| Project by spaids | posted 145 days ago | 512 views | 0 times favorited | 26 comments | ![]() |
Second ever project. Time to learn the box joint. I now have a jointer and planer so I mill the Mulberry down to 1/4 inch stock. Learning, Learning, Learning…. up hill the whole the way. Wood magazine has an article on a box joint jig so I gave it a shot.
I didn’t realy follow a plan for this box so I don’t even know the dimensions. I think its about 5 inches square. I just set my table saw fence and cut the sides all the same size and wasn’t concerned about the final size. I eventually had to take a measurement when I went to make the lid.
I used Salad Bowl finish on it since my first project was a cutting board and its the only finish I curently own. On the upside I guess I could eat out of it. Looks to be the perfect size for an order of fried rice.
-- Total Freakin Newbie
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26 comments so far
Paul D
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2068 posts in 200 days
posted 145 days ago
The box and the box joints look great. You did a really nice job and I really like that Mulberry.
-- Paul D, Atlanta GA
spaids
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61 posts in 145 days
posted 145 days ago
HA HAAAAA! Thats becuase I only showed you the one good side!
Thanks
-- Total Freakin Newbie
HAP HANSON
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32 posts in 263 days
posted 145 days ago
Hey Spaids – Nice Job Welcome to LumberJocks – about the Box how easy does that Mullbery wood sand? Does it cut easily? I think you might corner the Aisian Market LOL. Best of luck!
-- Doc Hanson - www.ripnchisel.com
MrWoody
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189 posts in 226 days
posted 145 days ago
Don’t we all ??? (Show the good side.) Nice box just the same
-- If we learn from our mistakes, I'm getting a fantastic education.
che
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123 posts in 477 days
posted 145 days ago
Did you cut the joints on the table saw or router?
-- Che.
GaryK
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8411 posts in 440 days
posted 145 days ago
Very nice. I still haven’t tried my hand at a box joint.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
GMoney
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88 posts in 255 days
posted 145 days ago
Nice job, not bad at all. The joints look very good. That’s one big order of fries though…
-- Greg, CT
Scott Bryan
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8584 posts in 273 days
posted 145 days ago
Hi Spaids,
From what I can see it looks pretty good. Even though they may look fairly simple boxes can be somewhat complex to build. You obviously have hit the ground running.
Go for it.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
odie
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600 posts in 291 days
posted 145 days ago
I know a little something about boxes. Your’s looks great.
-- Odie, Confucius say, "He who laughs at one's self is BUTT of joke".
juniorjock
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280 posts in 217 days
posted 145 days ago
Good job on the box Spaids. I like the way your photos show the different phases of your project. Nice work.
-- Make things with wood.
John Gray
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601 posts in 337 days
posted 145 days ago
Great job! Have you used Mulberry before? I have some Mulberry boards and was told the will really darken after exposed to the sun.
-- Only the Shadow knows....................
pyromedic602
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101 posts in 200 days
posted 145 days ago
Welcome to LJ”s, hope you enjoy as much as I do. The box joints look excellent with nice tight joints. Great job.
-- Pyromedic602, free wood is always good wood
RAH
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278 posts in 328 days
posted 145 days ago
Thanks for sharing, I saved the same article and in the process of making a jig for box joints. Nice joint!
-- Ron Central, CA
spaids
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61 posts in 145 days
posted 145 days ago
Wow lots of comments here… Thanks for the feed back. So as far as working with Mulberry goes, I really can’t say if its easy to work with or not as I have so little experience with anything. I would guess that it was easy to work with as I couldn’t complain and it sanded easily.
I did the joint on the table saw with a 1/4 inch dado.
When I initially picked up the Mulberry it was very dark. I milled it down and was very surprised at how light it was under the skin.
And honestly… That corner close up pic is the best of the four. You can see my learning curve as you turn the box from one corner to the next.
