Box Project, from scraps of Ash

[steven c newman]

Well, will see how this goes....already have had a few days start. Had a tall stack of resawn Ash, before all those trips to the Hospitals happened, and then the Chester Drawers Project....decided to clear the "decks" and see what I could build with the stuff...Sorted through, found 4 pieces that almost match each other, needed jointed
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Flipped them around a few times, to see how they matched up....I wanted 2 panels...
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One has been glued up, allowed to cure, and then cleaned up..
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And this one came out of the clamps today...ends were sawn square, faces sanded and plane smooth and flat....
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2 shorter panels were also made...one has been cleaned up, #4 went into the clamps today.....
Also sorted through the stack of parts, looking for enough to make two lids..
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Will get these jointed and glued up, later this week....decided to make a match set of two boxes...had to cross cut a few panels...
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The panel under these was also cut to make the sides of box #2. Maybe Tuesday, i can lay out for the finger/box joints, and start cutting those....by hand.
Stay tuned:D

[steven c newman]

Monday has come..
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Trees were having snowball fights..:mad:..by Suppertime, all the snow was gone....:cool:

Last panel was taken out of the clamps....and sawn in two...ends for the #2 box...

After a bit, I may head to the shop....something about finger jointing a box?

Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

A bit of plane work along one edge...
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Lid is now in the clamps. had an issue with the sides of Box #1 being out of square...got that fixed, on to layout!
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Line for how thick the ends are...
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6mm chisel to set the spacing of the fingers...
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Carry the lines around...
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Lower the pair so they don't vibrate, and split these lines ( candle wax on the saw helps)
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All done? Separate these two, hard to chop both at the same time...
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Chop about halfway down, leave a tab for support, for the next job..
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have to watch out, though...those little squares of waste will fly straight back at you...
Then repeat for the next item..
Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

As I ran out of room....first dry fit is always a tad loose, when it has been a while since I made this style of joint..
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I tried to stay on the waste side of the lines....I even used the completed set to mark out the other part of this corner....

Got a little better on the next set, though..
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Second set is on the right. Pine board so I can chop, without hitting my bench top...
battery for the camera was about dead, decided to stop here, for now.
Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

Had a few other things to do today...never made it to the shop...let alone do any work...maybe tomorrow, eh?

[steven c newman]

managed to get a little shop time in today....
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Then finally a dry fit of all 4 sides..
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And checked for square...
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Seemed to get better as I went along...:cool:
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May go ahead and finish this one, before starting up on #2..
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Managed to get a few hinges, while out and about, today...
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The white contraption?:confused:
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A Mitre saw wannabee...Blank for a lid is out of the clamps...
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Needs cut down a bit, cleaned up, and flattened...
Back had started hurting..:(..called it quitting time, and closed up the shop

Stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

May try for a glue up today....but that is a LOT of finger to apply the glue to....gonna need a bunch of clamps ( and cussing :rolleyes:..).....anyone want to show up and help out?

Film @ 2300 hrs, ZULU...

[steven c newman]

Cussing was reserved ( for me..:rolleyes:) to one clamp that will not do it's job...and tossed it....another excuse to buy more clamps :D

Anyway, cleared the deck for action...
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And laid out the parts...rather unrolled them..
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Board Stretcher? At least this keeps them in order, as I spread a bunch of glue around...and get the first batch of clamps on..
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The diagonal clamp to pull things square...was replaced with a better H-F one...need more clamps!
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Pine scraps as cauls. Checked for square..again..
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And again..
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Close enough....will let this sit a while...half afraid to try to move it...:rolleyes:
Then clean this up, square the outside at the fingers...some need their "nails" trimmed..:D

Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Had a "Me Day" shopping trip, today....new hardware for this box....more H-F clamps....pair of 6" dividers with the spring top, and a small tap wrench.....too nice of a day to sit around the house.

Have a "Shed in a Box" the Boss had bought....that she wants assembled in the back yard...Might be fun....we'll see.

[steven c newman]

Items from yesterday's road trip..
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$5+ tax....
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Three 12", and a 24" set of clamps..$17+tax ( Go Harbor Freight..)
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Hardware from Hobby Lobby....less than $13 for this mess...got home, had to build the frame of that shed
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PITA to do....instructions are a POS. Will need some extra hands to finish this thing....and, NO RAIN...


