Now, I got the top down to the right size. This was a little tricky because I wanted to keep the joint pretty much right in the middle of the panel. Once it was to size it was time to route a cove along the edges so I could fit them into the slots I cut into the sides. I used a cove cutting bit that I filed the guide bearing post off of so I will get a “tongue” that is straight on the edge so it will fit into the sides before the cove starts.

So I wouldn’t have any tear out on the end grain edges I clamed a piece of scrap to the trailing edge of the top.

Everything went very smoothly with the router table. Here’s the result.

I cut a piece of scrap quarter inch plywood to use as the bottom and stained it to match as close as possible to the sides. After the stain dried, I test fit the box to make sure the top, bottom and sides all fit nicely. Which they did, perfectly (not to boast).

Now that I’m satisfied with the fit, the final step I do before I glue the box together, and I do this same thing whenever I make my small boxes as well, is to do whatever finishing needs to be done to the inside surfaces. So, I sand, and I sand, and I sand some more, then I spray my finish. In this case I used a water based spray lacquer. To keep the miters clean so the glue will stick, I used some masking tape.

After the insides have been sealed and finished, it’s time to break out the glue bottle. These are simple 45 degree miters, so I spread some glue, not too much because I didn’t want any seeping out of the joint into the interior or the box. It’s not too difficult to clean out if some does, but why make extra work for yourself if you don’t have too. I’m using Merle Adjustable Corner Clamps to hold the joints together (http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/merle_clamp.html ).

So, next time, it’s back to the router table to cut the recesses for the splines.

See you then, and thanks for reading.

Like the majority of my projects, it all starts with a drawing.

I planned the sides be about 5 inches high with an outside dimension of 18.5 inches by 13 inches. The sides and the top are going to be about half an inch thick. I didn’t want to go thicker because of weight.

The idea is for me to take one of my small gift boxes (like these http://lumberjocks.com/projects/11122) and just make it bigger, but a handle on the side and some case locks. Like the second of the two boxes I’ve posted, I decided to do the dovetail splines in the corners. This serves two functions: One – it reinforces the joints, and two – it looks nice.

So, digging through my left over wood pile I found a nice piece of cherry for the sides that I planed and cut down:

And I beautiful piece of quarter sawn white oak that I glued together for the lid:

As I get further along with this project I’ll post more pictures.

Thanks for looking.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit, that of all the possible things that could have happened here, I am very lucky.

This happened about 2 years ago now. I was cutting a thin strip of wood on the table saw, I was using a push stick but I had my left thumb tip on the waste piece in a position that I thought was far enough from the blade, I was paying more attention watching the blade cutting through the top of the piece when I felt a quick tug on my thumb. And I remember thinking to myself, “did that just happen?” Not looking at my thumb I reached down and switched the saw off, then when I looked I saw a small trickle of blood go down my thumb I thought, “yeah, that just happened.” And I went and cleaned myself up and bandaged everything. I was more embarrassed than anything else.

I was very lucky in that it only took a bit of skin off and a small part of the nail. It’s all healed and looks as if nothing has happened. So, what did I learn from this? Well, it just went to reiterate what I teach my patrons when I run them through the safety course, “Know where your hands are at all times.” So, take it from me, always pay attention to your hands, and use a push stick when you’re close to the blade.