Nic's change box-AKA the Pillow Topped Box

Exceptional work, Mate! Is there any wonder why I just love small wooden boxes?

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

Great Douglas. Even with minimal pictures we see the beauty.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

A very nice box. I really like the pillow top and the finish it is great….

-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT

Thanks, Gents. I had to sacrifice a round-over bit’s bearing to get the round-over and have enough wood beyond the pillow to fit into the rabbet. I ground off the tapped top of the bit. Now I have the Bordnerized Pillow Topper bit at the ready for the next go-round.

BTW, Don, rating as an Oz-type “Mate” is pretty special in my book.

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

Pretty box Douglas! That first picture is really nice – with the shimmer in the top and front of the box…

I’m a few days behind the Pulse, so thought I’d start at the beginning with the couple minutes I have…glad I did! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have caught up with this for awhile!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Outstanding box Douglas. I really like the contrast of woods and the finish is spectacular. I’ve noticed that Don has been rather quite lately (I’ve heard it said that he really loves small boxes) – your box brought him out and even rated a mate from him, good for you :-))

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

Hi Douglas;

A man of mant talents! Very nice work. Your son in law must get a lot of tips, huh. LOL

Very vice project.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Nice box Doug. I really like the “pillow” effect of the top. It really makes the box say “touch me”. What was your process for that? Is it one piece? Is it mounted to the lid via grooves ?

-- http://dustynewt.webs.com/

Very nice work.

-- Maplewood, MN

By golly, Douglas, that’s a really well done box. I especially like the effect of the top. Does it float in the groove? Great combination of woods.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Very nice Doug.
The finger joints?
Did you cut them then dimension the box height?
The first and last fingers are almost identicle in size.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

That’s just right. Nice.

Nice job Doug, very nice. mike

-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com

Douglas -

That is a very nice box! I like the pillow top and the figure.

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

Gorgeous box, Doug!

I just bought my first quadrant hinges and will be installing them soon on a box I’m working on, so you have piqued my curiosity with this Beale hinge wizard. I must go DAG.

Being here in south Louisiana, our Cajun version of Don’s “exceptional work, Mate” would be something like “Dat be real nice, Cher!”

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

Douglas,

Very nice work.

-- Mark, Webster New York, Visit my website at http://thecraftsmanspath.com

Very nice Doug. Those hinges are pretty cool, even if they are a mouthful to say.

Steve

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Very pretty box with great craftsmanship!

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

Dang it, Douglas… it’s BEALL hinge wizard, not “Beale”. If you’re going to post brand names, at least check your spelling so I’m not googling all over the internet looking for the wrong thing. LOL!

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

Charlie,
Musta been thinking about Jennifer Beale (hopefully you got a good view of her on your circuitous path to the correct site). Sorry, Mon Cher. If I’m down your way I’ll buy you a beignet, or a muffeletta from Central Grocery in apology. I’ll correct the link. Didn’t mean to get you restless, irritable or discontented.

Bob,
I do cut the lid off and I did line up the cut to mimic the thickness of the top and bottom fingers. I can’t seem to make the leap of offsetting the fingers to account for the saw kerf so that all the fingers are the same full width. I think the math/physics part of my brain is withered. I often have to call Pam (the auxiliary other half of my brain) out to the shop to help me figure out what the heck to do next.

Tom, Scott-
The lid does float in a groove, so the trick was to round over the pillow and have enough wood beyond the top to fit the groove. That is why I had to height reduce the roundover bit so I would have the wood beyond the edge of the pillow. Thinking about it last night before sleep I could have used a plunge ovolo bit to get the same effect, but the one I have is dinky. And I think anyone else that might try this should go this route in case they alter the balance of the bit and compromise the integrity of their bit. I have a box lid unmounted like the one I used here in my one of my “save this bit of wood” bins. I’ll try and get a shot tonight after work.

I was tired after work last night, so I apologize about the shoddy posting of this project.

