breif how to box-again!!

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130
this is how i do my box's - everyone has there own way- this isn't meant to be "the only way" or "you must do it this way" just a brief guide, as always find which way/tools work for you.

for this "how to" I used a very old piece of African blackwood which i have had in my house for several years, I would normally rough out the blank first to ensure that the fit of the lid stays as you left it but this blackwood wont move and i wanted to show the whole process.

This blank is 3" square by 5" long
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knocked into the round
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I forgot to take a pic but mark out the lid from the base and part them through with a very thin parting tool

heres the lid mounted in my chuck
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I hollowed out the inside using a spindle gouge on its side- then cut a female rebate this must have parallel sides if the lid is to make a good fit- sand a finish the inside now
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mount the base in the jaws
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make a male tenon to fit the lid- at this stage you want to jam fit the lid onto the base to make the outside of the lid- i take a core out of the centre of the base at this point
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jam the lid on but make sure its not too tight as you cant remove it once the lids sanded
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heres the lid shaped-
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while its jammed on work on the base- at this point you can see the whole form which helps with proportions etc
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I've now sanded to 800 grit
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apply some lemon oil- here the oil is still wet, its such a dense wood it will stay wet for a few seconds
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here i've applied u-beaut eee by cloth, this helps when i will buff it later- you could leave it like this if you wish but the buffing will remove the very fine radial sanding marks that a cloth wont
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before you take the base out of the chuck remember to ease the fit of the lid with avery sharp skew and very fine cuts- a fraction of a shaving will make the difference between to tight and just right so take your time.

make a jam chuck from a bit of scrap wood- this is good lid fitting pratice.
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jam the base on and clean away the dovetail hold- sand and finish the base at this stage.
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now mount a jacobs chuck in the headstock and using a 6" loose leaf mop go over the box with a tiny bit of eee applied to the mop- hang on tight and only use the bottom quarter of the mop (between 6 and 9)keep a dedicated mop for each polish you use don't mix and match
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next i mount another mop in the pigtail and apply u-beaut shellwax cream-this leaves a very high hard wearing shine which i like on dark woods
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I hope this is of some help- any questions just ask, if you don't want to ask here drop me a pm
 
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Thanks for taking the time to write this up, George. I'm going to put a copy over in the Tips and Tutorials section. :thumb:

Oops...I see Jeff already beat me to it. :)
 
Great job and tutorial, George. I do have one question. You state that you used a Spindle Gouge on the inside of the lid of the box. Would you show pictures of the gouge, showing the grind. It will be very helpful to understand you accomplished it without a bunch of catches.

Thanks in advance.

Bruce
 
Thanks guys

I will get a picture later Bruce-
its just 3/8" gouge with slight swept back grind and a very short flute to reduce chatter- I use it cutting from inside to out with the flute over on its side pointing at 9-0 clock ish. the gouge stays horizontal at all times-push it into the centre and swing the handle to the right, then repeat until the final depth is reached- then on hard woods like this i neg scrape the sides and base so ican start sanding at 180 ish.
I also use the same technique on goblet bowls and starting hollow forms etc

here you go
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George,
Beautiful box... I took the liberty of copying your tutorial to my how to files... named the file "turning a box by George Watkins"... I like to make sure I know who has done a tutorial in case I ever need to ask a question...

I have a dvd by Allen Baty on hand chasing threads in which he talks about "opening a box with a box opening tool". It's been a while since I looked at the dvd, but is your tool similar to what he's using?? I've taken one of my older spindle gauges and reshaped it similar to yours.. I went with more of a point and swept the bevel back a little more.. it's almost a point tool and can really get into some tight places.
 
Hi chuck- i have been lucky enough to watch Allan and stuart batty demonstrate and i think my method is similar to Allans!?!!?!? i also have his thread chasing video but i cant remeber its been quite a while since i last watched it- maybe its time to dust it of and let you know if it is
 
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