The Woodshop Shed

Handcut dovetail box with Raised Dovetails

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


Box number five in my learning process of handcut dovetails. It is poplar with a pine lid and pine bottom. There is an oak bezel/bevel that frames the lid and there is a “mystery wood” dovetail shaped pull from my scrap bin. Now that I look at it, that bezel on the lid may be maple. There is also a piece of cedar that provides the friction fit on the lid.I extended the depth of the dovetails about 1/4 inch on this box. I then went back and chamfered the “knuckles” on the joints. The bezel on the lid has the same chamfered bevel. I like elements in the boxes to rhyme.I really like the striations in the color on the poplar. It was mainly dark and light greens fading to a cream white color. The finish, minwax poly and a Johnson's Wax Paste seems to have changed the colors to more earth tones. I've heard poplar called “trash wood” but I like it and it is very easy to work with so I will make more boxes with it.I'm working on boxes for my planes and chisels next so I will keep posting them as I finish them.
thanks for looking,
Jon

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Handcut Dovetail Box with Sliding Lid for Stanley 45

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


My most recent completed handcut dovetail box. It is larger than the others and it is custom built to hold my Stanley 45 combination plane and cutters. It is poplar with a pine sliding lid and pine handles. I used a large chisel to chamfer the lid and give it a “pillowed” look/feel. There is a shallow semicircle dished out area near the center of the sliding lid for pulling and pushing the lid. I blended minwax poly, mineral spirits and minwax provencial stain in equal amounts to make a wipe on finish. Then I applied Johnson's Paste Wax. It is big and sturdy and so much better than the tattered cardbox box I kept the plane in before I built this.This last picture shows my bench with the newly built moxon and the shooting boards I have made. I like the height of this configuration but it can all be changed very quickly depending on the type of work I am doing. For making small boxes and projects though this is great and everything is right at hand and at the right height.
Thanks for looking….
Jon

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Tall Dovetail Box with Beading

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


Here is number four in my handcut dovetail box series. It is poplar, which I actually am finding really easy to work with, with oak beads cut with my Stanley 45, and cedar for the bottom and the lid. And an oak “pull” on top along with a pine friction fit piece for the inside of the lid. I really like the poplar and it had some striations/variegations in color in the boards… from a dark green to light, almost white tone. I actually liked the coloration. I just finished it with poly and then Johnson's Paste Wax and I am very surprised at how the tones in the wood changed from green to more browns and earth tones. I still like it. Poplar is very “clear” and straight grain and very easy to work with and I will continue to use it while I start making boxes for planes and chisels.I feel like the dovetails are leaps and bounds better than the first couple of boxes I made a few weeks ago. I think the wood, learning to sharpen my chisels, getting used to the process and experience is making them better.
thanks for looking.
Jon

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