Pen, Journal, And Box Project

[watch_art]

the saw stop is amazing and should be mandatory. the amount of money dumped into hospitals b/c o severed fingers is just stupid.

[DrCodfish]

the saw stop is amazing and should be mandatory. the amount of money dumped into hospitals b/c o severed fingers is just stupid.

 

It is amazing. I have talked to two other woodworkers who have puchased them; One because he had an injury, and the other because he is now teaching and it is mandatory in that situation. I have not ruled it out for myself. I am probably the primary candidate; Someone who thinks he knows what he is doing and does not use a saw everyday.

[PJohnP]

As a safety professional (amongst several other work roles), I can say that circular and table saw accidents are entirely preventable, but that many people are either oblivious to the consequences, or will say, "well, you know a carpenter/woodworker eventually has to be missing a finger or two." In many cases, alas, it's not the people who are the occasional users of the saws, but those who simply become inured to the potential for serious injury.

 

I very much disagree with the premises that these accidents are inevitable, especially since I've had to take people to the hospital over the years where they've run their hands over and through table saws. The loss of finger(s) is catastrophic and the loss of a thumb even worse. Try buttoning a shirt or zipping up trousers with no thumb. Everyday life just became almost infinitely more difficult. The surgeries to reattach digits are extremely delicate and demanding, distressing, and not always successful. There will be months of pain and rehabilitation in the better cases, and in the worst, eventual amputation of the unsuccessful results with further pain and suffering.

 

I counsel looking at all of the gross bloody videos and pictures to get a better idea of just how terrible these accidents can be. Yes, the material will make some people feel ill. Good - it's doing the job necessary to show the consequences of carelessness. Feeling ill is far better than missing fingers or thumbs.

 

In short, and the grim awful pun is intended for impact, power equipment safety is a critical matter for anyone working with items like table saws.

 

 

 

John P.

[DrCodfish]

John. I appreciate your sentiment. I worked in the woods around heavy equipment for 25 years and saw my share of logging accidents. But worse by far than all the loaders, yarders, trucks, dozers, etc was the lowly chain saw, the most dangerous hand operated power tool in my estimation. I think the table saw is a close second because it is so seemingly benign. The one woods job I vowed never to do back then was to work in a shingle mill. That was a job where it seemed almost a certainty that I would eventually lose a digit.

[DrCodfish]

The assembly is where the magic happens:

Here I am gluing the front panel (on the left) to the carcass. You can see that I have begun to finish sand the box joints on the right. Once the glue dries I will sand those on the left (see how they stand a little proud?)

 

I used clear cedar veneer to line the top of the box. It is not too obvious now but once I get the Poly finish ,on the cedar will give a nice contrasting color to the hemlock. I got the cedar from a friend who has relatives who work in a door factory, Doors, window casing, that kind of stuff use only the best material. The cedar is sliced into veneers to get as much mileage as possible out of this very quality high wood.

 

 

This picture shows the sliding tray riding on the edges of the cedar liner.

 

As I mentioned I have begun sanding the box joints. It is tedious because the end grain is so much harder than the long grain, You have to be careful or your sanding produces waves and high spots. No time to be rushing things.

 

 

I wiped the work down with a damp cloth to get some sense for how it will look once I have the finish on, nice!

 

But don't look too close, you start to see all the flaws and sloppy work

Edited February 12, 2015 by DrCodfish

[migo984]

Wow Paul! You're so talented. That looks fabulous!

Errrrmmm, if you ever feel the need to practice more, I would be prepared to suffer your "sloppy" work! ;-)

 

MJ

[my63]

I don't think that your work could be described as sloppy it is a fine piece of work.

I am looking forward to seeing the next installment

[sargetalon]

Looks awesome. Keep it coming!

[DrCodfish]

OK, so plodding along, one thing I notice that is consistent: When I go slow, good things happen, when I rush I get 'oops'.

 

I decided that a little contrast would add something. I have a tendency to over do it with the stain, paint etc, but I thought the golden oak stain on the drawer parts (because they are after all oak) would not be over the top.

