Scrap Ash/Walnut Boxes

I built these raised panel boxes over a weekend to stay sharp after coming off of 2 big projects and prototypes for a potential commision….I also used them as experiments for Doug Stowe’s butt hinge mounting technique rather than my usual hand inlay….it worked very well….I won’t do unique, very important boxes (routers, even in tables can get out of hand real quick!) this way but will probably use it for a lot of standard work.

I had some scrap chunks of White Ash and Walnut left over from my last two projects (a child’s bed and a Federal style table). One of the pieces of walnut was a bit too figured to go into the top of the table and really glows with chatoyance. I managed to resaw this piece and get a 1/4” ‘copy’ of it for some future use as it had the same figure through and through the 5/4 original. Bottoms are unfinished Spanish Cedar….

I also got rid of some of the Federal banding on one of the boxes…..came out ok I guess….but it’s a little out of place….whatever. The handles are Wenge I shaped by hand and everything is finished with just poly Tung oil; about 4 coats with light 600g sanding in between followed by 2 thin coats of shellac….then wax rubbed in with 0000 steel wool…..No grain fill on this quick project.

The pics show the banding with a bit of overhang, but it’s only because the hinges are not mounted on that box yet, and its slightly misaligned….this will straighten right up when the hinges are in.

Not bad for a couple days of sloppy work….I hope the skinny 1/32” gaps I left in the tops for expansion work out, but I did use some hidden splines in the miters….that should help….

JC

-- Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl Sagan