kirkpoore1
Old Oak
OK, I didn't manage to work on these over the weekend. Fortunately, I did get them almost done during a couple of nights last week, even though I couldn't post until now. I assembled the second chest, then trimmed the side overlaps off with a couple of handsaws (a tenon saw and a dozuki). Then i had to plane the ends flat to finish:
Fortunately, some projects are big enough to stand on.
Next were the tills in the chests. Each side had a 3-1/2" long, 1/2" wide vertical slot made on the overarm router, while the matching end had a 1/4" dado across done on the RAS. Each of these was 1/4'" deep. I cut the till parts out, and on the till end cut another 1/4" dado, this time using the shaper. On the till bottom ends, I used the shaper to mill a rabbet on the underside, leaving a 1/4" tab on the end. I rounded the ends a little bit to allow assembly like this:
I start by putting the bottom tabs into the two dadoes, with the bottom at an angle. The fit was a little tight and required some more hand planing.
After both tabs are fully engages in the dadoes, I tap down the till end.
And in place. The till bottoms are oak, like the rest of the chest, but the till end is ash, because I had a scrap of half inch ash laying around waiting to be used.
Next were the hinges. I had only one pair from my blacksmith, so I used an older set of Lee Valley strap hinges for the other chest. The Lee Valley pair were straight, so I had to bend them to make them fit the box. For that, I have a little brake that fits on my vise with magnets--another Lee Valley gizmo:
You put the hinge in place, and tighten:
And you get a perfect bend:
Of course, with something this light I could have beat on it with a hammer, but that would have been worse for the paint and for the vise jaws.
Here are the hinges placed before nailing:
Normally I put them further apart, but with the till in the chest they have to here.
With the chests assembled, I went back to the benches to level the feet on the belt sander:
I used the top of my shaper as a reference surface. Leveling took a couple of minutes each.
And here we are:
They still need more finish, but structurally they're complete.
Here's a comparison of the forged hinges and handles vs the commercial variety:
Forged on the left, Lee Valley cast on the right.
Again, hand-forged hinge on the left, and the Lee Valley hinge on the right.
The current price for a pair of hinges (Italy) and handles (China) is $43. My friend the blacksmith charges me $45 for a set (Minnesota). Which do you think I prefer?
Note that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Lee Valley product, and I've used scores of them. But for a $2 difference, I go local now.
Kirk
Fortunately, some projects are big enough to stand on.
Next were the tills in the chests. Each side had a 3-1/2" long, 1/2" wide vertical slot made on the overarm router, while the matching end had a 1/4" dado across done on the RAS. Each of these was 1/4'" deep. I cut the till parts out, and on the till end cut another 1/4" dado, this time using the shaper. On the till bottom ends, I used the shaper to mill a rabbet on the underside, leaving a 1/4" tab on the end. I rounded the ends a little bit to allow assembly like this:
I start by putting the bottom tabs into the two dadoes, with the bottom at an angle. The fit was a little tight and required some more hand planing.
After both tabs are fully engages in the dadoes, I tap down the till end.
And in place. The till bottoms are oak, like the rest of the chest, but the till end is ash, because I had a scrap of half inch ash laying around waiting to be used.
Next were the hinges. I had only one pair from my blacksmith, so I used an older set of Lee Valley strap hinges for the other chest. The Lee Valley pair were straight, so I had to bend them to make them fit the box. For that, I have a little brake that fits on my vise with magnets--another Lee Valley gizmo:
You put the hinge in place, and tighten:
And you get a perfect bend:
Of course, with something this light I could have beat on it with a hammer, but that would have been worse for the paint and for the vise jaws.
Here are the hinges placed before nailing:
Normally I put them further apart, but with the till in the chest they have to here.
With the chests assembled, I went back to the benches to level the feet on the belt sander:
I used the top of my shaper as a reference surface. Leveling took a couple of minutes each.
And here we are:
They still need more finish, but structurally they're complete.
Here's a comparison of the forged hinges and handles vs the commercial variety:
Forged on the left, Lee Valley cast on the right.
Again, hand-forged hinge on the left, and the Lee Valley hinge on the right.
The current price for a pair of hinges (Italy) and handles (China) is $43. My friend the blacksmith charges me $45 for a set (Minnesota). Which do you think I prefer?
Note that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Lee Valley product, and I've used scores of them. But for a $2 difference, I go local now.Kirk