Pennsylvania Spice Box build

[Dennis Tebo]

I will be building this spice box for a couple of dear friends. It will be a gift for their 20^th anniversary in the middle of July, so that means I have a deadline. Actually, the deadline will probably be the latter half of June, as I intend to visit them and would like to present it to them then.

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I’m very much looking forward to this project and the challenges I face. The most daunting tasks for me will be personalizing it with inlay lettering. The rest of the inlay work should not be too bad. Lots of it to do, so I’ll just go slow and steady. Another challenge may be the joinery on the door with the beveled interior edges that are mitered. I may deviate from the plan in this area. Even though I have only done a few large dovetails on my workbench, I don’t anticipate the dovetails on this project to be an issue. I’ll be sure to practice before the real thing.

At this time I’ve already cut the material for the sides and top and will begin the layout work for the many grooves, notches, rabbets and dovetails in the case as well as figuring out an order in which to do them. Speaking of dovetails, in particular the ones for the case top and bottom, not much of this work will be seen: The ones at the top will only be seen on the very top, the sides will be covered by crown molding and the bottom ones, other than an eighth of an inch will also be covered by some molding. Are dovetails worth the effort or should I just use a lapped joint? I think with a lapped joint the top will look cleaner, being a solid piece from side to side. The possible reason against a lapped joint would be the fact that the back is not fixed to give it the strength to stay square. In fact the back is removable to reveal some hidden compartments. Here's a better look at the case:

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You should be able to see how little of the dovetails on the case will show. Dovetails or lapped joint for the case?

Updates and photos coming as I progress.

Dennis

[Mike Henderson]

If you're worried about how your dovetails will come out, remember that most of them won't show. I'd definitely go with the dovetails for strength.

Mike

[Mark Rainey]

I agree with Mike. As you said, practicing dovetails is a good idea. And hopefully they will be spot on right off the saw - but if they are not do not fret, all of us have inadvertently cut poor dovetails and there are simple techniques to make them look perfect. If you are not satisfied with them let the forum members know & we will help.

[Andrew Hughes]

Find some spectacular wood for the drawer fronts any small gaps on the dts will be unnoticed. Looks like a challenging piece.
Good Luck

[Phil Mueller]

Cool project. I suppose you could reverse the joinery and make the sides the tails and top/bottom the pins and do half blind dovetails. The top/bottom would then be free of exposed joinery and the molding would cover the sides.

[Dennis Tebo]

Half blind dovetails, the best of both worlds. The top would be like a drawer face, no visible joinery. Can I reverse the joint at the bottom so the side is like the drawer face with no joint visible? The base molding only covers the bottom 5/16" of the side piece. For assembly, the sides would have to go into the top, then the bottom would go up into the sides. Any issues doing it this way?

Dennis

[Phil Mueller]

If you do half blind on the sides/bottom joint, only about 1/4” would need to be covered up (if I understand the design correctly). The other thought was the potential stress on the bottom piece. Looking at the design, the chest would likely be picked up by the upper molding or sides. If there is weight on the bottom, having the sides be the tails adds strength to the side/bottom joint.

[Daniel Smith]

I just finished this project in November. It was a fun build, but it had it's challenges. For me, the lettering and door frame were where I had the most issues. This was the first frame and panel door I've done, so getting it to lay flat took a couple of attempts. Mitering the beaded corners wasn't all that hard with a simple angled jig. I think I ended up with one that needed a piece of veneer to "close" it up, but the rest turned out great. For the lettering, there are a couple of videos out there where Steve demonstrates how he did it freehand. The Woodwright's shop is probably the best. If, like me, you're not an accomplished carver, start practicing now. I spent a couple of weeks playing around with it, but could never get it consistently good enough that I was willing to try it on the real piece. I ended up punting and put second stringing design on the inside face. As for the dovetails, I'd say stick with through. Honestly, they're not that obvious on the finished piece and the extra strength is probably worth it. The final piece is HEAVY, surprisingly so.

[Daniel Smith]

One other thing to think about. If you like the ring pulls that Steve used, they are hard to find in the small size needed for these drawers. The only place I found the correct size was at Ball and Ball, and they are expensive when you need 13 of them.

[Dennis Tebo]

Yes, I will need to practice the lettering. Thanks for the heads up on Ball and Ball, do you have a part number for the ones you used? What did you use for the rest of the hardware?

Dennis

[Daniel Smith]

The pulls were G22-157 (5/8", $23.69 ea. x 12) and G22-158 (1-1/8, $23.69 x 1). The hinges were from Brusso (CB-303). The lock was 2" standard cut cupboard lock from Lee Valley (P3021). An inch and a half lock would work, but I couldn't find one in stock last fall. I forget where I got the wire escutcheon, but you'll want one that is quite small. I found a small key tassel at JoAnn's.

[Mel Fulks]

Inlaid initials are ok, I don't see them as neccesary. And I really dislike that modern date form, much better to write
something in an inconspicuous place using hand writing instead of "Morse code"dashes. Those Antique Roadshow guys are pretty sharp and are sure to "discover" names and dates written by skilled maker.

[Dennis Tebo]

More progress is being made. I now have the dovetails done for the case, but I think I still need to make a few adjustments to finalize them. I think they are respectable for my first ones, fortunately they will be covered by the molding and won't be seen.

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I also need to trim (right side piece) the opening for the door now that I know exactly where the bottom of the false top is going to be. Once the grooves on the insides of the side piece are done I can begin working on the dividers.

Dennis

[Dennis Tebo]

I've moved away from working on the dividers and started on the door. I wanted to get the panel the proper size before I start the inlay work.

Here I cut a simple jig to guide the chisel for the mitered cuts on the beading.

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Here's a test fit.

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Turned out pretty good.

[Dennis Tebo]

Next I had to cut the arch in the top rail and then add the groove for the panel.

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Once that was complete I had to do the beading.

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After cutting the tenons for the top rail I dry fitted the pieces together.

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Now I'll come up with a game plan for the inlay work.

Dennis