Box is out of the clamps ( and didn't blow up, either:eek:) Lid has been cut to size, and the plywood bottom as well....Bottom and the box are sitting in the vise, while the glue cures..

Film @ 2300 hrs, ZULU....may have to change a name or two...:rolleyes:

[steven c newman]

Was a busy day IN the shop...too rainy outside to build a shed IN the mud...
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So, after that forest of clamps was taken away, the sides and corners cleaned up...long fingers getting a trim...then mark out, and cut a plywood panel for a bottom...then glue and the bench vise to clamp it down for a while....

came back down to the shop after Lunch...beveled the edges of the plywood. Marked out and cut a lid, and a dry fit for that...
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A finger rest to open the lid, as the latch I bought yesterday was too big..
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Thinking this is more for a door, anyway....plane did a bit of work..
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Had a few spots needing a little attention....test fit of one of the bracket feet..
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Then installed all four....
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That Stanley wood handle is one size smaller than a #1 Phillips, and was almost too big :eek: and that is the smallest bit I have for the North Bros. drill..wound up cutting a small nail and chucking it into a drill...Started on the hinges next....and snapped a couple of these "big" screws off..
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Yeah....then I remembered to WAX the threads...worked a little better. Snapped them using that wood handled screwdriver:rolleyes:
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These were the "easy" ones...

Stay tuned, part 2 is coming right up ( P Call !)

[steven c newman]

Ahhh, relief! Anyway, with those feet on the box, I can't clamp both the box and the lid into the vise....decided two brand new H-F clamps could act as helping hands
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Finger rest on the lid is in the vise, so the lid will stay put, until I get the clamps in place...nail ''drill" for pilot holes...yankee bit to allow the screw to start into the hole, before the screwdriver has it's "turn"....left the clamps in place, while I added the handles on the ends...
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Final sanding, the open the can of stain....then have to go upstairs to get the brush...
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Front view...
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Hinge side....
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And handle view...waiting on the stain to dry, before the clear gloss goes on..
Still have a second box to do....may get a different corner joint,,,,
Stay tuned...

[Mike Manning]

Nice Steven. Thanks for sharing.

[steven c newman]

Resaw a few bits of Ash...had a kick-back throw my push stick against the wall...Was able to at least find 2 boards that matched each other, grain wise...and glued them up...
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Then worked on getting all the sides for Box #2 ready....involved a bit of jointer work, cordless style :rolleyes:
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Finally got things flat, the same width...And then laid out a few things..
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BTW..I do pins first,.....Then a bit of work with the No. 4 backsaw..
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Then get ready to do some chopping...
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Mallet is the Rowdy Yates Model ( Rawhide) Just one chisel? Nah...
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Use the size that matches the work...Did a lot of the usual chopping, marking out tails, sawing the tails, and chopping the waste...enough to get a dry fit done..
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Was getting to be one of those days...decided to stop, before something was thrown against a wall....yeah, one of those days :mad:
Maybe tomorrow, I can get a little something done?

Stay tuned...:D

[Brian AdamsMS]

"BTW..I do pins first,....."

Those can be considered fighting words :p

Great build, keep it coming. I like the little projects that give a since of accomplishment rather quickly.

[steven c newman]

Woodshop was put on hold, yesterday....had that shed-in-a-box to finish up....
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A ROYAL PITA to build, even with a helper.....and any sort of breeze made things worse...let alone the mud.

Cleaned up that 4" divider....as it was a tad rusty..
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From this, to...
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looking like the rest of my layout tools...
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Logo says it is a Union Tool Co. made in USA....might find some use for it...

have errands to run today....final papers for Mom's Estate need signed. maybe this evening, I can relax in the woodshop?

Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Weather turned out to be way to nice to be in a basement....mid 60s outside, lots of sunshine....May try again, tomorrow..supposed to rain all day...

[steven c newman]

Mid 50s, and a drizzle rain all day long...yuck....good day to work in the shop.....until we had to go to the stores....

