First lidded box - this is becoming all too familiar

Roger Tulk

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3,018
Location
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
I had a nice piece of slightly spalted maple, and decided to make something out of it. Now, I'm tired on making candles, so I thought I might turn a couple of egg cups, but after I got the piece round, it was too small for an egg cup. So, I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and decided to make a lidded box, albeit a small lidded box. I parted a length long enough to make a reasonably proportioned box, and parted it about 1/3 of the way down for the lid. I didn't have a Forstner bit the right size to hollow the whole thing, so I took my 1" bit and hollowed out a good depth. Then I used my bowl gouge to enlarge the hole to about the right size, and cut a mortise with my parting tool that looked tickety-boo.

So then I put the lid in the chuck and gave it more or less the same treatment, and got the tenon on the lid to fit the mortise on the bottom, and sanded the inside, as I had done with the bottom. I then parted off the lid, a little shorter than I was aiming for, but OK, it's my first try. Now I put the bottom back in the chuck, measured where the bottom of the container was, and started to part it off with my new diamond parting tool, a bit below the putative bottom of the box. All was well until I got the parting tool down to about 1/4", and the box lazily toppled off the lathe, somewhat like how a gentleman that has had a bit too much to drink might depart his stool in the bar, and landed on the ground.

I picked it up, and discovered what you see in photo 3. I had left only about 1/16" for the bottom, which allowed the stub of the parting to detach itself from the lid, and remain part of the waste material.

Although it was unsuccessful, I am pretty happy with the general result. A little more careful measurement and I would have been there. The lid fits a little loose, but I can work on that.

Onward, ever onward!

DSCF6448.JPG DSCF6450.JPG DSCF6451.JPG
 
Well there you go, I see your problem right away! You're using your keyboard, you need to use your lathe! :rolleyes: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :p

Sorry I couldn't resist!! LOL
 
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Someone once told me that if you at first don't succeed, then destroy all evidence that you tried. Seriously, what happened to you happens to all who have turned smaller spice boxes and the like. The second one will be fine.
 
You could always drill the rest of the way through the bottom, glue on a contrasting piece of wood and turn it to match and call it "a design feature" rather than a mistake. No one would know you didn't mean to do it that way.
Steve
 
Boxes can be testy little monsters! If you haven't done so...Google Mike Staffords box turning tutorial. Looks like you were on the right track...but no one here has ever jacked up a turned box :doh::rofl:. Your next one will be perfect!
 
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