After making the hinges and knob in Episode #9, it was time to return to the box again. I had taken the time to sand the sides as I went, so all that was left to sand were the panels. After that was done, I was left with a difficult choice. Both panels looked good as the top, and turned either way, forwards or backwards! I finally made the choice (probably the wrong one) and it was assembly time.
Clamped one side, with the handle next to the desired corner…
Then the Other…
This whole makes a surprisingly well-balanced package for Drilling the holes.
Set the depths of the holes..
Cut some pins out of dowel and sand the edges
One last thing before drilling, scoring a pilot, to start the drill in the correct spot
Drilling the hole: 
When I tap in the pins, I form a sort of “sleeve” with my fingers to avoid snapping them in half while striking
Then I simply trim off the excess pins
I’m going to round over all the edges, but I start with a chamfer, marking it with some scrap 1/8” Lexan that’s kicking around
Then roughing those with the Scroll Saw tilted to 45°
I’ll spare you the filing and sanding
But when I’m satisfied, it’s time to part the top from the bottom. I try not to make more of this than it is. It seems when I’m most careful here, I have the least straight cut…This time I tried not cutting through entirely and then slicing it free with a Utility Knife. It seemed like more work having to clean it up afterward, but it worked too
After cleaning those edges a little, I clamped it up in my hinge attaching clamp
Applied Glue
And set the hinge using a spacer strip. (Note: I also put pencil marks over the pivot pins, so I just line these up to the “break” in the box.)
This all took about four hours this morning, what with all the Picture taking…
I almost forgot, before I devoted the bench top to clamping and gluing, I took a minute to add a second coat of red paint to the knob. A couple quick squirts, wearing a freezer bag over my hand (all out of gloves) and Presto!
Now I’ll just wait until the glue dries or I get my next chance to get back to the fun, whichever comes first… :)
-- Mike in Concord, NH---Unpleasant tasks are simply worthy challenges to improve skills.
11 comments so far
ellen35
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2440 posts in 1599 days
#1 posted 1229 days ago
Cool… very cool, Mike.
Those hinges is something else!
Great box!
Ellen
-- Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Kristoffer
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617 posts in 1382 days
#2 posted 1229 days ago
You should try giving those hinges a dorsal fin. Every since you started flaring out the ends, I’ve kind of thought that they look like a large mouth bass. It might make a nice addition to a lure box or something. Just a thought. Nice job, when can we expect #11?
-- Cheers and God Bless
Dick, & Barb Cain
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8681 posts in 2466 days
#3 posted 1229 days ago
Very nice Mike!
Your hinges keep getting better.
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
degoose
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6590 posts in 1521 days
#4 posted 1229 days ago
This is fantastic, just gets better… cant wait to see the finished box..Loooove the hinges…
-- Drink twice... and don't bother to cut... @ larrysworkshop.wordpress.com For lovers of all things timber...
HallTree
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5662 posts in 1934 days
#5 posted 1229 days ago
I like the detail photo’s of the progress. Nice job. Looking forward to see the finished project.
-- "Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life" Solomon
patron
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12050 posts in 1507 days
#6 posted 1229 days ago
sweet sequence !
well done , mike .
i heard that
jao fing ,
hwig dwo ,
and lui lhan ,
are looking into this idea .
their problem , is that they can’t compete ,
all of their efforts look too mass produced !
’ Yankee ingenuity ‘
doesn’t grow on trees ,
over there !
-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle
studie
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603 posts in 1313 days
#7 posted 1229 days ago
Great to see you back in the shop, didn’t take long either. Thanks for taking the time & effort to show your procedures. I need to learn how. I love to take pictures but to post them in a series like this I think I need to reduce the file size. I have Photobucket but have to put my pic’s in it then work from there. Nice box again Mike! The last box I made I cut just thru on the long sides then used shims to hold the saw kerf with clamps & tape. Cutting then the sides free and no saw bind.
-- $tudie
scrappy
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3474 posts in 1597 days
#8 posted 1229 days ago
Your hinges are allways so stylish. Just love them.
Scrappy
-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!
a1Jim
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86977 posts in 1743 days
#9 posted 1229 days ago
good details
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
nmkidd
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758 posts in 1339 days
#10 posted 1229 days ago
The hinges are definitely unique….....great pix and tutorial…....nice box….......as usual a super job Mike.
Can’t wait to see the the finished product.
-- Doug, New Mexico.......the only stupid question is one that is never asked!........don't fix it, if it ain't broke!
lumberdustjohn
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1162 posts in 1333 days
#11 posted 1229 days ago
Nice details. Fantastic hinges.
-- Safety first because someone needs you.
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