More Scrap Boxes

[glenn bradley]

The plan is for a couple of hinge-lid boxes. I don't have any decent resaw capability right now so I am using pieces out of the shorts bin. I should have started taking pictures sooner. It was when I reached for my shop-made stops that I thought to start.

You guys have seen these before. They do this:

And this:

A series of miter cuts gets me two continous grain sets of box parts.

I use a 50T blade with a flush FTG raker to cut 1/8" x 1/8" grooves for the top, bottom, and some "rails" that will support an insert tray.

Again, limited by resaw capability I am glad I hung on to so many scraps leftover from resawing years ago.

I am veneering resaw scraps of oak to either side of a plywood substrate. Once the joinery is done only the oak should show so I don't need any trim for the edges.
The tops will be cut from a piece of poplar that I router-carved.

I have used this same technique on cremation urns in the past. I stole the idea from whoever it was that made a bypass door cabinet using this technique on the door panels that I saw online years ago.

Hmm, I can't believe I didn't post a thread about these urns??? Maybe my Google-Fu is failing me? I'll just stick a picture in here for reference.

 

[Ted Calver]

Lovely work, Glenn. I really like those router carved tops.

 

[allen levine]

Lovely work, Glenn. I really like those router carved tops.

I second this post

 

[glenn bradley]

Thanks guys. It's important to remember that all thee parts are made from this stuff. It's surprising what you can find if you dig a bit.

Here's a rough assembly.

The veneered ply gets a trip through the drum sander.

At 180 grit.

Finish sanded.

I will mill a tongue on these that I managed not to get a good pic of. This calls for a very small round-over . . . and a different collet ;-)

Oh, there's the tongues. Parts is parts.

I was really hoping to have one of these in the clamps this evening. Life is trying to get in the way so if I'm not back tonight, I'll see you tomorrow.

 

[Toni Ciuraneta]

Good job Glenn, it is curious to find out how depending on the projects one makes, the scraps generated are completely different. My scraps tend to be shorter and much thicker, which forces me to resaw them and glue to make bigger boards. (I'm not fond of making cutting boards)
Questions: If I've understood well, you are using the veneered ply for the bottom of the boxes. Am I right? The overall thickness of the sides is around 3/8"?

 

[glenn bradley]

Correct on both Toni. The tongue is positioned on the veneered ply to make sure the plywood edges are well hidden.

 

[Dave Minnich]

Those look great, Glenn. Do you have any pointers on how you do the router carving? That looks like something I might want to try.


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[glenn bradley]

I got through the morning duties . . . I thought I was retired??? I glue up the boxes the same way I have seen people do it for decades. Masking tape on the inside to catch squeeze-out, packing tape on the outside to align and hold the corners. Here you can see that I trim the tape carefully to make sure it doesn't interfere with the top and bottom panels during assmebly. Just like any other glue up, a dry run tells me that I have a corner that needs a bit of trimming or that a bit of tape extends into the groove that must be dealt with or whatever.

If it doesn't go together easily when dry, it's not going to get better when you add the glue.


There are many ways to clamp a box for glue up. For smaller boxes I use just the tape. This one is about 8" x 5" so I add a couple sets of these picture frame clamps. I have had good success with them as box clamps for many years.

This design will cut the box in two at about 1" down from the top to create the top and bottom portions. The ledges for the insert tray will be added after the hinges so we'll get to that in a little while.

 

[glenn bradley]

When I cut the box into the two parts I know I want the top to be 1". I just set up off of this and don't really care what the bottom measurement is. Notice: you always have your machine de-energized when you are using the cutter as a setup tool .

I want to cut through the sides but not much further.

I used to use the almost cut through and finish with a handsaw method. If you whip up 3 of these you can skip that task.

Make your first cut and tape one of these in place to hold the kerf in place.

Etc.

This lets you cut the box apart nice and clean and safe.



I am mixing woods to some degree more than I normally would but they’re scrap boxes . Poplar would not be my choice for the top and I would have two main woods with the possibility of a third as the pull. I will burn up some old surface mount hinges from days gone by.

 

[Ryan Mooney]

The inserts to hold the top on while cutting is a superlative idea!

 

[Toni Ciuraneta]

Sorry Glenn, but I am lost now. You mentioned that the inside grooves or "rails" were to hold a small tray of sorts, isn't it?, So if you already glued the box, how are you going to hold the tray without putting some inserts on the rails unless they do not reach the ends, or do you will put some mitered insert on each corner, leaving the rest of the groove open? Maybe I am thinking ahead, so I'll wait for the next installment of this thread.

I like the inserts to cut the lid of the box, we commented this issue when we met at Caro'ls place.

 

[glenn bradley]

If it is a full tray insert I will use extra large miter "keys" that extend into the box and provide support at each corner. This is a smaller tray that may end up anywhere from left to right so, runners rather than corner supports. The long runners will run into the corners. To make this fit I do the following:
Trim the piece to full length.

Knock one inside corner off at a small angle.

This lets me fully insert the square end of the runner.

And swing the angled end in for a good fit.

The short runners will butt into the short side grooves and are probably not even necessary.

Omitting them would have taken just a little more planning. The short runners will hide my shortsightedness ;-)

 

[Toni Ciuraneta]

Thanks Glenn, and thanks for taking the time to document it so thoroughly.

 

[Dave Minnich]

Those look great, Glenn. Do you have any pointers on how you do the router carving? That looks like something I might want to try.


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Ping... just in case this got overlooked earlier in the thread.


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[glenn bradley]

Ping... just in case this got overlooked earlier in the thread.


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Sorry about that. I do it with 2 or 3 sizes of core box bits in a Bosch Colt router. I raise and lower the router to create the undulating forms and overlap them as I find visually appealing. I have definitely had patterns that were working only to be trashed by a little too much enthusiasm .

 

[glenn bradley]

While the guys are out doing the finishing work on the slab I did a few things to keep me from bugging the heck out of them . . .

I cut a couple of free form shapes out of the scrap from the tops, thin them, and shape them till I'm happy. I drill two small holes to accept two small metal pegs (bits of stainless bailing wire).

I put a piece of tape in the approximate location that I want the pull. When I am happy with the position I press the wire spikes into the tape which leaves me guide marks. I drill receiver holes at these marks, remove the tape and epoxy the pulls on.

I have done pulls like this for years with larger wire or even 1/8" dowels depending on the scale. I haven't lost one yet.
I pick an angle that will allow the top to easily stay open.

I drill two small holes for the brass screws that will hold the chain-stop.

And they end up like so.