Jordan's Xmas Gift

[Mike Hill]

Well OK, so I am a little ahead of myself, but I have a bunch of kids and grandkids and need to get it done. This is a Jewelry box I made for Jordan who is 8. She requested this when visiting last month. I made it from a piece of 6/4 walnut, resawed on the band saw and planed to a 1/2" it is 9"X12"4 1/2" and finished with 2 coats of Watco Danish Oil in natural finish. The Keys in the miters are Cherry. Need a smoother blade for cutting the slots and ripping the keys. The ole WW II is not up to this fine work :) I tried to "book match" the top and the sides do all match at the 4 corners.

Only thing left are the hinges and I may also add a small sliding try inside. Question for all of you. Would you spray this with Lacquer or Poly or something or leave it natural?

I thought a box would be easy, but found out that in small items, a small error looks monstrous!

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[tod evans]

mike, i`d wax it and call it good. if you feel some protection is needed amber schellac looks good on both walnut-n-cherry...02 tod

[Mark Hulette]

Mike-

Looks good. I really like the cherry splines! I'm with Tod... give it a coat or 3 of shellac and enjoy!

Thanks for sharing.

[William Lewis]

No info on finish. But beautiful box and i'am sure she will treasure it.

William Lewis

[Mike Hill]

For any of you who have built boxes, what is the best blade for cutting the key slots in the box and ripping the keys themselves? I have a ATB WW II and it is really not intended for this type of operation. Just need a suggestion for smooth 1/8" cuts for small work like this.
Mike

[Lincoln Myers]

I also would put a few coats of wax on it.

-Linc

[Vaughn McMillan]

Nice job on the box, Mike. I'm sure it'll be treasured for years.

For any of you who have built boxes, what is the best blade for cutting the key slots in the box and ripping the keys themselves? I have a ATB WW II and it is really not intended for this type of operation. Just need a suggestion for smooth 1/8" cuts for small work like this.
Mike
Mike, I'm pretty sure it's not the best way, but I've had decent success using one of the outer blades in my 6" Avenger dado stack for cutting the key slots. Now that I have a Freud box joint blade set, I'll probably try using one of those blades by itself in the future. It also helps of you have some scrap wood at the exit point of the cut to help prevent splintering. Now that I have a Freud box joint blade set, I'll probably try using one of those blades by itself in the future. (Not sure what the width would be, and I'm not close to the shop to go check right now.)

- Vaughn

[Jim Becker]

Awesome, Mike! Special girl gets special box...perfect gift!

Do NOT use any poly or any other oil-based varnish on the inside unless you want it to smell like that forever, almost literally. Use lacquer or shellac if you want a finish on the inside.

[Mike Hill]

Vaughn: I also have the Freud set and will give it a try with one of the outer blades. I do use a jig (a couple of 2X4's mitered 45 degrees and attached to a 3/4" ply board which rides on the fence) for cutting the slots and it backs the box for the key cuts. What are your thoughts on ripping thin strips? Dado outer blade, or maybe some kind of veneer blade? I am finding out that much of the really professional look is in the careful setup and the equipment.
Mike

[Corey Hallagan]

Wow Mike that turned out great. Very nice details. I would agree, just a nice coat of wax and call it done!

Corey

[Vaughn McMillan]

Mike, for ripping thin strips (I've done a lot of them), I use my Freud thin kerf rip blade. (Sorry, I don't have the model handy, but it's the "Freud Industrial" line.) For strips thicker than 1/4", I use the Grrripper to feed the wood through the blade. If the strip is thinner than 1/4" or so, I'll move my fence for each cut so the thin strip "keeper" piece of wood is on the "waste" (left-hand) side of the blade. (I have an Incra setup on my TS, so moving the fence exact amounts for each cut is dead easy.)

- Vaughn