# My wifes recipe box (and box in a box entry) build



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Well, my wifes birthday is coming up at the end of April, and I was thinking of making her a recipe box. She asked for one awhile ago, and since Baleigh is doing their contest, I thought I might make it, and enter it into the contest. It turns out that my design has evolved over the last few weeks. I keep thinking of ways to "up" my game, and complicate it even more.

I started by milling down my stock, and then cutting the pieces to length, and then mitering all the corners. It was at this point that I got sick of what I had to do to cut bevels on my TS, so I was distracted/inspired to alter my TS. My initial thought was to use splines, or DT splines to reinforce the corners. 







I then glued up the box, trying to keep the orientation of the boards in line, to create the illusion of the box coming out of one solid chunk. I forgot to tape the inside corners of the box for glue squeeze out, and hope that doesn’t haunt me later on.







Notice the grain, how it flows around the corners.















I then thought that since this was a “competition,” I might want to up my game, and try my hand at inlays. I remember seeing on here how Bill Wyko had shown us how to make some inlays, so I found that and went and purchased the materials. I don’t have a drum sander, so I can't mill my pieces to the specified thicknesses. Here are all the 11 layers that get glued together:


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Unfortunately, Woodcraft DIDN’T have the walnut or maple at 1/32”, so I ended up getting veneer that was around 20/1000ths, so I just doubled up those for the thin strips. Close enough. Here they are getting laminated together.














And this is what it looks like when it has dried enough for it to be edge planed. I AM REALLY DIGGING HAND PLANING!







That is it for now… I start to really work on the inlay next. I hope this works out.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Looks like you're off to a great start! I'd say you succeeded in making it look like it was made out of one chunk of wood. I admire your courage to try your hand at inlays (something I've always wanted to do myself) and I will be watching this one closely. Lookin good!


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## dbales (Jun 21, 2011)

This is gonna be good, I'm following. Is that a custom made clamp holding your four sides together? Or does someone sell it?


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

dbales said:


> This is gonna be good, I'm following. Is that a custom made clamp holding your four sides together? Or does someone sell it?


Kenbo turned me on to those clamps in his "how to make a frame" thread. You can order them here. They are perfect for clamping 4 sides pieces together. Only thing is that you can't get in there to clean any glue squeeze out till you get the clamps off, but that has never been an issue for me. The only issue I have had with them also, is that the "speed nuts" sometimes don't hold, so I just thread on a regular nut. (as you can see on the bottom set of clamps in that picture)


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## Alchymist (Jan 2, 2011)

dbales said:


> This is gonna be good, I'm following. Is that a custom made clamp holding your four sides together? Or does someone sell it?


Had a set of these made 40 years ago. While the nuts don't "quick release", they work fine. Have a number of 1/4" threaded rods of different length for various size clamp ups. And if a longer/shorter clamp is needed, just grab another threaded rod and cut to length.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Just when I thought I was stepping up my game you go and make your own inlays. Now I have to kick it up yet another notch. And this early on!

Looking good, man. Looking good. :thumbsup:


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## TomC (Oct 27, 2008)

dbales said:


> This is gonna be good, I'm following. Is that a custom made clamp holding your four sides together? Or does someone sell it?


Rockler sell them also. I really like the quick release nuts.
Tom


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

TomC said:


> I really like the quick release nuts.


 


















..... oh, never mind.... :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks for all your kind words, and “encouragement.” I really like to think that it is THIS FORUM that has really raised my level of skill, because all of you inspire me to challenge myself more and more. A HUGE THANK YOU to Bill Wyko for posting how to make the inlay. I would have never known how to do this without his help.

Well, Yesterday afternoon seemed to be more about problem solving than anything else. I jointed one edge of the lamination, and then ripped it down to roughly ¾” strips.







I then had to set my miter gauge to 30 degrees, or 60 depending how you look at it. I DON’T trust any of my current miter gauges when It come so cuts like this, so I used my digital Angle gauge. I made sure to have the one side of the angle gauge against teeth (that were angled/cutting in the same direction), so as to have an accurate set up. I tried to raise the blade high enough to just go against the actual blade, but my angle gauge has 8” legs… too long.







So I proceeded to cut all these piece out of one strip. All in all, I needed 26 for what I’m doing. I cut more to be safe. 







I then started to sand each piece and was really disappointed in the result. The inside corner had ALOT of tear-out, and when I put the triangles together, I didn’t like what I saw. It dawned on me that I was still using my 40 tooth blade, and that might be the problem. So off to the BORG I went, and picked up an 80 tooth blade. I then set up a stop block on my miter gauge as well, to try to possible prevent the tear-out. Here is how that was set up.







