Box Topping Day

   Yesterday's boxes glue is dry and they have been sanded to 180 grit.  Now it is time for tops.

   The box with the mitre corners got an inset lid.

 
    I round over the edges of the lid a little bit so that there is a lip for your fingers to grasp.  Making a lid like this is simple and easy.  First I trace the top of the box onto the board that from which I am going to make the lid. Then I head to my router table and using a straight bit and my fence I gradually cut away material until the lid fits into the box.  Remember this only works if your box is square and the sides are all the same thickness.

  The other box was the butt joint box and I made a hinged lid for it.

the whole lid is a hinge. you can see the 1/8 inch brass  rod that is the pivot point for the hinge.  I drilled through the side and about 3/4 inch into the lid.  When I drill these tops I clamp the lid in place and drill through the side and into the top all at once.
 For me a drill press is necessity to get the holes straight and true.

  For this box I cut a thumb spot into the lid to make opening it easier.  It is easy to make that little round thumb hole, I used my sander and a 2 inch drum.  On this box the lid appears thicker than the other but is is not, it is just that the full thickness of the wood is visible.  I used the thickness so that the hinge wouldn't be liable to break as easily. When you make this sort of lid you must round over the side so that there is clearance for the turn.

Wooden Hinge Practise

    Last blog I showed a small wooden spoon that I'd made and explained that it was a practise project, a small project to help me develop my skills with knives and chisels and sharpening.

  This is a similar project.  I have made a bunch of cutting boards lately and felt that I needed to try some new things before cutting and gluing up another batch of boards. You see in the photo a box joint, the wood is 3/4 pine and I decided it was just as easy to cut the joint on the band saw as to try and make a router based jig for something this large. Some careful marking and equally careful cutting and the box joint turned out tight and square.

   These are a couple of the marking tools that I used to layout the joint.  I have come to appreciate the marking gauge more as I work with it and improve my understanding of its quirks or is it understanding my quirks?

saddle square and marking gauge

  The next step was turning the box joint into a hinge.

Below is the finished hinge.  I rounded it by eye using the bench disk sander and then chisels. If I were planning to use this hinge on something nice I would still have fine sanding and finishing to do.  In this case I doubt if the hinge will see actual use, it was a practice piece. 

  The major challenge turned out to be drilling the 1/8 hole for the brass rod, I discovered that I didn't have a drill bit long enough to drill completely through the length of the hinge.  I drilled through from both ends and things kind of met in the middle since the drill bit drifted when I started it . There are a couple of lessons learned: one, time to sharpen, or replace some drill bits, two:  be sure to punch a good starting point so the bit will be less likely to wonder as you begin to drill. And most importantly be sure you have the tools necessary to complete the job before you start.

  In the back of my mind I have a plan for a box with some carved wooden hinges, I figured I needed to develop the hinge making part of the project before I spent time on the carving part.  It is best not to put the cart before the horse.

   This and the spoon are projects that require a level of care and precision  that I need to practise until it becomes second nature.  A greater level of precision will enable finer quality results, I've worked on finishing and it is getting better so I believe an old dog can learn new tricks.