Thanks everyone for the kind words! Sorry for not responding sooner, I don't mean to be rude. I was put in charge of making a family video for my parents 40th wedding anniversary. It's been eating all my computer time the last couple of days... and nights... and mornings
The Hinge: I didn't want to buy a hinge, so while I was talking with my wife about what to do as she was putting things away in the deep freezer, I saw the freezer hinge and figured I could do something kind of like it in wood for the box.
I took stock and planed it to 5/8" thick x 3/4" wide and cut the gap on the table saw to make the ears and then cut the pieces to 1 1/2" long. I made the profile on the spindle sander. Next was to figure out how to make the male portion of the hinge. I took a piece of walnut stock and cut it just over 1/4". I took it to the pencil sharpener to get a point so that it would get started in my Lie-Nielsen dowel plate. I pounded it through about an inch and a quarter. I backed it out and trimmed and finished off the transition from square to round. I drilled two 1/4" holes in the lid and the dowel I made fit perfectly. With these in place, I could see where I needed to drill the holes for the hinge point. To help place the female portion, I held a piece of 1/4" plywood on the top and had the hinge "ears" touch the top of the plywood so that I would have a consistent look. I marked the spot that looked good for the copper tack and I was almost done. I didn't drill through both "ears." I figured that it might look nice to have a side with no hole. The nail is simply held in by pressure and is removable, making the top, for whatever reason, removable as well. I put a little dab of glue on the female portion and screwed it down. I also glued the male portion into the top. I think that about covers it. I had a lot of fun with this. I'm not a very creative person like this, so it was nice to solve this problem.
BLO: Stu, I put oil on all my pieces and then set them out in the sun for as many hours of sun as I can fit in. By day two the BLO is dry. I've sprayed on day two before with no problems.
Watches: What can I say, I like watches - especially the ones marked "Swiss Made."
My wife and I have a pair of Oris watches that we got for our 12th wedding anniversary. Nothing like a monster 44mm diver on the wrist. Sorry about that. This is a woodworking forum
Rennie: That's just plain funny!
I think I've seen that guy before. Never met him though
Pics: I hope these pics clarify a bit more how I made the hinges.
Thanks again.