" from the edge on each side.









Then, using my square and a utility knife with a very sharp blade, I carefully make the area to be cut to make a mortise for the hinge.









Using a chisel and the same utility knife, I carefully shape the mortise to the hinge, 









then I use the hinge to locate starter holes for the screws that will position the hinges.









Tomorrow I'll try to get the liners cut and the lid in place. Then its on to final sanding and finish....


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Looks great. Definitely worth the wait for sure. Thanks for taking the time to post.


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## Longknife (Oct 25, 2010)

Looking great so far. Cool idea with the tray as well.


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

I like the deviations....make it your own as the judges on American Idol say...and does make it more usable


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Nicely done Johnnie!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Thanks to all who have been following along and posting comments. You guys are what make doing this worth while.

So, another beautiful day here in west central Florida.

I head out to the shed and find a serious problem. One of the tray sides is broken and a part of it is missing!









"Oh" says the wife, "I forgot to tell you, I knocked that off the bench last night when I put the hammer away." What she was doing with the hammer is anyone's guess... She refuses to tell me.

Oh Well, this thread was supposed to talk about how we handle mistakes and problems anyways.

Before attempting any repairs, my first step today is to pin all the ends and the divider in place using 23 gauge 1/2" headless pins and my faithful Harbor Freight pin nailer. I first re-tape all the corners. The tape helps prevent the nailer from marring the wood as it drives the pins. Fire up the compressor and adjust the pressure down to 50 pounds/ sq.in. at the gun and fire away. Each corner gets 2 pins as does both ends of the divider.









I don't trust most things from HF, but the few items I do own have been very good at their jobs and for $29.00 this nailer has paid for itself many times over.

Using double sided tape, I see how much has to be "Doctored" to salvage the tray.









Not too bad. This I can fix (sorta) at the sanding disk. With the tape holding a piece of scrap as a handle, I carefully sand the broken piece into something that "almost fits the area, apply glue and using painters tape as a clamp, I get the broken part back onto the tray.









While the glue dries, I move on to the mortises for the lid.

Carefully marking their locations,









I use the same methods already outlined to whittle the mortises and fit the hinges. These hinges are very small, so slow careful cuts of small amounts of material are the thing. It takes about 20 minutes but,









Fits like a glove!

And its back to sanding. Top, bottom and all sides of the lids get sanded from 100 through to 220 grits. There will be one last sanding of the entire piece before finishing.

I forgot to mention before, the bottom of the tray was made from part of an old white board. You know, one of those boards they hang in offices and write on with dry markers? Its basically just 1/8" hardboard with a smooth white surface laminated on one side.

This was cut to fit into the dados I cut in the tray sides and put in place during the assembly of the tray. It floats in the dados. No glue to hold it in place to allow for any movements of the wood due to changes in temperature or humidity.

Today I made plastic inserts from some sheet plastic I had on hand from my days of HO trains and kids at Christmas (an entirely different story) to fit into each area of the box bottom and the tray by measuring and marking them, then using a scary sharp utility knife and a drafting triangle with a metal edge to cut them to size.









I clamped the material to my bench to hold both the triangle and the material which helped to not only keep things aligned, but to keep my fingers away from the path of the knife.

With all the panels cut to 1/8" under size (which allows for 1/16" of free area around the panel) I then used the panels as templates to cut some sticky back foam padding and affixed this to the panels.









This padding will provide a soft feel to the bottoms of the box and the tray sections.

That's about everything for today. I confess that the broken piece right at the start kind of took the wind out of my sails and it was hard to get back into the mind set to really work on this today.

Besides it time to head to Lowes for stain...

In any case, it is beginning to look like something...


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Very nice recovery Johnnie. The tray is a great, practical addition. Can't wait to see how you finish it. :thumbsup:


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

good recovery...wont be long now....cant wait to see the finish


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Well guys and gals,

I'm nearing the end of this build. Just a couple of more posts and it will be on to the next project.

When I last posted (its been a few days so bear with me as I catch myself up), I had gotten the mortises cut for the hinges. So I think its time to go inside. The next part is not something I want to do out in the shed or on my outdoor workbench.

The wife had the day off from work and wanted to go "window shopping" at a mall across town. So while there I walked into a fabric store and picked up some velvet material, a small bottle of that craft glue and a modeler's miter box. The last will come in handy should I decide to make one of these with mitered corners in the tray.

I brought the foam coated plastic panels that I made the other day inside and got all set up. 









First I cut sections from the fabric that where one inch larger on all sides than the panels. I then applied tacky glue to the back of each panel along the edges and wrapped the velvet around. The tacky glue bounds almost instantly and holds well to both the fabric and the plastic. This is very much like wrapping gifts. Lay the panel face down on the material, bring the edges over and attach to the back, cutting away the extra material at the corners.









These will be used to line the bottom of the box and the tray. However they won't go in until after the parts have their final coats of finish applied.

Just a side note. Unless you are far and beyond better at this than I am, order a ring holder from Rockler. DO NOT try to make one.









What a mess that turned into and drove me to finally just cover both tray compartments....... 

On the following day, I drilled the pilot holes for the hinges in both the box and the lid. I have a special chuck that holds very small drills safely in my drill press, but for this I just chucked it in my hand drill
and made 4 pilot holes about 3/8" deep for the #2 x 1/2" screws that come with this particular hinge set.









