Red Gum Box

Wow – that is some fantastic looking boxes. I really like the River Red Gum and Myrtle. Excellent craftsmanship and I like the Pay it Forward concept.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

Like all the boxes, but am especially fond of the figured Red Gum (how about interior shots and hinge details) and the splined Oak box. The finger holes are really nice. Good show and good Karma Rob.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Rob

Welcome from another “downUnderer” who loves makin boxes.

By the look of what you’ve shown us so far you’ve got a whole lot more to offer, I look forward to seeing more of your work published on this LJ’s Forum.

-- Bandsaw Box Plans

Great work, and bless you for doing something wonderful for someone in need!

-- Robb

Nice set of boxes, really like the red gum like everyone, but that middle one glows. Very Christian thing you’re doing buddy. It always comes back to us 10 fold. jockmike

-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com

beautiful!!!
the box, the story, you. :)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Great job on the boxes, reallylike the red gum

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Outstanding stuff, Rob!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

”I have other pictures if you want them and I can give full details of how they were made also.” - Rob

Great looking boxes!

And, yes, we would love for you to give us details as to how you made them. I have learned alot here on this forum by others who have been kind enough to do that. Thanks in advance!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

That Red Gum is beautiful. Great work on your boxes. I’ll be looking for more and now I am getting worked up to make more of my version of plane boxes.

-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3

I too would love the details on how you made them. Great work!

-- Bruce from Central New York

very nice boxes, yes, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

the rewards for doing this will be much greater than money

-- My dad was an electrician, but my fathers a carpenter.

Beautiful wood choices and great craftsmanship add up to wonderful pieces Rob. Stunning work. Thanks for sharing them with us.

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

Rob, Mate, great work – you already know I just love small wooden boxes, so it won’t be a surprise when I say these are terrific.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Hi everyone,
Thank you for the warm welcome and flattering comments. I have complied a work in progress for one of the boxes I have made and will post that maybe tomorrow. I will include all aspects of construction and finishing.

Thanks again,

Rob

-- http://www.damnfinefurniture.com

Great boxes wounderful woods, but the store of the guy asking how much and pay it forward good job keep paying it forward, that is a great way to live.

-- Jeff B.

great looking boxes – Love the grain!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

The box is great….but more importantly you’ve already shown the qualities of a true LJ.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Hi all,
Douglas, unfortunately some nasty ate my HDD and I lost a number of files. I had to retrieve this one from another forum I posted it on. The inside of the box is the same as the outside, i.e. sanded to 400 then oiled with Scandinavian oil then sanded through to 4000g. The hinges are small brass butt hinges (40mm from memory). As it turns out, the box has been lined and glued shut. All that mortising…

The box is constructed using the finger joint comb on a Leigh D4R jig, using the 1/2” section. I originally wanted to do 1/4” fingers, but the timber is 1 1/4” thick and I could not find a 1/4” upcut or straight bit long enough that could be used safely. Incidentally, wherever possible, I now use spiral upcuts for joints as they give such a clean cut at the bottom of mortises and sides of dovetails and finger joints.
The beauty of the D4R is that it has a bush guidance systm, which allows very small changes in the joint width, so that the router can be set to deliver precise results for fitting the joint.
I used a Festool OF2000 Router for cutting. You need grunt to process 1/2” cuts.
Once the fingers have been cut and matched together, I dig the dado for the base. To do this I use one of two methods, depending on material to be used for the base and thickness of the side panels.
I routinely use a Festool Domino to cut the dadoes now. People think you are restricted in how you use the domino and are locked in to the dominoes made by Festool. In fact, when you think about it, the Domino just digs holes and its up to you as to how long (as in the dado here) or how wide (you can make a 32mmx10mm domino and it will work well) depth of cut is restricted to 28mm, but I have created through tenons using this system I can show you this if you wish, but maybe in another project. Simply put you just dig one hole, move along and overlap a second hole and so on until you reach the point at which you want to stop. (Note that when using Dov Tails this has huge advantages over having to set stops for a router. The Domino can be used in timbers upwards of 10mm thickness by adding a slice of round plastic electrical conduit fitted loosely over one of the pistons scut to a widthequal to 28mm minus the final depth of cut required. In the case of timbers upward of 3/4 of an inch, the basic 12mm depth cut provided on the Domino suffices.
The other method I use, particularly if I’m using ply or (shudder)MDF is to mount a 4mm slot cutter on the router table set height and depth and go for it.
Once the base is cut to size, the box itself can be assembled and clamped across the four sides. I use yellow glue such as Triton or other PVA glue.
That leaves putting on the lid and that would be at the discretiion of the maker. In this case I used a solid piece of Red Gum.
I should mention that I do as much preparation as possible before assembly. That includes oiling and sanding the inside of the box.
Whew!!
I think thats it.
Hope you find it useful.

Rob

-- http://www.damnfinefurniture.com