# Safe Cracking



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*Pie Safe Adventure*

I've been banging around trying to make this pie safe since well before Mother's Day. School has been the primary reason I haven't finished it, so I thought maybe I'd blog about my adventure…

First off, I found a pie safe idea I liked on Google, in the SketchUp repository there. But I wanted to make a single door, so after getting a lot of Sketchup help from folks on Lumberjocks, I started with this…










The only measurement I had to work with was the printed length of the four side legs (4' 10.5"). The cutlist plugin also gave me some length to work with.

The smartest thing I did was build the door first. Well, kinda, more on that later. I also cut the 6 legs also.










Messed up on the door. I didn't make my own tin, bought it online (just don't have the time right now!). Of course my window dimensions from the already built do didn't match the tins I ordered. Hence the interior molding in the door windows you see.

Planning, PLANNING!

I also built the side frames. Since I knew I needed 1/8" clearance around the door, I cut the top, top bottom drawer, and bottom rails and put the frame to gather.










BUT, I made another screw up. I didn't plan my side panels properly, and had to come up with a plan to fix this. I am going to put floating, raised panels in the sides. Hence the slot cutter rabbits that I cut into the interior of the sides. (THANKS GUYS!).










Lastly, I am using antique pine I got from a neighbors barn. It's somewhat fragile. The knots explode in the planer with some regularity. So I am repairing them as I go along. In this case I used as much of the knot as I could as filler also. After it dried I planed it flat.










After I get done I will paint in the rest of the knot before I finish the pie safe.

More later!

Milo


----------



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*Door, Panel and Drawer work*

Hey gang, here's an update on my pie safe adventures…

I worked on the raised panel side of the safe. There are four of them, and I used my snazy new horizontal router to do them.

Lemmetellyasum'n. PRACTICEPRACTICEPRACTIVE with your router before you do the real doors or you'll tear them up!!

You MUST make multiple passes and take your time, or you just make mince meat of your boards. I was farily fortunate and was able to repair most of the damage I did to my boards before the final product, but in this picture, you can see a gouge I made that I wasn't able to smooth out…










See the dip in the wood above the knot? That kind of thing happens. I am also making a decorative repair in the knot because the router ate that too. The wood is kind of brittle. Another reason to take your time with the router.










Here is a panel in the door. I am considering lightly staining the carcase of the pie safe differently than the panels for contrast. What do you guys think? Any suggestions?










Here is another panel repair I am having to make. Poor planing decision on my part caused this. It should be ok though if I am PATIENT with the router. I will have to hand paint the colors in to make it match though. I will try to remember to post a picture of the final repair on this panel.










Here is the front door and the future top. I am pleased with how the door is turning out. The molding doesn't look half bad, though I am going to color it so it matches better.

I'll have more later. I hope to have the drawers done by the end of the week.

Milo


----------



## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Milo said:


> *Door, Panel and Drawer work*
> 
> Hey gang, here's an update on my pie safe adventures…
> 
> ...


Looking good!


----------



## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Milo said:


> *Door, Panel and Drawer work*
> 
> Hey gang, here's an update on my pie safe adventures…
> 
> ...


Looks great!. In my opinion, don't stain it. Or stain it all the same color.


----------



## cjwillie (Sep 6, 2011)

Milo said:


> *Door, Panel and Drawer work*
> 
> Hey gang, here's an update on my pie safe adventures…
> 
> ...


Looks great, I love the wood. I'd just put a clear finish on it all and let nature take care of the color!


----------



## bobsmyuncle (Jan 12, 2011)

Milo said:


> *Door, Panel and Drawer work*
> 
> Hey gang, here's an update on my pie safe adventures…
> 
> ...


Wet it down with mineral spirits to get a preview of what it will look like with only a clear coat. Only you and SWMBO can decide if you like it that way.


----------



## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Milo said:


> *Door, Panel and Drawer work*
> 
> Hey gang, here's an update on my pie safe adventures…
> 
> ...


*Here is a Construction Grade Douglas Fir 2x4 made into a box... Finished with Mineral Oil.*

*Take a look at what it looked at BEFORE the finish was applied...*


----------



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*Cosmetic Repairs to stoopid mistakes*

Have you every had a situation were you were working with older, dryer wood, or antique pine, and you were planing away, and BANG, a pretty knot in the center of the wood exploded. Well, here's what you can do with the situation instead of junking the entire piece and starting over.

Sorry I don't have the original hole to show you, but here is what happened after I took some of the broken know and some wood filler to the hole.










This is after planing and sanding it flat. I opted to leave the little divots and imperfections in the fill for a more natural look.

You can get the paints you need at Wally World or where ever. I think I got these at Staples.










I DO use some specialty brushes I got from Michaels.

Fortunatly, wood is imperfect. You don't have to be either. Just mix and match your paints until you get something you like, or close to the natural wood. I find that I primarily use Brown, Black, and Red.










This knot turned out a little darker that I wanted. I'm not going to mess with it until it completely dries. I MAY lightly coat it with a yellow/white/brown mix. Most likely I'll just leave it be and hope it fades.

Here is another structural repair. Again, a knot broke off the corner. I cut it square and glued in some like pieces, plus a tad bit of filler. After it dried I routed in the angles. Again, I painted in the color by hand. This one turned out much nicer.










Before










After

Here are both boards from a distance.










And lastly, here is another faux knot I did that turned out a lot better than the first.










I have found working with antique pine rewarding for the rich color I get, but frustrating because the boards can be more brittle to work with. But with these cosmetic repairs, I am able to use boards that would otherwise be discarded and throw to waste.

If you have any questions, I'll be happy to try and help. I hope this encourages you to try and salvage that would you might otherwise throw out.

Regards,

Milo


----------



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*It's done!*

I finished my single door pie safe.










It was made from antique pine I got from a neighbors barn. I bought the tins online, and used pocket joinery for the rails and stiles. I took the plans from a Sketch up model which I cut and half and adapted to a single door safe.




























Many thanks to all the kind Lumberjocks that gave me advice on Sketch Up (Matt Donley & Brad Nailor!), panels (Stumpy, et. al.), and finish (Joe and everyone else!).

This was a really fun project, and I learned a lot and made my horizontal table router because of it.

I hope this inspires someone to do the same. Now my wife just has to find a place for it….


----------



## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

Milo said:


> *It's done!*
> 
> I finished my single door pie safe.
> 
> ...


Turned out very nice, Milo.

Great fit and finish. - Len


----------



## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Milo said:


> *It's done!*
> 
> I finished my single door pie safe.
> 
> ...


LOOKS really very NICE!

How did you end up Finishing it? Sure looks GOOD!

COOL!

Have you watched the video on youtube by Chas. Neil where he makes a Pie Safe?

Linda late to ask… but you might look at it… just for kicks… LOL


----------



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *It's done!*
> 
> I finished my single door pie safe.
> 
> ...


Joe, I did use mineral oil for the finish.

Also, I did go the Charles Neils site. I actually posted a project for the long board jointer I made from watching his videos. It made Top 3.  That jointer was a godsend when it came for prepping those pine barn boards!


----------



## Sodabowski (Aug 23, 2010)

Milo said:


> *It's done!*
> 
> I finished my single door pie safe.
> 
> ...


Your wife also needs a new cakes recipes book * hint hint *  Nice work mate


----------



## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

Milo said:


> *It's done!*
> 
> I finished my single door pie safe.
> 
> ...


My wife has a great recipe for homemade ice cream to go with the pies! Nice work! Now I know of another use for mineral oil. Have used lemon oil on an oak bookcase several times. Thanks for sharing!


----------

