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Boxes 17, 18 and 19

7/23/2015

4 Comments

 
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I made these boxes because I asked myself a question while driving back from Maine. The question: What's the easiest and quickest box I could make? The answer, I thought, would be to drill out the center of a block of wood. Because of the round interior, the lid would need a matching round "plug" to keep it in place. Turning this would be quick and not difficult. So, I started with a technique and the technique largely determined the design. This explains, I think, why the boxes have a mechanized or mass produced feel to them. Normally, I design and then figure out how to make a box or piece of furniture. It results in work that has a far greater sense of having been made by a human hand. At any rate, I think I'll give this reversed working order another shot down the road--to see if I can eliminate the imprint left behind by allowing the technique to determine the design.

I used some 8/4 cherry for the boxes, and after milling the board square, planing the faces clean, etc. the boxes ended up being about 1 3/4 in. square. I cut the bodies to length (2, 3 and 4 in. long), then chucked them into my lathe, where I drilled the holes with a 1 1/2 in. Forstner bit. This works fine, but my bit is getting a bit dull, so the holes aren't as clean as I'd like. The lids were also made on the lathe. After turning the round rabbet that fits into the box, I cut them to length at my bandsaw. The visible thickness of the lid is about 1/2 in.

The process of making the boxes wasn't very hard, but it did have some problems that needed to figured out. For example, I should have cut the boxes to length after drilling them out. The lathe chuck left marks in the body that had to be planed away. Had the boxes been long, I could have just cut off the area with the marks. I really should have thought of this before I made them. (But I started making the boxes before I really thought through everything carefully.)

Well, enough about technique. Here's what I like about the design. The best things about the boxes, I think, are their vertical orientation and the end grain on the tops. Using a piece of riftsawn cherry makes both work well. The straight grain running vertically on all four sides compliments the design, and also creates cool, diagonal end grain. I also like the bit of separation between the body and lid. It was created by rabbetting the lid after the round "plug" was turned.

As for the the other side of the coin (what I don't like) I'm not sure if the painted edge of the lids works. Had the edge been thinner, it would look much better. Also, the round interior is not so great (I wonder if the shop's hollow chisel mortiser could hollow out the tallest of these boxes? I think have some expermenting to do).


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4 Comments
Jeremy
7/30/2015 03:01:30 pm

I'm curious to know your reasons for using the lathe to drill the holes and not a drill press? Pros and cons of both?

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Matt Kenney
7/31/2015 02:10:11 pm

Jeremy,

Thanks for reading. The primary reason to use a lathe is that with absolutely no trouble I am guaranteed to get a hole that is centered on the box. With a drill press, it would take quite a bit of set up to accomplish that.

Reply
Jerry Stark
8/4/2015 11:15:44 am

As usual, these boxes are well designed and nicely executed, FWIW, I think the milk-painted edges work well precisely because they are a bit unexpected and they draw attention to the end-grain in the top, which is well worth the emphasis..

As for the Jeremy's thoughtful question, using the lathe to cut out the core of these boxes is definitely a sound approach. You get more control over the interior shape of the box -- which will be dead center every time -- and you can readily fit a turned-edge lid for it. The interior will also be easy to smooth with turning tools and sandpaper.

If you do not have a lathe, you need a big and sharp Forstner bit (expensive) for boxes of appreciable size, a well set up drill press, and a well-clamped box body. Even then, cutting into end grain with drill buts can yield less-than-satisfying results. The bits can wander, burn and even seize in the bore hole. Further, staying exactly in the center of the block is tougher than it sounds. Finally, the resulting box interior will be rougher and harder to smooth than what you would get from a lathe turning. Still, it can be done -- especially with smaller boxes, IMHO.

If you are not tied to the idea of a circular box interior, a vertically- grained box like this is tailor made for a band-saw-box approach . Furthermore, you will cut out a solid piece of wood from the box core that might just be big enough to make another, smaller box. Its a bit tougher to do that with shavings from the lathe or drill press -- and you don't need to buy any more Forstner bits.

As always, Matt, really great work designing and building these boxes. I enjoy seeing the progress of the 52-box project and learn much from your work.

Many thanks.

Reply
Nate Heath
2/20/2017 01:56:45 pm

Great stuff. I don't have a lathe or a drill press, but I think I'm going to give this a shot anyways. I'll probably end up using a gouge once I drill the majority of the interior space out. Should be a fun (first) woodworking project.

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    I love furniture design, and smart techniques. This blog is about both.

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