I always drill shorter than the screw to allow solid wood for the screw to "bite" into when it hits bottom.

With the holes drilled, I set up for stain. First I tape off the box so that only the splines will be stained and not the box.









Then I used a Red Oak stain on the splines, the tray, the finger lift area, and the lid as those are the pieces that are made from Red Oak to start with and the stain makes them take on a very pleasing deep red color.









Once that had dried, I stained the main box using a Natural stain. This adds no color, but it really brings out the grain and adds a deeper tone to the wood (Poplar needs all the help it can get). The modeler's brushes in the back ground were used to apply stain to the splines to aid in putting stain where it was needed and not all over everywhere!

BTW, you can also see my home made "Painters Points" in this photo. They are nothing more than a few pieces of 1x4 with 2 #4 finishing nails driven through them. They ain't pretty, but they work just fine.:thumbsup:

Time to end for the day as the stain needs time to become really dry before putting the final finish on the piece. Did I mention that I did not wipe any stain off? I left it on the wood at full strength in order to get a really dark red appearance.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Looking great buddy, looking great!!!!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

*This is the end...*

As the title says, we have reached the last post in this "Alternative Method" build.

With the stain completely dried, I attached the lid to the box.









I do this by first putting the hinges into the box, loosely and then into the lid. I stand the box on its back on top of a board that is the same height as the lid is thick. This brings the edge of the box in line with the surface of the lid and keeps the hinges at the same level. Then I simply line up the mortises on the lid with the hinges and screw it down. Finally I tighten the hinges on the box. I find this to be much easier than trying to hold the hinge and the lid and the box in line while driving those pesky little screws.









I set up to apply the final finish.









I choose to use clear satin lacquer from a rattle can. Notice the respirator mask... This stuff looks beautiful and goes on very easy, but its the very last thing you ever want to breathe! So use a mask whenever spraying. In fact, you should use a mask whenever you spray on any finish.

I applied 4 coats, waiting 30 minutes between each coat. Then I hand sanded the entire piece with 320 grit paper. Finally I applied another 4 coats of lacquer and left it to dry in the Florida sun. The direct rays of the afternoon sun actually bake the finish on and it becomes extremely hard and smooth.

Once the finish had dried thoroughly, I added felt pads to all of the feet,









and smaller pads at the corners of the lid.









These can be gotten at any Walmart in a package the has several pads of different sizes. I like them because they prevent the piece from scratching any surface that its placed on and the ones on the lid stop that sharp sound of wood hitting wood if the lid is allowed to drop down instead of being set down easily.

Here are the photos that you have all been waiting to see...

The finished box...









The box and tray..








(can anyone see where I made the repair?)










One thing I forgot to tell you before. The lid really needed a holder to keep it from falling all the way back when opened. So I simply made a piece that spans the back of the box from the middle of the left hinge to the middle of the right hinge and attached it using two #4 screws 5/8" long.









Now the lid can open and be left in place while the owner removes the tray to get to the lower compartment.

All that remains is to give it a good wax job.









Not too shabby for a guy who has to use a cane just to walk around...

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed making it. :thumbsup:

As Elmer Fudd was known to say.... _*That's all folks!*_


Now its on to the next project.....









Cleaning up the shed! :thumbdown:


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## Chris86 (Aug 27, 2011)

I like your technique of staining the splines for contrast:thumbsup:

I had thought about trying that myself, since I don't have any walnut handy, but I didn't think it would work so well... looks like it turned out very well for you:yes:


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

This project turned out fantastic Johnnie. I really like the tray and the repair job looks fantastic. I'm going to have to have a look around because somewhere, I have an instructional on how to make a ring holder using old garden hose and material like you used in the box tray. I'll have to look for that article for you. With or without a ring holder, this was a total success and the fact that you came up with your own dimensions for the project makes it that much better. Thanks for taking the time to document everything. A job well done good sir.
Ken


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Really beautiful Johnnie. Well done. So cool to see you improving this like Miles Davis. :cool2:

As far as I'm concerned the alternate methods challenge has already paid off big time for all of us!


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

That red oak just shouts at you...I love it....great job there Johnny


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## Longknife (Oct 25, 2010)

That looks fantastic. Great job :thumbsup:. I must say I admire the way you handle all the struggles (rainstorms, wifes messing with your stuff....). The tray adds a lot to the box, too.
I'm concerned about the ring holder too. The project I'm on (Jewelry Chest) calls for one and I have not figured out how to make it.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Apparently I missed part of this challenge, so here is the list of tools used.

Table saw
Radial arm saw
Band saw
1/4" drive router
Router table
3/4 straight bit (for router)
1/4 straight bit (for router)
1/4 Champher bit (for router)
Battery powered drill
3/32 drill bit
Philips screw driver
Counter sink bit (for drill)
1/4 sheet sander
Mouse sander
Disk sander
Tape measure
Square
Foam paint "brush"
Respirator
Spray can trigger
clamps of various types and sizes


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

You didn't miss this part of the challenge Johnnie. It was suggested to me by Woodnthings that it might be a good idea. I agreed with him and decided to post the tools used. Thanks for being a sport and posting the tools that you used. Awesome stuff.


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

Johnnie, that turned out very well. Glad the weather is cooperating.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Thanks for the fine effort Johnnie, and I agree the tools list is a nice "extra" to the original challenge. Thanks for including it as well.


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