That setup, with the better blade made a huge improvement. Here is a sample of the two pieces. The one on the right is obviously with the first set up, and the one on the left is the second, and the way to go. Most of the triangles I previously cut with all that tear-out, will end up as designer firewood.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Now its time to start make the geometric design, and gluing these puppies together. I thought about the clamping process, and had to come up with a way to put pressure along the length of the inlay, while maintaining the straight line that it had to be in. I wanted to sandwich the inlay between to jointed pieces of plywood to keep them straight. I also needed to push the all the pieces laterally to hold them compressed while the glue dried. I came up with this “clamp”.







So I went to clamp it up, and found that I forgot about another direction, the top and bottom. So I sandwiched the inlay once again with some scrap plywood. Here is a pic of it all clamped up. You can barely see the inlay inside there. I’m sure there is a better way to do this, but it is what I came up with. I am always up for suggestions.








And this is the end result.








I have 7 more of these to clamp up, so that is the first thing on the agenda today. That is all I did yesterday afternoon. My 14 year old daughter had 7 girlfriends over for a sleepover birthday party, so I was tending to that most of the evening. Nice thing was, I finally was able to sit around a campfire, tending to it, while the girls played “ghost in the graveyard” and “capture the flag.” First time this year, and I finally got to burn up some of my scrap pile.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Hmmm, I like what you're doing here. I can't wait to see what comes of the pattern. It's looking cool so far.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

+1 what Steve said. I really like the inlay strips. One day I'm going to try to make some for a project. :thumbsup:


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Man, that's looking great! I've been wanting to try Bill Wyko's technique on this too. Glad to see you take that on! Somebody has been getting his three square meals of shop time lately. :laughing:


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## buggyman1 (Nov 16, 2011)

Dang, i'm glad i didn't enter the contest, that is so cool looking. I can't wait to see more progress. Great job!!!


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

buggyman1 said:


> Dang, i'm glad i didn't enter the contest, that is so cool looking. I can't wait to see more progress. Great job!!!


A lot of us are glad you haven't entered. At least now we stand a chance :thumbsup:

That said, you really should enter.


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## srestrepo (Sep 28, 2012)

really nice stuff you got here. i'm following this for the end product!


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## buggyman1 (Nov 16, 2011)

Chaincarver Steve said:


> A lot of us are glad you haven't entered. At least now we stand a chance :thumbsup:
> 
> That said, you really should enter.


 Thanks. You guys would blow me away.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

buggyman1 said:


> Thanks. You guys would blow me away.


Heck man, just be like me and do it for the fun of making something. I have no visions of winning anything, just having some fun time in the shop... :laughing:


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## buggyman1 (Nov 16, 2011)

johnnie52 said:


> Heck man, just be like me and do it for the fun of making something. I have no visions of winning anything, just having some fun time in the shop... :laughing:


 No time, my poor humvee has been sitting idle for over a week now. I'm having a blast watching everyone else.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks for all the kind comments. I'm blown away by them, honestly. I know I don't have a chance to win, but I thought I would try anyway.

Truth be told, I am running into a few problems regarding the inlay, but I am pressing on. I can honestly say that your kind words of encouragement have helped me to NOT tthrow it in the burn pile. I have taken a bunch of pics to show said problems, but I am hoping to come up with some solutions in the meantime.

Like Johnnie said, I am having alot of fun just trying to challenge myself, and up my game a little. 

Alright, I have to get back to the shop and glue up some more inlays. I hope to be able to get a post later with more pics.


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

solving the problems adds to the accomplishment... looks dang nice to me, I look forward to updates


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

So the last few days have been quite frustrating for me. Since I made that clamping jig, and only had one, I was trying to manage my time to try to clamp up those as quickly as I could. Well, I learned very quickly that I need to take my time when trying to something as delicate and intricate as these inlays.

Here are some examples of what could happen when you try to hurry, AND are clamping blind.

This one, shows how the triangles on the top piece got wedged together a little too much, thereby throwing off the alignment.










Then there is this one, where I guess I would throw in an extra triangle for good measure.  I guess now I know why my clamp didn't fit right, and I had to scramble to fix it.










Well the following two pics are what the inlays are supposed to look like, but sanded and glued together. I still don't like the alignment on the one, so I am trying to figure out how to do it correctly. 

















Gotta love these learning pains. There are times I was thinking of just throwing it all in the burn pile, and saying  it.

One thing I am doing different, is the way I clamp it. This is what I'm doing now.