And those with a sharp eye will have noticed that as I was hurrying through the staining, I was able to leave a nice big golden oak thumbprint in the middle of the of the drawer front ... sigh.

 

 

This gives you an idea of how the lid might look, not glued up, just dry fit at this time .

This is the start of the really hard part for me. These mitered corners don't quite fit as they should and, knowing that this is the top of the box, the part most visible, all the time, I am thinking it is probably going to take a few try's to get this the way I want it. Hey, that's why we call this a 'test box' right?

 

And here, ... with feet.

The jury is still out on the feet, your thoughts would be welcome.

 

Feet and a lid

 

 

 

The feet are growing on me, the thumbprint however, that's gotta go.

Edited February 19, 2015 by DrCodfish

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Great project and graduation gift. I vote no feet.

[DrCodfish]

In my last post I mentioned that I like the look of the box with 'feet'. I thought I would try to add a little 'flair' while at the same time strengthening the mitered corners which is done by adding 'keys' to the miters. First you have to make a jig for the table saw:

 

 

 

Setting the depth of the dado blade

 

 

Aligning the work piece

 

 

Cutting the slots

 

 

Inserting the 'key' material. In this case I am using thin strips of Peruvian Walnut which I ripped from a

small board I had.

 

 

Then, after trimming and sanding (A LOT of sanding) this is how they look

 

 

 

And, as they might look attached to the box

 

 

 

 

This gives you an idea of how it might look sans feet.

 

I like the look, I worried that this treatment might look a little ostentatious, but I think it's fine and does not detract from the overall look of the piece.

 

I like this well enough that I will probably do a matching treatment for the corners of the box lid.

Edited February 21, 2015 by DrCodfish

[my63]

Your work is excellent and has me interested in making another box myself.

If I might add I like the keys but wonder if the feet are a little on the large side, it is difficult to judge from the pictures.

Is the lid going to be hinged or lift off?

[Barkingpig]

The feet look GOOD & I suspect they also will make the drawer easier to use. It will surely put "store boughten" boxes in their place!

[DrCodfish]

Your work is excellent and has me interested in making another box myself.

If I might add I like the keys but wonder if the feet are a little on the large side, it is difficult to judge from the pictures.

Is the lid going to be hinged or lift off?

 

You have a good eye and a good 'bedside manner'. These feet are perhaps a little on the large side as you say, but there are some mitigating factors:

 

In diving back in to woodworking (and box making particularly) I have consulted lots of resources. (the internet is a wonderful, and a terrible thing) I've also purchased several books, looking mostly for technique and 'how-to'. In the process I found lots of information I was looking for, and of course, lots I wasn't looking for.

 

In one of the books I bought there was a section on design which offered considerable discussion on aesthetics, design, and proportion. The author referred to boxes with classic propositions. He illustrated boxes with four different 'classic' propositions:

 

W D H

2 1 1 (double cube)

1.4 1 1 (root of two box [the width Is actually supposed to be the square root of 2])

3 2 1 (1:2:3 box)

0.62 1 0.62 (golden rectangle)

 

I didn't follow any of these slavishly. Generally speaking, I am after an arts and crafts or mission style aesthetic. I am a big fan of Frank Lloyd Wright, and Gustav Stickley. The box I will ultimately make for my son will be constructed of quarter sawn white oak and I have played around with different techniques to achieve that classic mission oak finish. Over the winter I even experimented with fuming the oak with ammonia fumes. Much to my surprise it actually did have a significant impact on the coloration of the wood. But that's all for another time.

 

The point is, my senses suggested that those feet, "a little on the large side" might lend to that look I am trying to achieve. As you can see from this picture

 

the box front is about 14 inches, and each of the feet are a about three inches. 'Classic' proportions might have suggested shorter, but I have not found any reference to this particular point. At one time I considered a stepped look to the footing, something like this:

 

A look I quite like, but I think this is better suited to a larger box. I tried this on one of my earlier boxes:

 

Which in this case gave the box some sense of being a chest. And too, the proportions for this box are way out of whack compared to classic proportions mentioned above. The reason being I made a box that day from the materials I had on hand.

