Keepsake Box

[freiler thompson]

Inspired by the Neanderthals on the board, I made a little box with the help of some tail-less tools. Thank you all for discussions to read through and problems that might have been solved years ago that I did not even realize I would need to solve until last week!

[Phil Mueller]

Beautiful box, Freiler! Well done. Looks like you get to work outside...I need to do that more often.

[Frederick Skelly]

That box looks good!

[Jim Koepke]

Very nice Freiler, especially the spalted top.

What kind of woods did ou use?

jtk

[freiler thompson]

Thank you! Working outside definitely improves the experience, at least until your sweat from the North Carolina summer sun covers the work. That counts as a finish right?

I used air dried walnut, spalted maple, and maple for the splines. I have a buddy that cuts his own boards and makes spalted wood in the back 40 behind his house.

[Mike Henderson]

Looks very nice. When you made the box, did you make it as a closed box and then cut the top off? If so, what did you use to cut the top off.

In your first picture, the grain on the top does not match the grain on the lower box but that could be because the top was rotated.

Mike

[freiler thompson]

Hi Mike,

Yes it was done as a closed box then cut off. Good catch, I did not realize that the top had been rotated.

I tried to cut the top off with a panel saw sharpened for RIP cuts, but my technique is not very good so I ended up just using the table saw. I know that is not all handtool, but the intent was there!

-Freiler

[Mike Henderson]

Hi Mike,

Yes it was done as a closed box then cut off. Good catch, I did not realize that the top had been rotated.

I tried to cut the top off with a panel saw sharpened for RIP cuts, but my technique is not very good so I ended up just using the table saw. I know that is not all handtool, but the intent was there!

-Freiler

I've cut the top off boxes with a dozuki. I mark the cut line with a marking gauge and then saw to the line. Even that will give you a less than perfectly flat top/box so I then sand the top and bottom on a large sanding board.

That's a piece of MDF about two feet on a side with a piece of coarse sandpaper glued to it. The sandpaper comes from one of those sanding belts that are used in those huge sanding machines - the belt is maybe 36 to 48 inches wide. I glue it to the MDF with 3M spray adhesive. You can't use a water based glue on the MDF because it will cause the MDF to warp.

I mention this just in case you were not aware of that approach.

Mike

[freiler thompson]

Thank you Mike, I will try this out next time! Thia was my first shot at a miter joint box so I am definitely happy to hear how things can be improved.

[Christopher Charles]

Great looking box and your hand tool set up is a great reminder that simple tools and space can produce beautiful work (as much fun as fancy benches can be)!

Best,
Chris