Well, I burned thru all my laminations, so now I am going to try to take a crack at milling some 1/8" stock of my own. I have the easy part done, in resawing the material down to 3/16", with one face jointed. Now I am going to attempt to make a planer sled. If it works out, then it will be a whole lot better than paying those inflated prices at the stores.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Stick with it grgyle... we believe in you!!!

Keep us posted on the planer sled and how you go about making it. That is something I've been meaning to build for a while now and making my own inlays is the perfect reason to finally do it.

Obviously you already have a large following for this thread, which wouldn't be the case if we didn't think you could work your way through these issues!


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Man, I really like the pattern you formed. It looks awesome. Keep at it and take your time. You'll get the alignment straightened out.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Those patterns look great to me. :thumbsup: And don't feel bad when you have to work through a problem to figure out the best way to do something. I spent the entire day trying to work out how I needed to make something on my project and never touched a piece of wood! All I've got to show for a days work is a drawing, at least you have some wood for us to drool over. :laughing:


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Thank you to all you guys for your words of encouragement.



captainawesome said:


> Stick with it grgyle... we believe in you!!!
> 
> Keep us posted on the planer sled and how you go about making it. That is something I've been meaning to build for a while now and making my own inlays is the perfect reason to finally do it.


I will definitely keep you posted as to what I end up doing with the sled.



Chaincarver Steve said:


> Man, I really like the pattern you formed. It looks awesome. Keep at it and take your time. You'll get the alignment straightened out.


 I think I have to just accept the fact that this may not get done in time for the contest, and if so, cest la vie. I was originally planning on building this as a gift for my wife for her birthday, and If Dominick can give a late valentines day gift, then my wife can get a late birthday gift, right?:blink: :thumbdown: My schedule for the rest of the month is real hectic, so I just have to take on the attitude of, "it will get done when it gets done."

Steve, you hit the nail right on the head, for me to TAKE MY TIME. I thought I had learned the meaning of patience as my woodworking was progressing, but now I guess, I need to relearn that lesson.

As far as the pattern goes, I can't take any credit for that. Bill Wyko should us how to make these inlays, and I am trying to follow his example. I really love the way they turned out on his humidors, so it was always in my plans to attempt them. It is at this point I am learning my limitations as a woodworker, as well as the limitations of my shop.

I have a broken down Grizzly drum sander in storage, and I am really thinking of getting it out and fixing it. I got it for the right price (free), so maybe I will resurrect that beast soon. I know I really wish I had it up and running now.



johnnie52 said:


> ...... at least you have some wood for us to drool over. :laughing:


Do I have to say it? Now your making this too easy.... :laughing: :laughing:


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Well, I did a search on this Fine forum of ours, and came across this thread. The OP needed to do what I do, so I followed the advise that was given in that thread.

It turns out a sled could just be a piece of wood that your thin stock is "attached" to. So I found a scrap piece of melamine, and ripped to width (my planer is 12 1/2", so I ripped it to 12 1/4").









Then I attached the pieces that I resawed to the sled. In the previously mentioned thread, it was suggested to put the pieces slightly skewed, so that you can minimize tearout. Made sense to me, so I did. They also talked about not using too much doublesided tape, so I didn't. I also made sure to mark which side I jointed (before I resawed it), for future reference.

















Since I had these attached to the "sled", I thought this would be a perfect time to knock off the remaining ridge that was left from the resawing process. Quick work with a block plane, and we are ready for the planer.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Well, now its time for the planer. Here is a pic for reference before, with a ripped piece of the inlay. You can see how much thicker my resawed piece is.









And the pic below is after the final pass. I took off about 1/64 at a time... didn't want any more tearout than necessary.









Now its back to glueing up the laminations.


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## Wema826 (Jul 22, 2012)

Fine work Fabian! I really like the bandings, I cant wait to see how it comes out!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

If you get a chance, I'd really like to see who that planer sled works. The results seem to be really great though.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

johnnie52 said:


> If you get a chance, I'd really like to see who that planer sled works. The results seem to be really great though.


As I showed in the pics, all I did was attach the pieces I wanted to plane down to the piece of melamine. The melamine is the "sled." After I attached the pieces with doublesided tape, I would just send the whole thing thru the planer, taking off a little bit at a time. for me, I found taking off 1/64" (or half a turn on the crank on my dewalt 733 planer) worked real good. I sent it thru 4 times to get it from 3/16" to 1/8".

I thought about making some sort of back stop, and letting the pieces just sit on there, but as pointed out in thread I referenced to, the DC might have sucked the pieces up.