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

Doug, my brain may be withering too, but I could swear those links in your post were not links when I read it the first time… that is why I went googling. Oh well…senility, like ignorance, is bliss. :-)

Anyway, that looks like a handy gadget to put on my wish list.

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

Charlie, your sanity is unimpinged. I put them in this morning after reading your post.

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

Excellent as usual, Doug! I’m visiting my family in Texas for Thanksgiving and we are sitting here researching some saws, (as good LJs do), and I showed this to him. His comment, “Very nice, looks like a golden palomino.” I agree. The finish is really sweet.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Nice “Borderization”
Excellent work on the hinges. I know with the Leigh Jig you can set it to account for the width of the blade when you cut the top off but I have yet to figure out how to do this with the Incra. When you figure it out let us know…that way we won’t have think for ourselves.

-- DocK, WV

Beautiful, Doug! I love everything about it. Nice wood, nice proportions, nice details, nice finish. Having a hard time getting a sense of scale, however. Big box or little? Can you feed me some dimensions? And what’s it flocked with?

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

Well done Doug. Great finish. Those hinges are very nifty.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

I’ll get a measurement for you tonight, Blake. I’m sneaking a LJ fix at work.

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

17 hours late! But I had to wait for the sun to rise over here. You can’t beat a nice box and this is a nice box. And rubbed down to 4000. Phew, that’s smooth! I might well use that lid style for a box I’m starting. Thank you Doug.

-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business.

Blake,
Measured the box – It’s 9.5 wide, 7.5 deep and 4.5˝ high. The bottom in black felt cloth is my usual method, adapted from Emily Palm of Blue Heron Woodworking. It was is an article in FWW #185 along with sage advice from Doug Stowe and David L. Shaw.

One reason I use the chipboard in addition to the Foamies, is that one can waste a few sheets of chipboard refining the fit if the box is not one hundred percent square. As the human eye can detect variances in angle that are minute, I use the disposable chipboard to get the best possible fit before going with the more expensive purchased materials. Use a butter knife to smooth the edges down into the box.

The other lid-in-waiting was a chamfered top, not a pillow and it could be done easily enough from the top with a handplane. Next one I do, I’ll take progress shots.

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

That is one striking looking box Douglas! Hard to beat that combination,but its your fine craftsmanship that makes this sing.Very well done.

-- " Stubborn tenacity substitutes for natural ability" ANDY

Coming from you, Andy, I take this as high praise indeed. Thank you.
In fact, with Don, Charlie, Blake, Jeff and you weighing in positively it’s pretty darn cool…

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

Great looking box Douglas!

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

Thanks Miles!

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

Very nice! How do you like the beall system? I picked up a pair of Brusso hinges for a jewelry box that I am (hopefully) completing before Xmas, but I haven’t installed them yet. Was planning to try scrapwood and a jig..

Jon – I bought it exclusively to help install the quads, which were beyond my ken to just start hogging out wood. I think I would forgo it for butt hinges, and have pretty much managed to do fine with homemade jigs made out of MDF for other hinges I’ve installed.
I think the Beall system is a tad expensive, and not as nice as one I borrowed from a buddy long ago that was made from Corian and was solely for quads. That one had pins that slid in to allow a person to cleanly plunge rout the quadrant pockets, but he lost that one in a move and is no longer available (it was in Woodcraft nearly a decade ago). With the Beall you have to dig out the pockets with yet another tool (you can buy a spiral end mill from Beall and then use the drill press) and it’s easy to get beyond the mortise if you are not careful. Another thing, if your router isn’t dead centered in the template guide your box and lid will not line up 100%. Something to think about.
I would have one recommendation for the Brussos or any hinge for small boxes. Get vix bits to help drill your screw holes. (google it, every tool catalogue has ‘em). Good luck, hope you get the box done, and don’t hesitate to ask if you need a hand with your Christmas projects. All the box guys here will be of help.

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