Well, start with a single board....

[steven c newman]

A Pine 1/2" x 6 x 6' plank,,,,with "issues". Use mainly hand tools. Unless a power tool will do a task better...goal is to make a box, with all 6 parts coming from just that one board...because that is all I have left in the Lumber Rack at the moment....and maybe take a few pictures along the way?

Such as using a Mitrebox to cross cut..
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I did say the board has "Issues"...
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Enough that the tablesaw was set up to rip the Pith out...
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then plane the edges square..
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and glue things back together...minus that 1" wide strip...
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And let them sit overnight...
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6 parts....a front and a back, 2 ends, and a panel for the box's bottom and lid.
Since the panels are now 4-1/2" wide, the ends need to match that. "Plan" is to join the corners with 1/2" through dovetails. There will be grooves milled to house the top and bottom panels..and..create a dust seal. :cool:

IF you think this sort of Project is worth watching....Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

Panels have sat overnight, and the clamps have been removed...
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All will need to be flattened, and any twist that still remains will need to be removed...so..
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This is a Van Camp No. 4....it came to my shop in a Christmas Plane Swap. This is it's first test run, BTW...no sharpening was needed, no adjustments made...seemed to do just fine right out of the shipping box....might use the Van Camp Block plane that came with it at a later time...

The 4 longer pieces also needed to match width wise..
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Gang them up into the vise...other edges sitting down onto the vise's rods....same plane to joint all 4 to the same width/height....

Time to get organized...
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As somewhere in that mess, there are a few tools I need...mainly for lay out work..
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Even found THREE pencils, and they were even sharp!....Time to lay out the Pins first...
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Enough for 6 tails...then "drop" this down low in the vise..
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Use an old Jackson backsaw to make a few cuts. then set up to cut the waste out..
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This is the outside face, the one that will show...I start here, to prevent any blow outs from when I chop from the inside face. Once the waste is gone...trace around the pins to lay out the tails. I do use a bandsaw (had to install a NEW blade, old one snapped) to cut the tails. Because I can SEE where the cut is going, and I can add a couple extra cuts to help remove the waste. I leave the lines, cut only on the waste side...the more of each line I leave, the tighter the fit will be. Once again, chop from the show side first..1/2 way down...then flip over to complete the chops...and try a dry fit...
Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

Dry fit..
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To help out with the chisel chops..I do mark the baseline with a sharp knife..
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About 3 passes using a square, does the trick...
Was a busy day...made a mess on the floor..
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Time to sweep up, and come back the next day....still have 3 more corners to do...then I can get "Groovy"

Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

2 corners done..
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and the corner #3 done.

Need to get #4 done, and then start milling grooves...and rebates for the lid and the bottom panels to sit in....another set of grooves to form a dust seal...

Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

Now have all 4 corners milled..
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Even tried a clamp up dry fit..
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Time to get "groovy" and set up a plane..
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And..plough some grooves..
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One for the top panel...one for the bottom panel...
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But...as set up..the plane can not reach to the 3rd grooves..
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Time to get out the LONG rods...
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As this will be the inside of the Dust Seal.

BRB...stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

Three grooves?
492009
There will be a 4th groove...all around the outside of the box..set just above that 3rd groove..

I did get a start on the panels...
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IF I do a full dry fit with these included....I will never get the box apart, to glue it up...

Tomorrow may be glue up day....then let it sit a day....then a groove to remove the lid?

Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

This morning...fine tuned the fit of the 2 panels....a trim here, a trim there....working to get a nice floating fit...NOT a tight one.

Once that was done...and I took my time, too.....was time for the Glue Bottle, Glue Brush, and clamps to get busy....and a wee bit of cussing to help things along..
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About 10 clamps should do the trick...don't ya think?
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Intend to just let this sit overnight.....tomorrow I can take the clamps off, clean things up...and plough that outside groove....and..plug up all the square holes...

Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Out of the clamps..
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Needing to be cleaned up a bit
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Panels and the sides needed planed smooth and level....so far so good...

Plans got changed..because..
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The lines for the outside groove were laid out wrong...which I found out about...after it was too late ..
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So..did away with the dust seal altogether...
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Planed off the offending remnants...did not take to long...Then added the hinges..
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Added a latch..
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Which left adding the handles...
BRB...stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

Before the handles could go on...there was the matter of plugging a few holes, first..
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Ripped a couple "filler strips"....this one hole needed two...the rest only get one. Blob of glue, drive the stick home...Irwin Flush saw to trim flush..then sand smooth...
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What holes? Then add the handles...
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See IF the hinges will work..
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Box is 12" long, 4-1/4" high..and 4-1/2" wide....
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have one more task, before the finish can go on...involve a corded tool, though..
492135
The case this came in has been branded...
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Intend to do the same to the top of the "New Box" just takes a LONG time to heat up that much Brass..
492137
Then the stain and finish..

Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Tried a couple shots with the branding iron....still a bit too light....
Added a coat of Witch's Brew yesterday...waiting on that to fully dry today....then let the Branding iron heat up again, and see about adding a little more to the lid.

Stay tuned.

[steven c newman]

Witch's Brew and a better attempt with the branding iron...
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Hinge view..
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and the view of the handle..
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Almost too big for a spokeshave?
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Even if it is a Stanley No. 51...

[steven c newman]

That was all this Project was about...to take a single board, and turn it into a Project...using no other woods. The board could have easily been Ash, Oak, Maple, Poplar, or this Pine. Did not really matter. Goal was also to use as much Hand Tools as opposed to power tools, unless absolutely needed. Out of the 6' length of that plank, I think I still have maybe 12" or so left over....

Most of the time, my tablesaw was more of just a flat surface to lay parts on. The bandsaw was used, as I could SEE the angles being cut for the tails, better than if I used the No. 68 Dovetail saw.

Does the Branding Iron count as a "Power Tool"?...it does have a cord, after all...

[Keegan Shields]

That’s a neat branding iron Steven. Where did you find it?

[steven c newman]

My son found it....and ordered it with the custom made end. They also make a torch heated version.
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Other side of this single sheet of paper shows how to heat both versions up....