In the past, I tried to have a board be attached to the planer beds/tables, and then send the pieces thru, but that ended up just shattering the pieces. I think it is essential to attach the pieces to something, to keep them from shattering.


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

I also understand the difficulties with Bill Wyko's inlay as I had started one earlier, sure made me appreciate how much precision is needed ... Bill just makes it look easy. How bad is your sander , I am surprised at how well your sled works


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

GROOVY said:


> I also understand the difficulties with Bill Wyko's inlay as I had started one earlier, sure made me appreciate how much precision is needed ... Bill just makes it look easy. How bad is your sander , I am surprised at how well your sled works


I hear you there about the precision. I am also having an issue with the inlays being bowed a tad bit. I think my miter gauge was off a little. I am also attempting to fix this with my next batch.... I will probably post some pics about it as well.

As far as the sled goes, I think I was lucky with picking the right way to run the wood thru, regarding grain direction, and I also think the only taking off 1/64" at a time had a lot to do with it. I know the knives on my planer need a sharpening desparately. 

As far as my sander goes, I think the infeed motor needs to be replaced. It is an older Grizzly, so hopefully I can get the part. It also runs on 220, which I don't have in my garage yet, but am set up to get it going. Just have to take a weekend to pull the service and liven up the panel.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Well, Today I was able to get out in the shop bright and early and started to work on those pesky inlays once again. The more I was looking at them, the more frustrated I got. I attempted to glue two halves together, and that worked out quite well, until I saw this:















They were bowed…. My heart just sunk….:confused1::surrender:. I had a feeling that it had something to do with the angle I cut on the triangles, and my clamping process. I reexamined everything, and I think I came up with the solutions needed. 

First of all, when digging thru some of my TS stuff, I found an INCRA miter gauge that I had received for Christmas a few years ago. I figured I might as well give it a shot. I set it to 60 degrees, and then put my digital angle finder on it. When I attached the angle finder to the teeth of the blade (like I did with the stock TS miter gauge), it measure 60.1 degrees. When I did it to the actual body of the sawblade, it was 60 degrees exact. I think this may be the reason why my pieces were bowed.

I also reassessed my clamping situation. I needed to clamp in all three directions, and needed a perfectly square reference to clamp it to. I tried this out below, and am really happy with the results. I also can clamp more that 1 inlay at a time, an added bonus.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Well, while the glue dries on those stinking inlays, I figured I would work on the recipe box. I wanted to cut some splines in to reinforce the miters, so I went about doing that.
















Then, I milled some stock down to 3/32” (with my TS, and then planer sled). I cut and fit all the splines, and then glued them in.









Well, tomorrow, I hope to finish the inlays, and get them installed. That is a tall order, so we will see what I can get done.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Looking great, Fabian. Man, when I read the words "My heart just sunk….:confused1::surrender:. " I was almost right there with you. I can empathize with your struggle. But it sounds like you've got a handle on the situation. So I'll keep hoping and pulling for you to have the results you wanted. I'm glad to see that you are sticking with it. Even though I know it must be frustrating and, certainly, disheartening.

Keep at it. I know you'll be glad you did. The rest of the project is looking excellent. :thumbsup:


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

*Today was a better day, that is for sure!*

Unfortunately, I didn’t get as much shop time as I had hoped. I had to go over to a friends to help him decide what he wants to do with some improvements on his first home. The good thing is that I will be making some side money to help pay for this habit of mine.

Today was a better day, mostly because all I really did was cut and sand some wood. Not much precision needed, but still fun none the less. I first started off glueing up some of the inlays. Then, I proceeded to cut the splines flush, and then sand them down. 

Next, onto yet ANOTHER first for me, and that was to cut coves into the sides of the recipe box. I originally had planned to do this with maple DT splines in the corners, but decided to do the inlays instead. I happened upon this site from Mathias Wendal, and punched in the appropriate measurements of my TS, as well as the maximum measurements for my cove cut. I printed out the chart below for this project, and future reference as well.









From this chart, I learned that I needed my auxillary fence set to 37.9 degrees from my main fence. I then made up the aux fence with a hunk of cherry that I had prepared awhile back (jointed 2 edges to be square and straight). Then I measure out exactly where I wanted the cove to be located on the recipe box, and set the fence accordingly. I was impressed how accurate M. Wendal’s cove calculator was… It was dead on. The set up is below.









I then loaded up a melamine blade in my TS (80 tooth with relative flat top teeth). I wasn’t sure if it was the right blade for the job, but decided that the flat cut might make for a smoother end product. I proceeded to make the appropriate passes, only cranking my blade height crank a half turn at a time, and cut my first cove cuts. Wow! It was quite easy, and I really like the cut that it made.