I did try out a "new" saw

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Saw came with that hobby lobby mitre box. Had to keep the blade waxed...and is hard for my hands to hold onto.....but, it is easier to start the cuts..
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Got the other end of this side sawn...
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Chop halfway down, flip over..
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Pins are done. Used those to lay out the tails...then saw and chop...
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Then a test fit...to see how much fine tuning I need...
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I think that is fairly close....I had the next corner started...and ready to chop..
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When I was informed "WE" had to go to the stores, and the bank...
May sneak back down to the shop after a while....BTW, I might have enough thin lumber for a third box..
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may have to cut a few for length?
Stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

The one small end had split along the glue line.....made things rough to cut the tails for corner #3..
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Managed to get the third corner dry fitted, anyway...
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Which left corner #4 to do....backsaw was having issues starting, so this little saw was used again....hand now has cramps from it...
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After chopping the pins, I used them to layout the tails, and chop those..."new chisel"?
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Actually, have had it for quite a while....old 1/4" chisel that has been reground a bit..
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Was using a few others , as well...
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This one has an Arrow logo....
Anyway, all the dry fits were done, might as well spread some glue around..
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First set of clamps.....
Stay tuned..a wee bit more to do..

[steven c newman]

That 1 x 1 in the middle of the box?
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No glue, here. Noticed the sides wanted to bow inward....spacers were cut to the non-bowed length, and tapped into place, correcting the bow...

Was this enough clamps? Thought a few more would help out..
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There, that should be enough. Had to use the two that were on the blank for the lid...
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needs trimmed for square, and for the size of the box...along with a plane to flatten things out.

letting the box glue-up sit until tomorrow....then a clean up. Then a plywood bottom gets sized, cut, and fitted to the bottom of the box....then it can be glued on...just like Box #1
may get different feet, this time around...we'll see what is in the Parts Box...

Stay tuned:D

[steven c newman]

Will see what I can get done today.:rolleyes:....issues with the shed in a box wanting to walk away..:mad:...re-did the anchors at the back wall.....no snow, just a lot of mud...guess who went tumbling into the mud :mad:....Vertigo is not a thing to mess with, when you are down on one knee....:rolleyes:

Need to get out of the muddy jeans, and into some shop jeans....have a forest of clamps to remove, and then clean the glue joints up....then maybe glue a bottom on? Then work on the lid..

Stay tuned.....:D

[steven c newman]

Was told the jeans WERE the work clothes....so, meandered down to the shop...removed the batch of clamps...and hang them back up...
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Every one of these was used on the box glue up.....Then worked on the box itself for a while.....had a few high spots that needed leveled out....then got out a bit of plywood..
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Traced around the box.....then cut outside the lines ( or try to..:rolleyes:) then a bead of glue and moosh the plywood in place..
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easiest way I found to clamp this sort of thing?
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And, I can still work on getting the lid cut to size...with a bit extra...
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Lid details?
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May trim the finger catch a bit...seems a bit "clunky"...:confused:
Letting the bottom glue up sit a spell....will check back later on it ( have Laundry Detail again)

Stay tuned :D

[steven c newman]

Everything has been sanded smooth...bright brass hinges installed.....coat of stain brushed on, then the excess wiped off, PIP time :confused:
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Bottom is just plywood..
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These boxes are not all that big...maybe 7" across?
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Need to go shopping for the rest of the Bright Brass hardware...then see about building Box #3?

Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Late afternoon drive to go to Menard's over in Sidney, OH....paused along the way, to take a couple photos....just inside the Shelby County line, along St Rt 47...
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Amish sawmill....That "awning" like roof has a set of rails under it...filled with logs awaiting the saw....shed off to the left? Where all the saw dust is sent, via that pipeline near the roof....
Then, maybe a mile west of here, is their Pallet Factory...
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By the flatbed trailer loads. 1/2 of a load is on a trailer....the sawmill also makes all the siding for the new Amish houses...in the area.

Found some Bright Brass corner pieces, to act as feet for Box#2....but no handles the right ( SMALL) size. Asked about ordering a bandsaw blade to size I need...they can only order in groups of 5 blades...@ $12 for the 80" blade....by Olson....the blades in the store are all the wrong size for my bandsaw...will keep looking around...

On the way back home..got passed on a city street , 35mph speed limit, by some gal in a small car with 45 day tags....she seemed to think speed limit was 55 mph.....weaved and passed her way along....seems there was a fool on the road, on April 1st...:rolleyes:

[steven c newman]

May try a serving tray with what is left of the scraps...Maybe a glued panel for the bottom of the tray? then a "frame" with carry handles? Have a couple more 3/4" thick 1 x 3s I can resaw down...1/2" or 3/8" thick....we'll see what is left...

