| Project by newTim | posted 107 days ago | 1051 views | 8 times favorited | 5 comments |  |
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I’ll never go back to splines again. Well, maybe not ever. Its been over 900 days and over 20,700 views since I first posted Introducing the String Box and its related blog Secrets of the String Box Revealed. Time flies. Double Cross is the latest in the series, at least until I post Triple Cross, and while the basic process is the same I have added a couple of new things. I figured out how quick, easy, and accurate it is to cut hidden corner splines with the Mortise Pal jig. The setup is fast and unlike similar jigs on the router table, you can view the entire cut and increase the depth gradually to avoid stressing the router bit. The lid tab is actually a part of the lid and was exposed with a couple of passes over the dado stack and cut out with the bandsaw. I also figured out how to make string box mock ups on Sketchup. Maybe it’s time to update the blog.
This box is made with sapelle and maple with a simple piano hinge. The finish is The Wood Whisperer’s Simple Varnish finish, more or less, with coat of Renaissance wax.
-- tim hill www.newcalshop.com
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5 comments so far
woodbutcherbynight
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876 posts in 605 days
#1 posted 107 days ago
This was very interesting to see, it is unique and innovative. Beyond my skill currently but something I would explore in the future, project 141,234 on my list…. (Laughing)
-- Live to tell the stories, they sound better that way.
Boxguy
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939 posts in 464 days
#2 posted 107 days ago
Tim, I looked through your gallery and enjoyed seeing your projects…especially some of the early ones with smiling you behind your work. Your internal splines are a fine idea, and I am looking forward to reading the updated blog entry on the topic. I liked about everything I saw in this tea box. It is well designed and the string design is fun to do and is effective in this design. However, the hinge installation seemed a disappointment after such fine craftsmanship on the rest of the box.
May I suggest this hinge installation as an alternative, and this way of using piano hinges in boxes.
Of course you cannot cut across the strings without interrupting the flow, and offsetting the curved lines, so the strings would have to be placed below the cut line and/or below and above the cut line. A variation can be made to accommodate the lid design you have chosen, but the top mortise would be tricky to do and get a good tight job.
-- Big Al in IN
Roger
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9479 posts in 1000 days
#3 posted 107 days ago
Pretty flashy tea box.
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net
MonteCristo
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2065 posts in 385 days
#4 posted 106 days ago
Sweet-looking box !
-- Dwight - "Free legal advice available - contact Dewey, Cheetam & Howe""
newTim
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529 posts in 1803 days
#5 posted 103 days ago
Thanks all. Boxguy… you may, I have, and I will. Probably. ;)
-- tim hill www.newcalshop.com
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