Here is a pic of the box as it stands now…









I still have to cut the cove deeper, but my intention is to install/wrap the inlay in the middle of the cove. I can then finish the cove cut… I am hoping/praying that I won’t have too much tear out from the process. So my next step is to route the dado that will receive the inlays, install the inlays, and then finish the cove cut.

One last side note… When I was at Menards today to help my buddy make some decisions, I exchanged a tape measure that my son had mangled/destroyed. When I presented him with a BRAND NEW tape measure, all his own, he was OVERJOYED. I actually took the pic below about 30 minutes after I gave it to him, and he was still swelled up with pride. Thought I would share it. Definitely a proud papa moment!


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Wow, and you guys say that I have patience. This is an awesome project. I love the inlays. I've never tried anything like these before and I am definitely going to have to put it on my bucket list. Great work Fabian. I'm looking forward to seeing the next steps on this one.


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

That's going to be cool I bet


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Another update and another twist! I admire your courage to try all of these new methods and I wanted you to know that you are truly an inspiration to guys like me. Keep up the good work!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Its looking real good man. I may get to do some assembly tomorrow if it doesn't rain on the parade. :boat:


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

*It is getting hard to find time to work on this....*

Well, as I was waiting for the last of the inlays to glue up, I started to contemplate what I was going to do for the top. I milled my material and edge-glued the boards together. 










Then, the following day, I had a few minutes to start finish milling the inlays to get them all the same dimensions. I also was able to joint one edge, and then rip them to width. Here are a few pics of them ready to be "inlayed."


















Now that I know their exact dimensions, I am able to route out the groove that they will sit in. 

Here are pics of the setup.


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

This is going to be epic


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

My plan was to route one side of the groove, with my 3/8" spiral cut bit, then flip the box end for end, and route the other side of the groove (so as to center the inlay on the box). Repeat for all 4 sides. 

Here is a pic of after making the first groove all the way around.











My plan was to sneak up on the width of the groove to fit the inlay in, so I will be making multiple passes.

Here is a pic of the groove routed out ready to receive the inlay









And the pic below is a teaser with one of the inlays in place... It isn't fully seated. I plan to fine tune the fit with sandpaper. It will eventually be flush with the bottom of the cove. I didn't want to force it in, because I didn't want to break the fragile inlay.









I am hoping to get into the garage and get the inlays fitted, mitered, and glued in tomorrow. Stay tuned......


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Sorry I am unable to completely catch up right now, Fabian. I just wanted to say that the inlays look INCREDIBLE! And, WOW, I love the shape of the box! You are doing a really fantastic job. My competition keeps getting more and more difficult to compare to. I'd better in gear, and immediately!

Awesome. Just awesome.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Coming along very nicely. I had something much like what you are doing in mind for my own build, but I guess I'll have to hold off on that idea for the next project.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

I hear you there, Johnnie... When Groovy posted that he was doing the cove sides with the DT's, I kind of thought the same thing. My original idea was to do DT splines, and then covecut thru them, but when I changed midstream and decided to attempt the inlay, I nixed the DT splines.

Anyway, I better get out to the garage.... LOTS to do, and not enough time to do it.


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## Baileigh Inc (Nov 1, 2012)

right on


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## bigben (Jul 21, 2012)

Amazing work, really nice contrast in the different woods, looks sharp! Great proportions as well. 

Can't wait to see it with some finish on it.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Well, on Thursday night, I was able to get into the shop for an hour or so, and continued working on the box.

My next step was to cut the inlays to fit into the grooves. this was a painstaking process, because I wanted the miters to be tight, but I couldn't over cut them.... That would be a disaster! Here is a pic of them cut and ready to be installed:









Next, I got out "Kenbos & Johnie52's favorite canadian clamps" and glued them in place. :icon_smile: :yes:









At this point, I started to concentrate on what I wanted to do with the top for the box. I had some left over inlay, so I figured I would somehow incorporate it in. I then proceded to work on a handle, using it. I cut the miters, glued them up, and then glued the halves together. This is what I have when that was finished.









Before I walked out of the shop for the night, I had to take the clamps off of the inlays, and see what all my work was leading up to.... Here you go:









That was all I got accomplished for the night. It was at this point that I was going to accept that I wasn't going to be able to finish in time, especially for my wifes birthday, which was on Friday. I brought the unfinished box inside to her, and presented it to her, telling her everything I had hope to accomplish. She was flabbergasted to say the least. It brought tears to her eyes... This weekend we have alot going on. My wife and I are getting away for the weekend, to celebrate her birthday, as well as our 17th wedding anniversary. I will not be in my shop at all, and I have so much to do still.

