Cherry molding and mahogany box

[johnpipe108]

Here's an in-process on the first larger box from the molding collection. The wood has been tentatively identified as cherry, the top is a 1/4 inch slice from a Philippine mahogany end piece, with a 1/4 oak ply bottom.

This is another case of "jump in and try it," and was intended as the practice box for the final piece; definitely has revealed the shortcomings in my techniques, and I'll have to give some study and thought to the problems before trying the second, and larger, box.

Here in the thumbs are a bad corner, and the clamping; I had to shave and sand two of the end corners to level them up.



Everything looked so nicely fitted, until I actually assembled and glued it!:eusa_doh:

We are expecting to get my car's brakes fixed within the next few weeks, so I'll be able to get out to Santa Rosa to buy the appropriate hardware for these boxes; I have a limited selection between the local "HomeDepot/Yardbirds" and Maselli's contractor's supply, and while my car is down I have to wait for the rain to stop so I can bicycle out for any hardware I need!

 

[mcoston2]

Looks great so far. Keep going and of course more pic's.:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[johnpipe108]

Got the box cut open and hinged, pix coming soon; if we get a little break in the rain "today" (it's 1:16am the "night before" here right now) I can open the side door for some natural light for the wood pix.

I'll tell about the problems with cutting it open then. 8-O

It doesn't look too bad, but wouldn't win any prizes on close-up inspection!

 

[johnpipe108]

Re: Cherry molding and mahogany box - new pix!

Here is the box, front-catch view:

And, the box opened:

And last, a thumb for the hinge view:



I haven't yet decided on whether or not to make an interior tray, as I originally thought of this as a jewelery box. I am still thinking about a lining; I'm leaning toward only lining the very bottom and top, leaving the rest of the interior wood exposed.

I had a lot of trouble sawing open this box on the TS; I managed to get it a little out of square during the operation, and ended up re-sawing each half to get the edges squared up on the top and bottom. The box ended up 3/8" lower in height than planned as a result, instead of by the .100-inch kerf of the 60-tooth blade.

The hinge and clasp were Ace Hardware stock merchandise, made in China; I have to advise to give this stuff a miss, as the clasp is a piece of you-know-what, and doesn't work. The "catch" cost $3.79; the hinges were similarly priced. The articles are listed on the packaging as "solid brass" though the screws included with the hinges are actually steel and tend to strip their Phillips slots on first use, even with a properly fitted driver. None of this stuff compares with American made quality. :eusa_doh:

There is a better clasp on a Chinese-made box that included a set of TiN-coated Forstner bits that I bought for only $9.00 at a discount chain, and the quality on the catch for that box was much better than the un-workable clasp on this box; I'm going to have fun removing the same without damage to the piece, as those short brads have a good hold in the cherry wood!

 

[Bas]

Re: Cherry molding and mahogany box - new pix!

That is a fine looking box! Gotta love cherry. Thanks for all the extra details on technique, assembly etc. I've stopped trying to avoid mistakes. Instead, I've decided to become better at fixing them

 

[jeff...]

Nice box although I don't like cherry much your looks real nice

 

[johnpipe108]

Re: Cherry molding and mahogany box - new pix!

That is a fine looking box! Gotta love cherry. Thanks for all the extra details on technique, assembly etc. I've stopped trying to avoid mistakes. Instead, I've decided to become better at fixing them

Funny, I don't try to avoid them, they just seem to like me a lot and keep coming round! :eusa_thin

I suspect that we all are becoming pretty good at fixing them! :eusa_danc