Stay tuned ( will pick up a few brushes today, to varnish the 2 Recipe Boxes)

[Andrew Pitonyak]

You know Steve, I am a bit jealous at your ability to true up a board by hand. I usually flatten my wood using my planer. I start with a sled and shims to get one side flat. I had a couple of smaller boards that were really out. One of them I was able to make flat enough to just send it through my planer. The second board, I just gave up, shimmed it, and then flattened one face.

Nicely cut joints, by the way. The project is looking very good.

[steven c newman]

Just trying to get the most out of the least....

Stick-on "brass" letters have been bought, today....going to try to spell out RECIPE on either the lids, or the fronts....brushes have been bought, may try to varnish after the letters are on....

More than welcome to stop by sometime....

[steven c newman]

Have a small hole in the palm of the right hand, now....kickback drove the pushstick back, again....
Instead of another box ( getting boring?) decided to make a tray.....was going to call is the Ash Tray.....didn't sound right....maybe call it an Ash Tote?

Blanks for the bottom of the tote laid out...had to rough trim a few for length
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Edges needed jointed for a decent glue joint..
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Set these on a flat surface (tablesaw) to check how they are going together..and the side blanks
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Even found one to make a handle for the tote..
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Spread some glue around, moosh the parts into the glue, add a few clamps..
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Double cauls on each end, to keep this flat...then take my sore right hand upstairs, and let the glue dry a while....

Was IN Menard's, yesterday...and forgot to look for a push stick:o got reminded today...:eek:
Stay tuned...more to do....later:D

[steven c newman]

1st coat of clear gloss has been applied, and now dry. Lettering applied, rest of the brass hardware has been installed...needed a Yankee drill to do pilot holes
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handles and feet...
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And the lettering applied...
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Needs rubbed down, and a second coat....the Boss gets her pick, and then the other goes to another's kitchen...:cool:
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otherwise, these are about ready to post as Projects? Will spend the rest of the week of the tote/tray....may have it done by next Monday?

Just about out of usable Ash Scraps.....may see what I can do with those...maybe. beats burning these scraps..:rolleyes:
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Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

Ok, waiting on Supper to settle in...have the panel for the tote/tray out of the 9 clamps. Glue joints have been cleaned up, both faces have been flattened. Which left squaring the ends...Marked both ends with a square, going from one edge....there was a problem.....the other edge had a slight curve to it...made things rough to cut the lines, IF I used that edge against the mitre gauge...corrected that with a WR #62...:cool:

Got to looking at the pieces to make the frame for around the outside of the tray....hmmm, more 62 work...to top things off..the tripod for the camera is still upstairs...have to haul that to the shop on the next trip....off to a less than stellar start...:(

Stay tuned..will be back later..with pictures! :D

[steven c newman]

Issues with square...
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One edge was straight, the other had a slight curve...
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had to joint these twice...flip two end for end..plane wanted to do tapers.
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Giving this plane a workout, lately..
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Handle blank has been rough shaped...debating on grooves for fingers, or finger holes...
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Speaking of fingers...
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So..how to attach the handle....
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Getting a bit choppy....decided to stop for the evening, battery in the camera was getting low...
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I think I'll save this for tomorrow...also have a couple "dividers" to half lap in place...to make 6 compartments...
Stay tuned :D

[steven c newman]

Sooooo, I need to get out of doing Honey-dos today.;)..IF I want to work on the pile of scraps on top of my bench.....We'll see how THAT goes :rolleyes:

Stay tuned.....:D

[steven c newman]

2300 hrs, BEFORE I got any shop time....sheesh....dividers needed thinned down a bit...
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Then I marked two place on the handle, and made a couple notches..
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Then notched the dividers to match...
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Finger joints were laid out for the end....outside corners were easy to do...those two mortises?
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Got a little more involved...finally a dry fit of everything, to see how much work was needed..
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Besides making a grip of some sort in the handle....maybe a glue up on Sunday...or Tuesday?
Mortise chisel?
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Was also used to set the finger spacings...has an arrow logo on the blade...
Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

Lots of cussing going on...glue everywhere....clamps going on...needed a third hand....everytime I moved the frame a bit, it wanted to either fold up, or fall apart...

Finally..
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Vise to support the 3 clamps, while I added the other two...
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Grrrrr. left the dividers until later. Took a few tries, until I could figure out which finger went where.....