But then......

I woke up Friday morning with a renewed vigor. I was able to get 3.5 hours in the shop, and I thought that if I can get everything that I need glued up done today, I still have a small chance to possibly get this done in time.

I concentrated my efforts on the lid. I went to therouter table and hogged out the material to inlay the handle.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

I then went to the bench, and used handtools to fine tune the slot. 

















Next, I used my high tech curve scribing jig to mark out the curves I wanted on the handle, and then off to the bandsaw to rough cut it. I smoothed up the edges with my oscillating spindle sander. (forgot to get a pic of that)


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Then I wanted to route a chamfer on the handle where it would protrude above the lid, so I used a trick that learned from Kenbo..... I used screw clamps to keep my hands far from that router bit.










The lid was cut to size, and then the edges were rounded over. I had to do this before glueing in the inlay. It would have been very difficult to do afterwards.










One last test fit.... I couldn't get the handle out! A pair of vice grips too care of that. 










FINALLY! I was able to get it glued in. 









WHEW!!!!!! Now onto packing for the trip.

My wife and I were heading to Green Bay to visit a college buddy, and since Baileigh's National headquarters was on the way, I thought I might stop by and meet Aaron and Shane. It was nice to meet them in person, as well as check out some of the equipment. The woodworking machines look really solid, well thought out, and very impressive to say the least. Aaron and Shane very nice to chat with. They were excited about the contests that they had going on, and were blown away as some of the stuff that everyone was doing, here, and on other forums.

It was also brought to my attention, that they weren't aware of my build... I guess I forgot to mention their name in my thread, so I pointed it out to them, but just in case......

*THIS BUILD THREAD IS DOCUMENTING MY ENTRY INTO THE BAILEIGH INDUSTRIES "ANYTHING THAT FITS IN AN 18" CUBE CONTEST" *If I get it done in time......

I am really hoping to get home in time to get some quality time on Sunday afternoon.


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## bigben (Jul 21, 2012)

thegrgyle said:


> I thought I might stop by and meet Aaron and Shane.


Nice! I also find it's best to deliver bribes by hand, adds that personal touch. :laughing:

Seriously though, good idea to stop and say hello. Pretty neat that a big company like Baileigh is not only supporting the forum but that there's a personal touch to go along with it.

Box is looking amazing, some great competitive entries for this contest!


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

Sure it was "on the way" ☻


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Looking great Fabian. My wife and I celebrate our 17th anniversary tomorrow! Congrats and enjoy your time together. :thumbsup:


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Wow, the work with the inlay stock is looking incredible. I'm loving your handle idea! Have a safe trip.


... and stop buttering up the judges! :laughing:


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Great work! I really like that handle. Nicely done. :thumbsup:


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

*Man!... what a weekend!*

Well, LOML (and SWMBO) and I got home around 5pm tonight, to be surprised to a 4 course meal from my inlaws and 3 kids. After I opened up the house to air it out some, we ate dinner, and then celebrated my wifes birthday with the family. I was itching to get into the shop to get working on her recipe box...:furious:

So, finally at around 6:30, I got in there to get to work. It is done, except for sanding and finishing, and I tried to take pics as I went along, but was more worried about just getting it done. I am done for the night, as my full time job is calling at 6 am. Will try to post pics tomorrow, after I get the first coat of finish on it.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Here are a few pics of what transpired on Sunday night. 

I had to route the recess in the bottom, that was going to accept the inlay. I just figured I would keep this one simple… just put a “frame” in there.









Then I had to fine tune the groove, cut and miter all the pieces for the frame, then glue them in place. I set it aside to dry.

It was at this point that I didn’t think I needed to document the rest of the build, and to tell you the truth, I was so rushed for time, It did slip my mind. The first thing I did was chock up the 5/8” radius router bit (that I picked up from my RB guy on the way home), and rounded the corners of the box….. Then I replaced that bit with a ½” radius bit to do the top and bottom edges.

The last thing I did to the main box was to continue the cove cut thru the middle, to achieve the depth I had originally planned. I re-set up the TS to do this, and proceeded to get that done, trying to take extra special care so as not to limit any tear out. Surprisingly, there was a minimal amount. 


To finish off the night, I took the bottom I glued the inlay into, out of the clamps, and took a look at it. I noticed that when I clamped it, the glued had spread under the wax paper, and there was a fine layer of it, and possibly some wax stuck to it. I didn’t want to sand that off, for fear of spreading the wax, so I grabbed my scraper, which I NEVER use. Though it would do the trick, and it did (at least I hoped).









