Trying something...different

[steven c newman]

Always like to try something new out. Too mcuh of the same old, same old gets stale:rolleyes:

Sooo, I took a couple pieces of 1 x 4x 24" Poplar and cut one down to 12", the other into 6" lengths. Laid out some lines, like always...
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Set to the thickness of the boards. Marked out a few "fingers' on one face and the end grain. No plan was made for the other face....
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This time around, I was cutting...mitres..
Well...almost.
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Version #1.....Something will get changed here, though. I mis-cut the matching half:mad:
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Soo, back to the drawing board..and Pizza!

Came back down, and chopped a bit more, sawed a bit, chiseled a bit, then a test fit..
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It is supposed to look like a mitre joint, right? Even on the inside?
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Until you look at all them squiggles going on.....and then "open" this joint up.....
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Instead of dovetails and pins...I have fingers. BTW: First time I have ever tried this sort of thing....not too bad, for a rookie?
One done, three to go. Stay tuned....;)

[Bill McDermott]

The hidden finger pizza box miter joint!

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Steven

Nice work on the construction. However, the whole point of a dovetail joint is the mechanical advantage it has over the glue of a simple finger joint.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[steven c newman]

A fellow at another site wanted to know IF this sort of finger joint COULD be done. So, I decided to try one out. Maybe after the other three to build a box, I might get good at these things. Dovetailed? BTDT, ONCE......
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Did not find them very fun to do...

[Derek Cohen]

Yeah, I saw that .... Bandit :D

Regards from Perth

Derek

[george wilson]

Good job on the hidden joint. Even if it was not a dovetail, it greatly increased the surface area of the wood. That helped the strength of the joint a lot. But, when you are seriously making a joint, you know how to make hidden dovetails.

[steven c newman]

Well, first, I need to get better at these. Tried out the second ever of these joints...
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Need to find a better way to remove that area right in front of the fingers. It needs to match the slope of the edges. A couple sharp chisels were used this time around.....This is the long side of the box. I recycled the mis-cut end to fit into this corner. So..now I have 2 corners done, and two more to do....then the usual suspects come along and build the rest of the box...Not sure about splitting the lid off on this one...yet.
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Second corner, looks a little bit better. So much so, I had to go back and tune the first corner up...
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So, now I have two corners done.

As for doing these as dovetailed....BTDT...royal PITA. I think ONCE would be quite enough, even with the walnut I used back then..
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Opened up?
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Been awhile...

[Brian Brightwell]

Very cleaver, but probably beyond my capabilities.

[steven c newman]

I found the more I do these, the better it gets.
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Other than the mitre cut, mostly just finger joints. That line going across, is where I cut the fingers to length at. I crosscut down to the area of the bevel.
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I then can chop out square sockets for the fingers to go into from the other half of the joint. A lot of test fits going on...
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Trying to get the mitre to close up. I also added a handle, to help me use a rasp..
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Old lathe chisel handle, cut down and re-shaped. Helped on the angled parts....
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Still have some fine tuning to do....but all four corners are basically done.

[Chris Hachet]

This is really cool and impressive work, my friend!

[steven c newman]

Might need some extra hands, when the glue up happens....

Got the grooves milled for a top and bottom panel....
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Stanley #45. Had to reset the depth of cut....was still set up for those thin boards from the last box.
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Was doing a dry fit, to mark the size I need for the panels...Gone this far, might as well make a box out of it....

[steven c newman]

While building the jig to hold the sides still long enough to groove them....the long angle piece split at a screw hole.....decided to finish the split with a chisel...and wound up peeling a bit of hide from my little finger...right along the fingernail, of course...OW! (Among other choice words and phrases) Then, found out the long hold-down was too long..
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Was hitting the rods as they went by.
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A little bit better. I also had to re-mark the "T" and "B" marks...yep, ploughed right through the old ones.
Might have been distracted by the sight that was straight ahead of the work area..
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Gap in the block planes is because I had been using the 60-1/2 one.

[steven c newman]

Shop is closed on Mondays. I guess I might as well make a box out of this mess.

Maybe someday, with enough practizing, I might get good at making simple boxes.....

No "lip" for this box's lid....but...the Stanley 45 could do a couple beads around, and then I saw between to cut the lid off.....

