How To Turn a Box

Originally posted here.

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


knocked into the round


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


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



mount the base in the jaws


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


jam the lid on but make sure its not too tight as you cant remove it once the lids sanded :roll:


heres the lid shaped-



while its jammed on work on the base- at this point you can see the whole form which helps with proportions etc


I've now sanded to 800 grit



apply some lemon oil- here the oil is still wet, its such a dense wood it will stay wet for a few seconds


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


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.


jam the base on and clean away the dovetail hold- sand and finish the base at this stage.


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



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


I hope this is of some help- any questions just ask, if you don't want to ask here drop me a pm