The last thing I did was to start prepping for the daunting task of sanding the box. I did some calculations to see what diameter of a pipe I might need (and try to snag from work the next day). It turned out that the 4” drainage pipe that I use for DC was almost an exact match. Good enough, from what I could tell.









Something that happened that I wasn’t anticipating was the way the corners turned out. In the pic above, you can see how the corner has sort of a “beak” on it, both on top and bottom. I pointed this out to my wife, and she said she really liked it. I was thinking, “Whew!” I wasn’t sure how to go about fixing that anyhow. 

Well, I did get it all sanded today. The job I was working at was getting the power changed over from temporary to permanent, and it shut the job down at around 10am. I came home, and spent 5 hours sanding this little project. All the curves made for a lot of fun. The chunk of DC pipe turned out to not be as helpful as I thought it would be.

Well, that is all the pics for now. The final pics will be of the finished project. I have one coat of wipe-on Poly drying now. I hope to get a couple more on it so it can be dry and ready for pics tomorrow afternoon. This is another first for me. I did want to try another finish, but due to time, I was forced to either use this. It was wipe on or spray, and because of the inside of the box, I was worried about runs with the spray.


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

Look at my post #39 I reduced the diameter of PVC and additionally a sheet the whole length and a backer under it I used a piece of one of those otherwise useless shamwow towels. Sanded straight-line and turned box 180 degrees.. good work out. Your corners look cool but I cant figure out why they came out like that.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

The BEAK, funny how things appear when cutting at different angles. Often they are GOOD features, we get enough BURNT BISCUITS, so good surprises are always WELCOME. 

Very nice performance, YOU just performed,

Dale in Indy


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

The "beak" happened when I rounded over the corners, and finished cutting the cove.... When I post the final pics, I think you will understand better. There isn't a square edge on this piece, except the bottom edge of the lid (where it meets the box).

Thanks guys...


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Last night, I was able to get 2 coats of wipe-on poly, and woke up this morning to put on one more before going to work.

Here are the pics as promised of the finished recipe box. I took some pics in my garage, and then thought I should try to take some of it outside… those didn’t turn out so well, so I then took more in my garage…. 

I think I need to make some sort of photo booth if I am going to be taking more pics of projects like this.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

*and more pics*


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## bigben (Jul 21, 2012)

Amazing! Finished product looks great, love those inlays. Very cool to put one inside, may not be seen much once the box is in use, but you know it's there.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

And now a pic with my wife finally getting her present.... only 4 days late.











And of course, my little helper had to get a pic with it before he went to bed.....











I really have to say Thank You to Baileigh for doing this contest. When I first heard/read about it, I thought I wouldn't have a chance of winning.... and I still don't think I have a chance of winning. What it did, though, is it really gave me the ambition to get out of my comfort zone, and really challenge myself at doing many things I have never attempted. For that, I am truly grateful. 

(whether you think that is sucking up or not, it is exactly how I feel about myself)

I hope you liked it, and thanks for watching.......


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

oops.... I forgot to take pics of the dimensions.... .it is roughly 8 inches deep, 10 inches wide, and 7 inches tall. Well inside the 18 x 18 x 18 that was the requirement for the contest.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Wow!!!! Fabian. I haven't really been posting comments on this build cause I've been waiting for the end and I do apologize for that. By no means was I not interested. You really did a sweet job on it and your pics with description was just as nice. 
Momma looks very happy. And so does your boy. 
Thanks for taking us on this ride. Thumbs up!!!!


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

Very good, in fact SUPER NICE. You and the family should be so happy, and PROUD of your work. 

Thank You for all your TALENT. 

Dale in Indy


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## Woodworkingkid (Jan 8, 2011)

That turned out amazing. I really like the cove sides and all the inlay work. after seeing this I really want to try my hand at doing an inlay on my next project.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Fabien,
That

turned 

out

AWESOME!! 

Holy cow man! You stepped up, took a shot and hit one out of the park! Good for you buddy. :thumbsup:

(Oh, and I happen to like the outdoor shots the best.)


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## Sorrowful Jones (Nov 28, 2010)

I haven't commented but I have been watching. That is a fabulous box, great thread. Thanks


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

What? I think your chances are more than good , The rounded corners and the inlay in the bottom put this one up there!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

You have a far better shot at winning than I do. I mean lets face it, who in their right mind is going to ship a brand new saw to some old fart who works outside anyway? :laughing: :boat:


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## buggyman1 (Nov 16, 2011)

WOW!!! Great job. I think you have an excellent chance of winning. That's one of the prettiest boxes i've ever seen bar none.


