Oak Panels

  I just got a commission to make two keepsake boxes.  The boxes are for kids and so the size ordered is like a large jewelry box. They will be no quite treasure chests, but unlike a jewelry box there will be no trays or drawers.

  My plan is to make solid, beautiful boxes that will last a lifetime.  To do that, I need to glue up a bunch of oak panels from which to make the sides.

  First thing is to bring about 60 of these oak shorts in from the garage and let them warm up to work shop temperature.( this is just the first pile)

  





 Next a whole bunch of re-sawing, the panels are going to be 3/8" so after jointing one face and one edge the boards are sawed to 1/2".

   The next step after jointing the edges is to glue the oak into panels four boards wide.  I used all my Bessey Clamps, plus my less than stellar clamps to make the all the panels I needed.

   Once the glue is dry I used my planer to thickness the panels to 3/8". Then I sanded until my hands were weary , 80,120, 220, 320 grit using my random orbital sanders.

   The result is pretty damn nice, if I do say so myself.  I do like wood grain.  It is my plan to make a test board with Tom's wood finishing method and if I like it, finish these boxes according to the method outlined in the long video I linked to last time.