Replies

1. 
   davamoore | Apr 24, 2003 09:10pm | #1

   I'm not sure what you mean by "can't make glued miters work."  Do they not work for the design you have in mind, or are you having difficulty keeping glued miters to stay together after assembly?

   If it's the latter, you might try using some sort of key, inserted perpendicular to the vertical length of the miter joint at several points along the outside of the joint, at each of the box's four corners.  These not only look nice, they provide added strength to the joint.  Given the thin sides, you could use a thin key made out of veneer... the benefit of this is that, if you use a veneer of the same wood as the sides, the keys are almost invisible.

   I'm attaching a pic of a walnut box I made with ebony keys.

   David

   "The world that was not made is not won by what is done" -- Mundaka Upanishad

   
1. 
   BrianMcG | Apr 25, 2003 09:34am | #2

   Nice box. How was the top done? Brian

1. 
   davamoore | Apr 27, 2003 03:09pm | #4

   Brian -- here's a link that discusses how the top was made... bottom line, it was a technique published in Wood Magazine.  Here it is:

   http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-knots&msg=10576.1#a1

   If the link doesn't work, you can do a search on "Copper Patina."  It should come up, along with a couple of other threads with ideas from Clay, Splintergroupie and some others.

   David"The world that was not made is not won by what is done" -- Mundaka Upanishad

1. 
   BrianMcG | Apr 28, 2003 08:13am | #5

   Thanks David

2. 
   BarryO | Apr 25, 2003 10:39pm | #3

   The book "Box Making Basics" is a great one for this topic. 

   See: http://www.taunton.com/store/pages/070254.asp

   Miters are fussy cuts.  A precise 45 degree angle is critical.  I spend a while practicing with test cuts on the TS to get the angles just right (i.e., so that two pieces held together form a 90 degree angle that lines up with my miachinist's angle).

   Also, opposite sides need to be exactly the same length.