Project Information
I made this box to send to a friend that are building a log cabin in the Canadian Rockies and their climate is rather humid whereas our climate is fairly dry most of the year .
I was a little worried about the top of the box expanding from the humidity and thought that a floating top would be the way to go to overcome this problem.
This is how I made this box which also has internal splines as I thought normal corner splines would distract from the look that I was looking for .
I took some pictures of the build that should explain the build better then I can put into words .
The piece of aspen I used .
The mitred sides grooved for the splines ,top and bottom .
The top panel groved
Dry fit of the top looking from the bottom of the box.
The top panel fits nice with room to expand .
The splines glued into the grooves ,the sline that will be in the lid portion is flush with the sides and the spline that will be the support for the tray is left protruding .
The splines that fit into the left and right sides are cut short so that the front and back splines can extend into the mitres and act as a tenon to reinforce the mitre joint ,the bottom made of plywood also will be glued and further reinforce the mitre joint .
The top panel does not get glued as it needs to expand and contract over the seasons .
The mortises for the leather hinges chiseled out before the top and bottom are separated to ensure good alignment .
The cut height for the separation of the lid set and the left and right sides are only cut partially cut through whereas the front and back are cut all the way through ,the lid is then completely separated with a hand saw and the remaining waste planed of .
This is followed by sanding on the flat sander to level the lid and box mating joint for a good fit .
The hinge covers glued in place with the leather sandwiched in between using CA glue .
Just a little tray with a pine cone as a lift to make and some beating up of the surface with various tools and a lether latch with a horseshoe nail .
Some BLO to bring out the colour and wait for it to mature in colour .
I think I will use this type of construction for future boxes as some of my boxses seem to wind up in some different climates and will survive better using this type of construction as opposed to the top panel glued to the sides which has caused problems over time .
I hope they will enjoy this box and find a purpose for it .
Klaus
I was a little worried about the top of the box expanding from the humidity and thought that a floating top would be the way to go to overcome this problem.
This is how I made this box which also has internal splines as I thought normal corner splines would distract from the look that I was looking for .
I took some pictures of the build that should explain the build better then I can put into words .
The piece of aspen I used .
The mitred sides grooved for the splines ,top and bottom .
The top panel groved
Dry fit of the top looking from the bottom of the box.
The top panel fits nice with room to expand .
The splines glued into the grooves ,the sline that will be in the lid portion is flush with the sides and the spline that will be the support for the tray is left protruding .
The splines that fit into the left and right sides are cut short so that the front and back splines can extend into the mitres and act as a tenon to reinforce the mitre joint ,the bottom made of plywood also will be glued and further reinforce the mitre joint .
The top panel does not get glued as it needs to expand and contract over the seasons .
The mortises for the leather hinges chiseled out before the top and bottom are separated to ensure good alignment .
The cut height for the separation of the lid set and the left and right sides are only cut partially cut through whereas the front and back are cut all the way through ,the lid is then completely separated with a hand saw and the remaining waste planed of .
This is followed by sanding on the flat sander to level the lid and box mating joint for a good fit .
The hinge covers glued in place with the leather sandwiched in between using CA glue .
Just a little tray with a pine cone as a lift to make and some beating up of the surface with various tools and a lether latch with a horseshoe nail .
Some BLO to bring out the colour and wait for it to mature in colour .
I think I will use this type of construction for future boxes as some of my boxses seem to wind up in some different climates and will survive better using this type of construction as opposed to the top panel glued to the sides which has caused problems over time .
I hope they will enjoy this box and find a purpose for it .
Klaus