# Question on the Sequence of Steps in Building a Box



## dag2000 (Aug 13, 2010)

Friends,

I am building a simple box for my daughter and wanted some advice about the benefits and drawbacks of the order of some of the final steps. The box will be similar to the pictured box (taken from the recent cover of a Lee Valley catalog): it will have a hinged top (Brusso JB-101 stop hinges), inlay on five sides, side handles, and a full mortise lock. It is made from half-inch cherry and I plan to finish it using using Christian Becksvoort's oil and varnish finish recipe.










I am at the stage where I have assembled and glued up a closed box, applied the inlay banding and sanded it flush with the surrounding wood, and routed the box edges with a round over bit. Here are the major remaining steps I need to take (I think):

A. Cut open the box
B. Install the hinges
C. Install full mortise lock
D. Install the handles
E. Glue rails on inside face of front and back for a removable tray
F. Sand outside surfaces for finish
G. Sand inside surfaces for finish
H. Apply finish to outside of box
I. Apply finish to inside of box
J. Cover the bottom of box with felt

Obviously some steps have to precede others (the box needs to be cut open before you can install the hinges and lock and do any interior work), but there is a wide variety of approaches even taking that into account. For example, should I finish the outside before it is cut or wait until after? Install hinges and lock before finishing or after? Etc.

Any thoughts and suggestions are gratefully appreciated.

Cheers.

Mike


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## beckerswoodworks (Dec 26, 2009)

I would do most of the sanding before I cut it open so that it's sanded consistantly. If you cut it open first it's easier to oversand the top or the bottom and end up with edges that don't align very well. I would do the final sanding, like the highest grit or 2, after cutting it open since it's easy to get minor scratches on it while doing the cutting.

I would install all the hardware and then remove it before doing the final sanding since it's easy to get some minor scratches while your cutting the mortises and holes . It's also much easier to sand and finish without the hardware attached. Once it's completely finished I would reinstall the hardware.


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

I always sand the inside to final(step G) BEFORE assembly.

I heard just a few days ago about doing some initial finish before assembly. It may help prevent problems with glue smear. I may try that.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I also sand the inside before assembly and I finish the outside of the box before cutting the lid off. Very little touch up required and zero finish on the inside. (Required for the cedar boxes I make)


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## dag2000 (Aug 13, 2010)

Thanks guys. Good idea about installing hardware, then removing it, finishing the box, and then reinstalling it. Next time I'll remember to sand the inside before assembly!


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## bigike (May 25, 2009)

my boxes i sometimes Finnish the inside too before assembly. Also after cutting open the box sand the top flat and the top of the open box flat as well, the part where the blade ran through to cut the top away. This just makes for a better mating surface when putting the lid back on ( almost seamless ). Look at the pentagon box I did for reference. keep us posted.


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## dag2000 (Aug 13, 2010)

Here is the outside of the box. I still have some work to do on the inside and will post those pics later.

Thanks for the advice!!


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## beckerswoodworks (Dec 26, 2009)

Looking really sweet!


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## dag2000 (Aug 13, 2010)

Here's the inside.

Thanks again for all the help!


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## beckerswoodworks (Dec 26, 2009)

Very nice!


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

Nice job!


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