Ben Ellenberger
03-23-2024, 2:44 PM
This isn’t anything unique, but for me it is a chance to get better at mitered dovetails, so I figured I’d post some build pictures. I keep my chisels on a rack at the back of my bench. I really like having them handy, but if I get busy and they sit for a month or two they’ll start getting tarnished. I decided to build a little box to keep them in when I’m not actively using them. This box is sized to hold my regular-sized bench chisels. I have a few other chisels that will probably get another box fairly soon, but I wanted to keep this one a manageable size.
I really liked Derek’s box with a sliding lid. I decided not to make the lid with a mitered lip, so this one is just mitered on the bottom and at the back on the top. I’m using up some cherry I already had and using plywood for the bottom. I haven’t yet decided whether the top will be cherry or maple.
The current arrangement.
517387
I didn’t take any pictures of cutting dovetails, I have to slow down and double-check myself when laying out miters, but the process isn’t really any different than cutting regular ones. I did take extra time to make sure my parts were dimensioned precisely and the ends were square, to help with laying out the miters and to ensure a 45 degree miter would end precisely at the corners. I ran the grooves after cutting the joints, but before I pared the miters. One of these days I’ll make a jig for holding narrow drawer/box sides when I plow grooves, but for now using a clamp in the vise works OK. These were too narrow to clamp on the bench top.
517390
The last few mitered things I’ve made I just layed out with a knife and combination square, then sawed and pared carefully with a chisel. I decided to make a paring block for this, and am glad I did. It makes the paring much more precise and quick. Plus, planing end grain is satisfying!
517388517389
It took a little bit of extra fitting and sawing the miters with a dozuki saw to get everything to close up, but it generally went together well. I’m going to let this set up, then clean up the corners and get started on the lid.
517391
I really liked Derek’s box with a sliding lid. I decided not to make the lid with a mitered lip, so this one is just mitered on the bottom and at the back on the top. I’m using up some cherry I already had and using plywood for the bottom. I haven’t yet decided whether the top will be cherry or maple.
The current arrangement.
517387
I didn’t take any pictures of cutting dovetails, I have to slow down and double-check myself when laying out miters, but the process isn’t really any different than cutting regular ones. I did take extra time to make sure my parts were dimensioned precisely and the ends were square, to help with laying out the miters and to ensure a 45 degree miter would end precisely at the corners. I ran the grooves after cutting the joints, but before I pared the miters. One of these days I’ll make a jig for holding narrow drawer/box sides when I plow grooves, but for now using a clamp in the vise works OK. These were too narrow to clamp on the bench top.
517390
The last few mitered things I’ve made I just layed out with a knife and combination square, then sawed and pared carefully with a chisel. I decided to make a paring block for this, and am glad I did. It makes the paring much more precise and quick. Plus, planing end grain is satisfying!
517388517389
It took a little bit of extra fitting and sawing the miters with a dozuki saw to get everything to close up, but it generally went together well. I’m going to let this set up, then clean up the corners and get started on the lid.
517391