 

I plan to make a hinged lid, so adding the hardware is another of the very intimidating steps. Mostly because it is one of the last things to be done and the thought of making a bog mess at the end, well ... I'll worry about that in a week or so.

 

 

 

The feet look GOOD & I suspect they also will make the drawer easier to use. It will surely put "store boughten" boxes in their place!

 

BP: Thanks for the vote of confidence. I think we may be of the same tribe: "store boughten" is something my Dad would have said.

Edited February 21, 2015 by DrCodfish

[my63]

I am sure there is a formula for working out the correct ratio of feet to box I have always used trial and error cutting blocks o different sizes until I like one of them.

I have included a link to Ian Hawthorns site he makes excellent boxes but also has a fantastic range of hardware that is easy to fit

http://www.hawthornecrafts.com

I have used fumed oak veneer before with good results I also experimented with vinegar and wire wool to ebonise oak which also works on leather especially if it is oak tanned.

[SockAddict]

The proportions you are using is similar to what quilters would use to make borders look right around blocks, etc. I think the size you have is right on, personally.

 

I'm also one of those crafters that thinks saying something looks "store-bought" is an insult, unless said with the highest respect for the craftsmanship. Your box looks like something a store would be proud to sell.

[DrCodfish]

I am sure there is a formula for working out the correct ratio of feet to box I have always used trial and error cutting blocks o different sizes until I like one of them.

I have included a link to Ian Hawthorns site he makes excellent boxes but also has a fantastic range of hardware that is easy to fit

http://www.hawthornecrafts.com

I have used fumed oak veneer before with good results I also experimented with vinegar and wire wool to ebonise oak which also works on leather especially if it is oak tanned.

 

Nice boxes. There is another craftsman from your country who's work amazes, David Barron. I thought about trying my hand at dovetail joints for the drawer (I may still on the subsequent boxes). Mr Barron's dovetail cutting guide is on my list of things to buy when I win the lottery.

 

The proportions you are using is similar to what quilters would use to make borders look right around blocks, etc. I think the size you have is right on, personally.

 

I'm also one of those crafters that thinks saying something looks "store-bought" is an insult, unless said with the highest respect for the craftsmanship. Your box looks like something a store would be proud to sell.

 

Thanks SockAddict. My mom was a quilter and a knitter, so I can appreciate your craft. I still have and use a bunch of her quilts, and I am pretty sure they will still be in fine shape when I am gone and my kids inherit them.

[fireant]

Holy cheeseballs this is gorgeous!

[DrCodfish]

Holy cheeseballs this is gorgeous!

 

Ah yes, the holiness of cheeseballs! Goergweous!? I'll giv e you half an hour to cut that out. Seriously, thanks for the compliment. I've made great progress in the last few days. Not becase I have done an enormous amount of work, but because the few things I have done are those which make a big impact (in terms of appearance). I will have another post with in the next few days which will reveal this project as maybe 90% complete. Just hope I don't mess up some of these small but very visible steps (Think finishes, hard ware ect.)

 

It's getting exciting for me, both because I will be finishing Test Box III and becasue I will be starting the next project which may be antoher test box or it may be my first try at the final project for my son. WOOT!

[fireant]

 

Ah yes, the holiness of cheeseballs! Goergweous!? I'll giv e you half an hour to cut that out. Seriously, thanks for the compliment. I've made great progress in the last few days. Not becase I have done an enormous amount of work, but because the few things I have done are those which make a big impact (in terms of appearance). I will have another post with in the next few days which will reveal this project as maybe 90% complete. Just hope I don't mess up some of these small but very visible steps (Think finishes, hard ware ect.)

 

It's getting exciting for me, both because I will be finishing Test Box III and becasue I will be starting the next project which may be antoher test box or it may be my first try at the final project for my son. WOOT!

 

 

Your son is going to love this. It's not just the custom pen/fp/pencil designed specifically for him, it's the journal (which is breath taking) and this gorgeous beautiful box.You are a wonderful father and I am certain your son is just as great. The acorns don't fall far from the tree.