Bottom is also ready to be added...
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Will add it after the frame is done...stay tuned :D

[steven c newman]

Clamps came off....curved parts sanded to remove saw marks....finger joints cleaned up....dividers installed....glue smeared around again...:cool:
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Good thing the vise is also a clamp..might have run out of clamps, otherwise..:eek:
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Was getting a might crowded....:rolleyes:

Set out two tools for use, when these clamps come off ( besides the Stanley No. 3c)
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To make finger grooves in the handle. :cool:
Stay tuned,,almost done...:D

[steven c newman]

Ok, out of the clamps...edges were a tad wide...
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Also worked on a finger groove...as for the overhang..we have ways..
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Millers Falls No. 11, Type 2...
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Had to do both long edges like this....ends were just sanded..
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Grooves for the finger grips were sanded, then a coat of the stain...first on the bottom..
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Then around the outside edges.

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Then all around on the inside..
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Then wiped down,,I'll let this dry a while...then see about some brass corner brackets..?:confused:
Stay tuned :D

[steven c newman]

To install those corner brackets/feet...I needed a couple tools..
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North Bros ( pre stanley) #41 and a Stanley No. 1 Phillips driver...
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2 screws per corner ( even snapped the head off of one..) and a look underneath..
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Need to get a coat of Clear Gloss Poly spread on this....and maybe call it done?:confused:

Then see what is left of that stack of scrap Ash....;)
Stay tuned :D

[steven c newman]

Inventory of the remaining scraps of Ash....may be enough for one more small box....maybe about the size of normal Index Cards.:confused:...Road trip, yesterday, had a couple tools to rehab....

Will try to get a bit of varnish on the tray....later....stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

Have one week to get all these scrap projects done.....Monday after Easter I start building a new front porch deck...after the Blue BORG drops of the materials....

[steven c newman]

have a second Ash panel in the clamps, at the moment,,,,with enough left over for a third one...tomorrow...half about one week to get them done..as something else has come onto the scene..

Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Ok...since I have about a week before the lumber gets here for the porch project....decided to start up a second tote....
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Two panels cut to match each other, then shaped...two other boards for the sides...was laying out for dovetail pins...
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Usual suspects...then a little bit of saw and chisel work..
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used these to layout the tails...saw and chisel work...tried a dry fit..
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Can be adjusted...why does the first set always look bad...repeat for the next corner..
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Decided to shape a handle....
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Will cut a tenon on each end, then fit this to the through mortises...
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Maybe I can get these to fit a bit better?
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Messy bench....means a bit of work is being done? back was having issues...stopped for the day...might get more done tomorrow, eh?
Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

Ran into edge grain issues...because while doing a dry fit...
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The "new" Irwin/Marples 1/4" chisel did work well..though..
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Pin making was going good, too...
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Tails were not. Finally, design change...buzzed all the dovetails off...pre-drilled the sides for 1/2" long nails...then glue....cut a plywood bottom to match, and add a forest of clamps
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One good item from last night's follies?
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That old Stanley No. 3c, Type 11/12 with a SW iron....did a nice job of flattening the sides...no tear out.:D
And the rest of the tools..
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Just the usual tool kit for dovetails....

Handle now looks too clunky...will replace with a dowel...need to plane some board thin, to make the dividers to hold the TV Remotes....
Stay tuned ( almost just chucked the entire mess into the burn pile...decided to just nail it..):D

[steven c newman]

Got the clamps off, everything cleaned up, and sanded smooth...Added some brass nails along the ends,,,sides were too thin. Dowel was trimmed to length...countersunk holes were made, and handle installed..
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Had a couple nails try to go the wrong way...we have nail puller on the bench..
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And a decent screwdriver to install the screws for the handle..countersink?
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Ok, had to plane three parts flat and to the same size....then add slots....then install the dividers, with the dab of glue along the bottom edge, of the center one...then clamp it, Jed..
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Another view, clamps blocking the view..
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letting this dry a while...then maybe a coat of stain....killing time until a delivery truck shows up...on Monday next....going to be a LONG weekend..
Stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

PIP time...sanded the tote a bit, added a coat of stain...
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Brass nails. 5mm plywood bottom. While taking these pictures, discovered a problem..
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Ooops, missed a couple spots on the underside of the handle..will wipe a dab around, next time in the shop...
Other than that, and a coat of clear gloss poly...we be done..:cool:..time to rest up, and get ready to build a porch

Thanks for following along...:D

[steven c newman]

Tote was delivered to my Daughter's place, today.....will be a caddy for bottles of seasonings.