Watchbox-in progress

I went out ofcourse, and took out a nice foot piece of mahogany and was tapping away with a chisel.
It looks like such a simple, easy task, but theres no second chances.
(I think I waste more BF practicing anything and everything than I do in the actual build itself most of the times)

Stu Im going to copy this box except for the bottom modling, will go with much thinner next one, and line it with 1/4 inch spanish cedar and call it a humidor(maybe a little brass latch in front and a brass handle on top)

allen i dont know what your plans are on the inside coating cloth or flocking, but the sealing witha oil inside might be a trouble spot brewing..the adhesive may not want to stick well... so heads up friend... and as for the practicing board feet use any thing it doesnt have to be the good stuff just a slat of a pallet will do your just cuttin wood to get the feel of how to do a operation for the future

I have the box in the house drying at room temperature, and just took a walk into the garage. No way Ill be doing much of anything, its 17 degrees out there, Ill stay inside or head over to one of the big stores to look around.

I will not leave this llittle project the way it is, it bothers me my buddy called it a coffin.

IM going to attempt, (Im pretty sure Ill ruin the top), to rout out a center rectangle, rabbet out a groove and place a piece of smoked lucite in there.
I figured hed stop by and then call it a coffin with a moon roof.

allen dont worry so much about what others think!!!! everybody has opinions. they are like other things that we all have!!! he may have just been kiddin and to chance making the box have a catastrophy isnt worth it.. someone else posted a box just recently that looked alot yours and it was nt critcized with that term... he ,,your buddy can go take a hike, he isnt a good friend if he cant be nice with comments..

allen levine said:

I just showed it to a buddy who stopped off on his way home to say hi. He took one look at the box, and said, wow, looks like a miniture casket. You burying something in it?

Click to expand...

Amen to what Stu and Larry said.

When someone else likes something I've made, that's great. But, the main thing is what LOML and I think about it.

One thing is making constructive criticism that help you to improve in whatever you're doing, another is just being mean and sarcastic in order to harm you.

I would just send him to pasture, which is a literal translation from what we say here...

allen levine said:

I just showed it to a buddy who stopped off on his way home to say hi.
He took one look at the box, and said, wow, looks like a miniture casket.
You burying something in it?

Click to expand...

You could ask him to model it for you.

hes not mean spirited at all, just very honest with me and wont hold back anything he wants to tell me.
(were close, known each other since we were 14)
My only 2 good straight bits(yes, that is sad), one was too short, the other had a broken bearing/stop.
Way too cold anyway, I couldnt feel my fingers.
Maybe Ill leave it alone, just put the hardware on it when its fully coated and finished.

Kudos to all you guys/gals that make jewerly and small boxes every day.
Dealing with these tiny pieces of hardware is not for me.
Its 35 degrees in the garage, my hands are stiff, the joints dont bend in my fingers, most of my fingertips have the ends split from drying out, so I dont feel much in the tips anyway, and these little tiny itsy bitsy brass screws, Id rather be building a dog house.

Everything I do is usually something new to me.
Ive never used a chisel in my life for anything but cleaning out the mortises Ive cut with the drill press.
I scored the wood with a sharp razor blade, chiseled out the outline, then worked it slowly and carefully. Its far from perfect, really far from perfect, but when you screw a hinge over the errors, hehe, most dissapear.
The only huge error I made was going a bit too far in once with the drill bit.See on the left side, right side of the hinge, the bit didnt go through,(looks like a pimple) it poked the surface from underneath. I pushed it back, surface was not cut through, and put finish over it, Ill see how it comes out.
Yeah, I know I should have used a stop, but I figured just a tap with the bit, just break the surface. Eh, Im not selling it.
Heres a few pics so far. 3 rub on coats of tung, lightly sanded in between each coat, 4 rub on Minwax wipe on gloss poly.
I hade to sand out something on the edge, so Ill put a few more coats of poly on it, Then Ill felt line the interior.

I can build 4 adirondack chairs in the same amount of time Im devoting to this little box.

ya dun good again,, let me tell ya a story about drillin,,dad had built a chest it was far from perfect and we all have mistakes i our work,, bt he brought over one daya nd we looked at it and together we decide we could help it out in the appearnce factor,, we both worked on it i did some when he wasnt there.. but we got his all fixed up and i finished it for him stain and laquer.. well it was time to put it back together. he had along piano hinge and and had made his moretis to deep so he put a shim in under the hinge to make it work.. wel when he put it back togehter he switched places with the shim and went to screwin in the screws.. yup he had the nicest set of dimples you never wanted to see in the top.. but he was happy that it turned out better than he had planned and that the next time he would do things differntly..we all learn from the mistakes,,, as for your dimple next time get your self a set of "thixx bits' i think that is right name they are made for predrilling hnges allen and you wont be going threw with out stops no more.. they come in sets of 3 usually.. the watch box looks fine.. thanks for sharun!!!

Hi Larry ....I think you mean VIXX bits.

Rob Keeble said:

Hi Larry ....I think you mean VIXX bits.

Click to expand...

thanks rob yup i had that first but it dint look right

before I slice up the spanish cedar for a humidor, Ill get me a set so I dont make the same mistake twice.
Im quite sure there are plenty of other mistakes I can manage.

I think the watch box came out looking beautiful, Allen. Much better than my first few boxes. Your corners are nice and tight, and the simple but consistent profiles on the lid and base are a nice enhancement.

Your hinge mortises also look real good...better than the few I've done. Like you saw, the hinge covers up most problems as long as you stay inside the lines with the chisel.

I noticed Larry commenting earlier about applying flocking over an oiled surface. I don't think you have anything to worry about. The Formby's "Tung Oil" finish is just a wiping varnish, so once it's cured a day or so the flocking adhesive should have no problem adhering to it.

All in all, I think you deserve to be proud of this box, but if you keep this up, you're going to have to start admitting you're a real woodworker. (Face it, you really are a woodworker. Maybe not as experienced as some of the guys here, but you conceive, build, and finish nice things out of wood. That's woodworking in my book.) And every project like this where you try new techniques and tools makes the next project that much easier.

I didnt put more than the first coat inside.

After my ipe table and chairs, Im pretty happy with my status as a novice woodworker.

Im pretty sure Im going to stick with indoor furniture for a while now.

thanyou all for the nice comments(and mostly helpful advice)

basically finished, just need to put the felt covered blocks under each watch.

Put something in there so it gives it a bit of character as to what it is.
I hope I dont give it to my son for another 35 years, but I like to have things sorted out, so this is one less thing Ill think about, and he'll have something to remember his old man everytime he trips over it.(maybe he'll dump the watches out in his sock drawer and use the box for candy, his mail, whatever, as long as he remembers who made it for him.

hey allen did you notice that reflection in the bottom side of your box lid??? its reflecting the watches ,but its also reflecting the shine that you put on the finish on the whole project,,that doesnt happen by accident

thankyou kindly.

The next box Im going to try to incorporate some more intricate joinery.
Figured each time I build one try to teach myself different techniques.

Sure turned out good Allen Very nice build, very nice finish. I'm sure in another 35 or more years when your son receives this he will value it. (burns the build pics on a CD to give him also.....that is if they are not acient antiques then)

Tom