About 40 years ago I bought a bunch of woodworking hardware and a tool box full .
The big old carpenter built tool box full of good old tools had a little box inside that held drill bits and such.
Over the years I have modified the original slightly , but have made many of different size and shapes and woods .
I call them slide top boxes . QSWO box pictured
Sometimes simple is not bad . I hope you will find these boxes useful as well as easy to make . I’ve heard about those quick warmup dovetails to get you going out in the shop , hey why not a quick little box to get warmed up .
happy wood working , dusty,boxmaker
Replies
"hey why not a quick little
"hey why not a quick little box to get warmed up ."
Or, a quick little box with dovetailed corners. ;-)
Nice box, by the way.
Hey Dusty
Beautiful litttle box. The idea has been around for ages I guess. I bought back a similar one from Morocco that contained dominoes.
Not so paradisical in the other paradise today. Rain, sleet, snow and several dogs running around inside out caused they dared to bark upwind.
wot
"prolly gonna get
"prolly gonna get ex-communicated"
I'd be right behind you, since I rarely do DTs by hand. Here's a little box I did back in the '70s with hand-cut DTs, though.
Looks Sleek
Dusty,
That is one sleek looking box, I do say. I like the contours on the front. The oak you used on the sides looks darker than any oak I've ever seen. Is that the colour of the wood, not enough lighting, or a tinted finish?
And I think you've provided me with the solution I've been looking for. You see, I've been organizing my shop and need some container to organize bulkier stuff. I've been using cardboard bins, but they have a weakness - they're made of cardboard. Now, I have lots of scrap maple around. Doing production runs is boring, but one box a day would be fun!
Thanks for posting. Dusty & Ralph, we'll miss you (I like cutting dovetails by hand, though I'm no pro at it).
Hey Chris ,
The clear lacquer allows the natural colors to show without distorsion imo .
The Eastern White Oak I use seems to vary in color of hues from lightish to Brownish and inbetween but besides the sapwood there is little about White Oak that is White .
Have you ever used the Eastern White Oak QS or otherwise ? this wood is so much nicer to use then Red Oak there is little comparason . The WO takes a finish more like Maple , fast build and buttery deep grain .
The lid was a much lighter in color piece but I liked the ray and decided to use it even though it was lighter .
I really like these for drilling bits and accesories , larger parts bins would work as well .
a box a day keeps the boogie man away
will you teach me dts , is there any hope ?
regards , dusty
To Dusty, eh.
Dusty,
No, I can't say I've ever used eastern white oak (that I know of, at least). I do like the colours in your samples - much more interesting than even the nicest red oak I've seen.
Are you concerned with dulling your drill bits by leaving them loose in the box?
I'm not sure I can teach you how to cut details. I'm sure you know the principles as well as I do, it's just a matter of practice. Practice, practice, practice.
From a newly cleaned shop,
if you have used any white oak at all it is more than likely from the east as 90% n/a hardwoods are from back there
ron
Red and Local
Ron,
I've used a good bit of red oak, and also some gary oak from local trees. Interesting factoid, all the same.
hey dusty,
as their third beginning project, the kids in my class make your box 2"x8" from one piece of poplar resawn and planed to 3/8". we rabbet the corner joints and then cut 1/4" slots for walnut feathers or keys. fun project.
all of my ww training was machine/production oriented with the exception of carving. i had to make a living and at that time, (mid 80's), the only training center available offered machine tool cabinet making classes. i did not even think about hand tool use until maybe the past couple years or so.
eef
Not so white Oak
Dusty nice to see you using up your scraps of Oak. We both have an affinity for that wood! I built another cabinet for my Master Bedroom this weekend. Nice built in storage cabinet for the sheets and towels, and a tall side cabinet for the ironing board. I have so many ends and pieces of boards laying around from selecting the material for the main parts it will be fun to knock out a small box. I really do like the darker white oak, it is much easier to plane and work with than the sapwood. Some of that is like fiber board.... it just shreds itself up. I really Lataxe would ship over a nice plank of Anglish Brun Oak he favors so much just to see how that works as well.
Now about your dovetails.... dont' knock em til you try them. I have never done a full blind dovetail with a 45 degree corner.... I can't do nice miters to begin with! ha.
I was shooting laquer on Sunday, starting to get the hang of that. Found a better gun at Harbour Frt and I am getting more consistant with it! Thanks for your help! Now on your little box, you shot those, as two pieces. Did you have trouble with the lid sliding back in?
Morgan
Rafting your way to DTS nirvana....
Dusty,
I have not worked with Red oak for years, and never had a real issue with it chipping except on some fine grain, plain sawn, door fronts.
I just might stop by sometime and take you up on that offer! Rafting the Rogue, ah sounds quite nice!
My hands never get tired from Dovetails, but my back does. I seem to like a bench at bar top height for it all, so I don't stoop to see what I'm a doing! Relax the hand with the chisel so you feel the scribe mark, get it vertical and give it a tap. Nothing to difficult but if you are cross eyed it could get interesting!
I will send some pics tommorrow, got to get my wifes birthday organized today!
later Morgan
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled