Day 5 of the knife box project - PICs*

[Dennis Peacock]

Well....It's been a LONG and frustrating but yet exciting day. :confused:

Progress has been made and I will have things well under way by tomorrow afternoon. Here is how it went today:

1. Since I did NOT want the wood nor the router template to move at ALL during the cut, I decided to cut a hole in a piece of plywood to capture the ebony board and still leave me room to screw the template down over the top of the ebony board. 1-1/2 hours to get "just the right fit".

2. Here, the template has been screwed down over the area where I want the knife profile for the bottom half of the box. Yes...that is masking tape in the recess of the cutting area. This ebony is so brittle that I felt safer taping over where the router will be cutting to better prevent chip-out. The first cut was made at about 1/64" deep and just enough to score the top of the board before I started a more serious cut (depth wise).

3. Here I am making the first cut and yes...I was nervous!!! :eek: I went to the bathroom 3 times and sweat was pouring off my face like I just got out of the shower! :eek: The shop was a nice 73 degrees and I had fans running to move air in an attempt to keep me cool enough so sweat wouldn't drop on the ebony board.

4. I proceeded in increments of about 1/16" until I reached the specified depth of 0.42". I got it to within 0.050" and I called that close enough. ;)

5. I used a 3/4" router guide bushing and a 3/8" straight bit for the cut. Pretty simple once you have the template made (which has to be extremely close to perfect I might add!) as you just start with shallow cuts and gently hold the router guide bushing against the template and then clean out the middle before readjusting and cutting a little deeper. The important thing here is to make SURE you vacuum out the inside of the fresh cut areas and around the template interior. The least bit of build up of dust and chips will prevent a smooth cut to the shape you worked so hard to achieve.

Continued.....

[Dennis Peacock]

6. Here is the results of the knife profiles cut in this ebony. This is all the router work on this board. The rest will be all work my hand. :eek: I did learn that it is "difficult" to take pictures of something as dark as this ebony.!!

7. Well....I cheated a little here. I needed to cut the profile of the knife blade in the top half of the box. I drew the line and used my Dremel and a very small router bit (dremel router bit) to "slowly" work my way down to the correct depth. Works really good as long as you are NOT in a hurry. :rolleyes:

8. Here is a closeup of the dremel being used as a tiny router. Since I got the dremel...I don't know how I did some of the things I do now BEFORE I got the dremel. ;)

9. I worked on the hinges today and was successful after about 7 hours of work to make both sets of hinges. Lesson learned? Do NOT use a router and Incra setup for making these hinges. The next pic will show you why you need to use the BANDSAW to make the cut outs.

10. Finally....Two sets of completed wooden hinges. Tomorrow, well today now....these will get inset into the box bottom and box top and sanded flush with the box.

11. Here you see where I blew up a few hinges!!! :eek: :o This was a result of trying the Incra way of making the hinges. Here is what I learned from this experience: Yes, Use the router with a 3/8" Bullnose bit to make the profile on each side of the material. Remember that your stock MUST be EXACTLY 3/8" thick or you will have P R O B L E M S !!! DAMHIKT!!!!! :rolleyes: To make the cuts for the "fingers" of the hinges, use the BS to make the cuts. I will do a seperate post "later on" if anyone is interested in how to make wooden hinges with minimal use of a router and good use of a BS. Just let me know.

WHEW!!!!! What a day today has been....and I only have 1.5 Days left to have it all done and ready for delivery!!!!!!! :eek:

[Dennis Peacock]

Here is the last pic that goes with #11 stated in the previous post.

Thanks for looking and THANK YOU ALL for your encouragement, thoughts and prayers for me during this whole project!!!!! :D

[Dick Parr]

It's looking great Dennis. Take it slow, your almost there. ;)

I for one would be interested in a hows to on making the hinges when you get time.

Again, it's looking good. Now get some sleep. :D

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks Dick....I appreciate your kindness and encouragement. Sleep? What's that? :p

[Kurt Aebi]

Looking REAL good Dennis.

I also would love you to do a tutorial on hinge making. I can see where it would really add some character to certain projects and I am sure that a bunch of us "Creekers" (or "Krickers" where I am from) would like to learn as well.

Looks like you are going to meet the deadline with one Heck of a Nice Box!

[Kent Cori]

Wow, Dennis, the knife box is going to look great when finished! :)

I have one question though, do you use the French's mustard as a cutting lubricant for the router bit? :D

[Roger Fitzsimonds]

great looking job Dennis. I too would be interested in a wooden hinge tutorial when you get around to it.

Good Luck
Roger

[James Giordano]

Looks like its coming along dennis. I was getting worried as the time is running short and we haven't heard from you. But I guess you've been pretty busy, huh.:)

I can't wait to see it finished:D

[Scott Coffelt]

Looks great Dennis, the end is near.

[John Miliunas]

Quite frankly, Dennis, if you're expecting my reaction to this latest project of yours to be overwhelming, well forget it! Dude, right from the start, I had all the confidence in the world that you'd knock this thing out! :D As we've come to expect, you're doing a magnificent job and I'm sure the owner will be proud to exhibit his artwork from within YOUR artwork! :) Keep it up! We're all pullin' for 'ya! :cool:

[Tom Sweeney]

In the little knife box project. Whew! It's going great Dennis - Just to warn you though - I'm gonna say I told you so when you're done :p :D

The hinges look very cool - well not the one picture :rolleyes: but the good ones look very cool!

I bet you're relieved that the routing of the profile went so well. Keep up the good work - It's gonna be great!

[John Olson]

I have been waiting for days to see those hinges. Now I can finish mine. I might have to hand cut the spacing because I do not have a band saw. I am going to use these hinges on some of my boxes. Thanks for showing. I also have to find some brass rods some where.

[David Rose]

John, get some brasing rod at a welding shop. Ace Hardware here carries a few sizes of brass rod too. Or if you don't want metal to show, just use a small dowel.

Those hinges are interesting. After Dennis does the tutorial, I may give some a shot.

David


I have been waiting for days to see those hinges. Now I can finish mine. I might have to hand cut the spacing because I do not have a band saw. I am going to use these hinges on some of my boxes. Thanks for showing. I also have to find some brass rods some where.

[Sparky Paessler]

Great work Dennis.
Those hinges are going to really make the project. It really can be nerve racking when you have limited materials and can't mess up too much. Love that ebony wood. Never have used it but have heard it can be a pain to work with. I'd like to try some pens out of it. Keep up the great work.

[Dan Mages]

That is lookin sharp. I cant wait to see the whole thing done.

Dan