[steven c newman]

I couldn't stay out of the shop ( and paid for it) Decided to at least size the two plywood panels, to make the bottom and the lid. Bandsaw to cut them close to size......then a junior jack plane to joint the edges..
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Then a test fit..
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Looked decent enough, but a little "boxy". Decided to at least round over the edges of the top..
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Do you ever get going too fast, and pull back too far.....that corner is quite sharp..left index finger found that out ( DNA on a project..)
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Well, after a bandaid, I gave this another test fit, to see how the round overs looked..then I set upp a few clamps
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To get the clamps set close enough I could clamp the box up, without too much fiddling around.....would have been nice to have a couple extra hands....
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Seemed to be square. Took things apart, slopped some glue around, and clamped it all together...
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Needed a couple other clamps...
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And one at the diagonal to pull things into square. Will let this mess set overnight. fingers are getting sore...

[steven c newman]

Decided to at least set up the Stanley 45 for the next job. Found that the spurs were still in the "engaged" mode. Tried to retract them......one wasn't a problem, the other one lost that #$#@#$#$@ bolt that holds the spur in place. Guess that I'll just have to order another one......normal Mondays around here.

Luckily, I do not need those spurs when cutting beads. I'll get the box out of that forest of clamps, later today, and see about cutting those beads. Need two beads, far enough apart to allow a saw to go between them. Will take two settings of the fence. And...a decent enough way to hold the box still while I cut the beads. Film @ 2300hrs ( I hope...)

[Pat Barry]

I am not sure I follow why you are doing this other than to just do it and find satisfaction in that. Is there another reason for this? I know you said "been there done that" with dovetails but I don't see any benefit to box joints for this application.

[steven c newman]

A friend wanted to know IF such a joint could be done. I don't like mitre joints, as they are hard to clamp up. The fingers do help with alignment and add a bit more glue surface. Just something different from boring dovetails and box joints. Finding these take a little more effort to get just right, and very SHARP tools are needed. More of a case of trying something ...new, is that too scary?

[Chris Hachet]

Might need some extra hands, when the glue up happens....

Got the grooves milled for a top and bottom panel....
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Stanley #45. Had to reset the depth of cut....was still set up for those thin boards from the last box.
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Was doing a dry fit, to mark the size I need for the panels...Gone this far, might as well make a box out of it....If you need extra hands I am an hour away and you have my number. I really don't need much of an excuse for a road trip.

Chris

[steven c newman]

Took the clamps off this morning...grrrrr, one corner failed to glue up...not enough glue? Fixed THAT and re-clamped that corner back up...
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The other corners came out decent enough..
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That I could use a plane to clean them up.
While setting up the 45 for some bead work...
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Decided that I didn't need the spurs.....and promptly lost one of the bolts that hold the spurs in place....will be about $11 to replace it. Whilest down on the floor, looking for that expensive trinket, found the wedding ring I had lost last month, meh

So, awaiting the new glue up to cure a bit, and trying to find a way to hold the box steady enough to run this fancy plane all the way around the box...twice

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Beginning to hate Mondays in the shop....:mad:

[Pat Barry]

A friend wanted to know IF such a joint could be done. I don't like mitre joints, as they are hard to clamp up. The fingers do help with alignment and add a bit more glue surface. Just something different from boring dovetails and box joints. Finding these take a little more effort to get just right, and very SHARP tools are needed. More of a case of trying something ...new, is that too scary?
Not as long as you are the one doing it!

I don't like mitre joints, as they are hard to clamp up. The fingers do help with alignment and add a bit more glue surface.
Yes - that makes sense. I know what you mean about plain old miter joints and clamping

[steven c newman]

Not sure IF these joints will remain "hidden" ...Once I had cut the lid off today...
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Details emerge. I did get the Stanley 45 running today..
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Cutting a couple beads all the way around the box.
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Then I took this to the bandsaw and split off the lid..
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Add some hinges and a finish
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And call this box done..
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Afraid the panel for the lid is a bit on the plain side, though..
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Will rub the Witch's Brew out later this week.....once it quits stinking up the shop...

[steven c newman]

Might call this one done? The Boss want a second end table for the bedroom. It will have to match the existing...
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Means I will have to uncover the lathe...sometime....

[steven c newman]

Have a finish on this box, now. May take it to a local Craft Store a friend of mine runs, and see what she would do with it.....Maybe a fancy Recipe Box?

Box was more to learn about HOW to make this joint. There is a detail in the insides of the corners, that say this is something besides a plain, old mitre joint...
356755 It all depends on where you saw through this joint.
As it turned out, I had cut right through one of the fingers.
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As I was trying to "split" the beads.....the Stanley 45 did a decent enough job, whether it was a single bead..
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Or doing the double beads..
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Just enough "Fancy" to keep it from being just a plain old box.
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Have since added a coat of Lacquer, Clear Gloss, and rubbed it down a bit.

Now, I just need to round up a bunch of pine to make that table's twin....Might be the next wood working story I tell....