Hobby Box

So this project came about while I was having lunch with a friend from work. It was early December and as we sat a conversation began about Christmas and gifts for our wives. My friend is a very skilled iron worker so I mentioned to him how I wanted to find my wife a steel pot rack, but wanted it to be something totally unique. He sat and pondered for a bit then said “you know, we should trade our trades”. He would help me design and build a pot rack for my wife and I would build him a hobby box for a good friend. After sitting for the next hour and bouncing ideas off each other the deal was struck. He gave me some rough sketches of what he had in mind and pretty much left the rest up to me. The only requirement he had was for a set of recessed holes that would hold a small vise in place.

I had been beating the idea around of buying a dovetail jig and after very little thought I made my way to Woodcraft to make claim. I landed up with the Porter Cable 4210 12” Jig. I have to admit the jig looked very intimidating when I first pulled it out of the box, but after pursuing the user guide I started to feel a little more at ease. It took me about 30 minutes to get the jig dialed in then I was off to the races. The joints came out amazing and made the box extremely solid.

The triple hinge setup was to say the least, super finicky, and seemed to take me forever to get them all tuned in unison. I hoped to add a locking latch and leather handle, but simply just ran out of time. I kid you not; I was applying the final finish at 2am on the day before Christmas eve. My friend was extremely happy with the final product.

The box is made of cherry and maple. The finish is multiple coats of Danish Oil that was hand rubbed to a satin finish using steel wool.

Oh, by the way, the pot rack he made was for the most part done very mickey mouse. really!

UPDATE: Oh boy, after reading my original post, I knew I had to clarify my witty comment about the pot rack. It totally sounds like I was throwing my friend under the bus. OK, so when I said a mickey mouse job, I mean it was really Mickey Mouse. My wife collects nostalgic Mickey Mouse and displays much of it in the kitchen, hence the uniqueness of the rack. We are both thrilled with the time and detail he put into it. Ah, I can sleep better tonight. Also, I thought I would share a picture.

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