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## Longknife (Oct 25, 2010)

Wonderful and very unique box :thumbsup: Somehow I assumed it was smaller until I saw your wife holding it. Again, great job !


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Wow! Thanks for all the kinds words guys. I really means a lot to me coming from all of you. It really gives me a fuzzy feeling, let me tell you.



Woodworkingkid said:


> That turned out amazing. I really like the cove sides and all the inlay work. after seeing this I really want to try my hand at doing an inlay on my next project.


I say go for it, Kid.... If I can do an inlay, anyone can. Just keep in mind that it requires the utmost precision, :yes: or the ability to fake it really well. :huh: :laughing: The most important thing I could tell you, is to take your time.... Don't try to rush it.



Shop Dad said:


> Fabien,
> That
> 
> turned
> ...


I agree with you on the outside shots.... I wish I had used a different color towel though. The white kind of washed out the pics... I took probably a dozen or so, and the ones I posted were the only good ones. I was really trying to get some good pics of the corners, to show the "bookmatch" of the grain. That was a result of me taking the time to cut the miters out of one long board, and having the grain run consistently around the box. I wasn't sure how they would turn out with the cove cut and all, and I really liked the way it turned out.



Sorrowful Jones said:


> I haven't commented but I have been watching. That is a fabulous box, great thread. Thanks


I hear you there, and Dominick too. As of this post, there were over 2500 views, so a few have been watching it..... I'm flattered to say the least.:blush:



Longknife said:


> Wonderful and very unique box :thumbsup: Somehow I assumed it was smaller until I saw your wife holding it. Again, great job !


I had planned on making something a lot smaller, but my wife wanted to be able to use 5 x 8 index cards for all of her recipes. When we got married 17 years ago, she was such a good cook, she burned water on a regular basis. Now, though, she is the reason I am a big boy. She has accumulated quite a few delicious recipes, and now will have enough space to hold them all. I'm thinking of maybe making some sort of organizer for it.... time will tell.


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## Baileigh Inc (Nov 1, 2012)

Good job man, good luck :thumbsup:


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I am finally taking some time to catch up on everyone's entry. All I can say about yours is WOW! beautiful job man, a winner for sure. :thumbsup:


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

*Awesome box!*

Inlays came out great! :smile:


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I don't know what to say other than ............wow.


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## MapleMoose (Sep 25, 2012)

Spectacular!

I have been way behind on my WWT forum reading, so I got to this, only now. Fun, though, going through the entire build and thinking "Wow, that turned out cool!" And then, "Wow, that's even cooler!"


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

Well I have to admit that your insides are a lot better than mine, I need to spend more time on that detail on my next box...


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Alright, I'm caught up on this thread. Holy cow, Fabian, the box turned out amazing! Man, people really came up with some incredible stuff for this contest. I'm so glad that you persevered and got the inlays all figured out. The results are stunning.

You're done a top notch perform. Voting for a winner is good to be so difficult to do.

Looks like your wife loves her gift. :thumbup: Well done, Sir!


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Truly amazing work bro. Its inspiring me to start "pushing my envelope" and trying some new things as well with my next projects. It looks fantastic!


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## Crusader (Jan 14, 2013)

That is absolutely beautiful. Wonderful piece. Thank you so much for sharing your work.


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## Bill Wyko (Feb 25, 2011)

I see you've been paying attention to Jameel Abrahams too. Very nice box.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Wow... I am humbled by all the praise this project is getting. You guys really are the best! Thank you all for the kinds words and compliments!



Bill Wyko said:


> I see you've been paying attention to Jameel Abrahams too. Very nice box.


I just googled Jameel Abrahams, and I saw some of his work is similar to yours. I had never heard of him before you mentioned it. Very impressive though.

I'm so glad you saw this, Bill. I was laying in bed last night, talking to my wife about this, and she mentioned to me that I should post a link of my build on your inlay tutorial and to say thanks. 

I did want to thank you, again, for posting that tutorial. It helped me get started with the inlay process. In that tutorial, you hinted at how to make an "oud." I would be interested in seeing that.

Thanks again.


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## Ledhead (Aug 3, 2009)

Amazing work and very nicely executed.


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## Ted Tolstad (Feb 20, 2011)

Incredible job!!! Love the inlays and the time you took on your corners. Very impressive...


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## nightriderrv (Apr 25, 2013)

Very nice work !!!! wife is happy all is well


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## Hwood (Oct 21, 2011)

awesome work


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