Dan S Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 It's almost done, all I have to do is some final sanding after dinner and apply the finish (Danish oil). spalted maple is a lot harder to work with than i thought it would be, I broke 3 other tops, before I got this one done. The sides are an interesting piece of poplar, and the bottom is made from shiplapped red cedar. Over all I'm really happy with how it turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublinmark Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Nice. the line in the poplar is a nice complement to the spalted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Thanks Dublin, I actually decided last minute, to leave out the keys because I thought they might detract from the overall look of the piece. Nice. the line in the poplar is a nice complement to the spalted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Looks like you are on your way, nice job! Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Link Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Thanks Dublin, I actually decided last minute, to leave out the keys because I thought they might detract from the overall look of the piece. I think that was a great idea. There is so much interesting stuff going on in this piece, particularly across the miters already. Keys would perhaps have overcomplicated it. What sort of problems did you have with the spalted maple? Did you end up having to stabilize it with CA glue or epoxy? R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 What sort of problems did you have with the spalted maple? Did you end up having to stabilize it with CA glue or epoxy? Mainly really bad chip out, the funny part was that the pieces that chipped out the worst, where the least visually interesting. Perhaps its time to get my saw blades sharpened.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasScott Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 That is really,really nice... Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Very wise decision... ... I actually decided last minute, to leave out the keys because I thought they might detract from the overall look of the piece. Oh yes, that wood should be left to do all the talking. So, you've been peeping over my shoulder as I read 'Basic Box Making' by Doug Stowe, eh? I have questions: 1. The book is a bit heavy on the Normite side, but from your description, and the photos, I think you did a little hand work perhaps? 2. The sides. I see no kerf 'loss', did you slip match the sides, or what? Whatever, it's an excellent result. 3. When do we get the finished photos? I'm curious to see what happens after you add the Danish oil... John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Oh yes, that wood should be left to do all the talking. So, you've been peeping over my shoulder as I read 'Basic Box Making' by Doug Stowe, eh? I have questions: 1. The book is a bit heavy on the Normite side, but from your description, and the photos, I think you did a little hand work perhaps? 2. The sides. I see no kerf 'loss', did you slip match the sides, or what? Whatever, it's an excellent result. 3. When do we get the finished photos? I'm curious to see what happens after you add the Danish oil... John This box was about 15% neander, 85% norm. I used my #3 to surface the top of the top, and a #15 to clean up the bottom chamber (it started on the router table). If your good with a handsaw (I'm not yet) and have a good shooting board (I still need one of these), you could probably go full neander. The kerf loss is a little less than 3/16" (i could probably get it down to 1/8"), it's just not that noticable on this particular board. If your good with a handsaw you could get the kerf loss down to a little more than the width of the blade. The trick is a jig (I'll use this term loosely) I Came up with to cut the miters. Basically you cut the sides to width tape them down to a piece of scrap, and then run them through the table saw. I'm probably going to do a video on this, becasue I find the trick a lot more precise (the garbage can has a few test boxes I wasn't happy with), and less nerve racking, than the method Doug uses. The box already has one coat of finish and I'm going to apply another this evening, so hopefully I will have finished pics by tomorrow night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Two coats of WATCO Danish oil & a coat of clear Black Bison wax later I've got the following. Unfortunately this shot is washed out, so it doesn't show the richness of the color. The shot of the top & side has much truer color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Turned out marvellously. Two coats of WATCO Danish oil & a coat of clear Black Bison wax I was a bit worried that the wood would 'pop' too much and become a little too busy. That dIdn't happen fortunately, it actually seems more mellow than when unfinished. Did you do something special? Some secret sauce? Very, very nice. It's the 4 1/2" box, right? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 lol, no secret sauce, i followed the directions on the side of the can to a T. This is the 3-1/2" box, I still have 3 more to make. They will all have mahogany tops, two will have quarter-sawn sycamore sides, and the other flat sawn lightly spalted red oak. I'm probably going to put keys in the red oak one. Once those are done, then I'm going to make the 4-1/2" one. For that I'm planing on Mahogany top, Hickory sides, and Walnut keys. Turned out marvellously. I was a bit worried that the wood would 'pop' too much and become a little too busy. That dIdn't happen fortunately, it actually seems more mellow than when unfinished. Did you do something special? Some secret sauce? Very, very nice. It's the 4 1/2" box, right? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 3 more boxes done, video ready for editing, and another box in the works. The quarter sawn sycamore was joy to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mn pete Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Beautiful work Dan! I did some of these in Zebrawood with Padauk and Walnut lids. I also passed on the corner splines since the Zebrawood grain was so strong. The keys would have looked too busy. I just started working on my next batch of these boxes, plus another couple ideas I'd like to take for a spin. Pete http://secondwindworkshop.blogspot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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