-- Total Freakin Newbie
Blake
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1902 posts in 326 days
posted 144 days ago
Excellent first box joint box, even if that is the good side. I like the hardware you used for the top.
-- Dust collectors suck.
SPalm
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702 posts in 333 days
posted 144 days ago
Very nice. I like it. Looks like you learned a lot. Good idea to just use stop blocks and your eye to dimmension it. The tripple photo series is very well done.
Welcome to LJs,
Steve
-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon
Duckarrowtypes
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41 posts in 356 days
posted 144 days ago
Great job! I wish that my first box-joint attempt went as smoothly.
I finally bought the box joint jigs from Oak-Park—and they are FANTASTIC.
The next challenge for me is to begin cutting them vertically on my CNC router. Fun!
Is the lid a two-piece affair or is it a single piece that you cut a rabbet on to fit in the box?
-- Custom Daguerreotypes from your images and more: www.shinyphotos.com
motthunter
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1172 posts in 250 days
posted 144 days ago
looks good. I like box joints too.
-- making sawdust....
spaids
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61 posts in 145 days
posted 144 days ago
Duck,
The lid is just a solid piece with a rabbet. I just cut the rabbet on all four sides and tried it. Creeping up on a fit.
That Oak-Park stuff is cool. I bet you get very clean joints with that.
-- Total Freakin Newbie
Dominic Vanacora
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379 posts in 321 days
posted 144 days ago
The joints look perfect. I know this may be the best side so back it up into a corner. An other thing you can use it for is a cover to a tissue box. I’ve seen these and they make great gifts.
You have started on the wonderful path of woodworking….Enjoy.
Thanks for posting your first of many project.
-- Dominic, Trinity, Florida
USCJeff
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795 posts in 520 days
posted 144 days ago
Well Done. I like that you weren’t concerned about the boxes dimensions as it wasn’t super critical. The important aspect was matching sides. Took me a while to learn that. I was caught up with matching the plans exactly. Matters sometimes, but often times is irrelavent. Well Done, again.
-- Jeff, South Carolina
RonPage
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58 posts in 151 days
posted 143 days ago
You did this with a jig you built? Can you add any more info as to where we can get a copy of the plans? I checked woodmagazine.com and only found a link to Rockler. Nice job!
-- Ron, Bakersfield, CA. Measure twice, cut twice anyway.
spaids
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61 posts in 145 days
posted 143 days ago
Ron,
yea I made it from issue 181 the December 2007 issue of wood magazine. It was a piece of cake to make the jig. You don’t have to buy the issue though because Wood has a free video of it on their website where they walk you through the jigs creation and use. In the video they guy is even using the same Ridgid table saw that I have and the box he shows you will look eerily similar to the one I posted. hmmm wonder why?
Video
Click on jigs and then click on box joint jig, put a shirt on, then go make the box but if it looks better than mine don’t post it.
:)
Its real easy dude. Two little sticks and a scrap piece of mdf.
-- Total Freakin Newbie
spaids
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61 posts in 145 days
posted 143 days ago
oh yea and check this router bit. The issue of wood has you put the bottom of the box in with this bit. I think Lee Valley has a patten on it so you can’t pick one up at woodcraft (I tried). You clamp the box together. Put it over the bit on your router table. Zip is around and the slot for the bottom is cut and you don’t get any little holes on the outside where a rabbet or dado would have gone all the way through. Then you cut the bottom and do a quick pass on the corners with a 1/4 inch round over bit in your router and the bottom slips right in. (the router bit leaves round corners in the slot) I will most likely use this method for all drawer bottoms I ever do because its so freakin easy.
-- Total Freakin Newbie
RonPage
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58 posts in 151 days
posted 142 days ago
Way!
-- Ron, Bakersfield, CA. Measure twice, cut twice anyway.
Dusty56
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1024 posts in 139 days
posted 136 days ago
the box on the table looks pretty cool and I love the finish on that table too
-- Dusty56@comcast.net