Tom Cancelleri Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 A friend of mine had seen a dovetail box I made for my parent's dog last year on Facebook and contacted me, said that she had to put her 14 year old golden retriever (Scooby) down. Scooby was an awesome dog, he was instrumental in me finally adopting a dog of my own after having grown up having dogs, but not having one after moving to Virginia. I agreed, and asked her what she wanted it to look like, what type of wood, or color of wood. Her reply was "make it however you want, make it look however you want, I trust it will be beautiful when you're done. If you could, make the wood a tannish color, similar to Scooby's coloring." Off I went to get wood, while thinking about the design. I selected Bird's Eye Maple for the sides of the box, and Sapele for the top and bottom of the box. I decided I'd get a little creative, as I have wanted to do this for another one of my parent's dogs ashes that passed a couple of years ago, rather than that generic ugly box he came in. I wanted a contrasting inlay of a paw print on the top of the box. Wood selection After resawing and first pass through the drum sander, and a quick sanding with 80 grit on the 150/5 I decided to use box joints for this one, been a while since I've done box joints. They are 1/2" joints done on the router table with a Multispacing jig from MLCS. Another pass through the drum sander to get them closer to final thickness. Flushing up the box joints No project is complete without a little DNA. (While using my #80 cabinet scraper I happened to run my knuckles along the edge of the box on the wood. More flushing up. Makeshift work holding, I drilled some 3/4" holes in my tool bench that holds my Kapex to put some F clamps through. (Next project is a Roubo) Gotta trim the top and get it to the dimensions I want. Wanted to get a feel for size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Now the fun part! Making the inlay template. A paw print. I go about this in an interesting way. I find what I want, or design what I want and then scale it on my screen to how big I want, and then trace it right off my laptop. A trip to the scroll saw with some 1/4" MDF Roughly cut out and ready for smoothing the insides. Next up, oscillating spindle sander All clean Put some thin CA on the inside of the cutout to strengthen up the edges of the template (I plan on using this a few times) More to come later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Nice work Tom. I'll be along for the ride. I love boxes and all the variations people come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Very nice work! Looking forward to seeing that inlay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Recesses for the inlay done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Cut pieces. Chamfered the back set of the maple to help fit it easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 I've never tried Sapele and have seen where a lot of people like it. Reducing and drawing the pattern direct from your screen and the use of the cv on your patterns are good ideas. I never cease to learn on here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Sapele works about the same as Walnut, I really like it! Great job on the inlay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 I've never tried Sapele and have seen where a lot of people like it. Reducing and drawing the pattern direct from your screen and the use of the cv on your patterns are good ideas. I never cease to learn on here! This is the first time I'm using Sapele, so far I like it. Tracing off the screen was out of necessity when I was doing the batman walking stick and needed the bat logo, and was out of ink in my printer. I had a ruler on my screen and was measuring the size on the screen then traced. Since then, it's the only way I will get patterns for inlays or logos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Tom, get that damn hair out of your eyes. I don't want it to get caught up in your circ saw Everyone's changing their names and appearance 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Tom, Get that damn hair out of your eyes. I don't want it to get caught up in your circ saw Everyone's changing their names and appearance Yea, I need a program! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Paring off the protruding inlay. Top cut to size, some planing of the inlay off, then finally a few passes through the drum sander. Sanded to 120 with the ETS 150. Wiped with mineral spirits to check for gaps, and color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Chamfer on the edge of the top. Wiped down with mineral spirits to get a better idea of the look with finish. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Looks great! Maybe a couple little spots (or those could be shadows?) but, easily fixed with a little CA and sanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Looks great! Maybe a couple little spots (or those could be shadows?) but, easily fixed with a little CA and sanding. Yea there's a tiny spot on the second to the left that has a small little gap. I will CA and sand that spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Yea there's a tiny spot on the second to the left that has a small little gap. I will CA and sand that spot. Really looks great! Nice job! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Now that is cool. Great idea! Tom, this not for burial but for display, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 16, 2015 Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 Really nice, Tom. What bit / collar combo did you use to cut the inlay & recess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 Really nice, Tom. What bit / collar combo did you use to cut the inlay & recess? I used the Whiteside inlay kit. The 1/8" upcut bit sucks for hogging out material in big spaces. I used my chisels to clean them out after some material was cleared out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 16, 2015 Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 I used the Whiteside inlay kit. The 1/8" upcut bit sucks for hogging out material in big spaces. I used my chisels to clean them out after some material was cleared out. Agreed.. I usually load of a straight bit after the edges are cut to hog out the material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 16, 2015 Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 Could you have just cut the outline, then switched to a larger bit and temoved the waste freehand? I've never used one of those inly kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 Could you have just cut the outline, then switched to a larger bit and temoved the waste freehand? I've never used one of those inly kits. There's ways to do everything. First inlay I did I used an exacto knife to trace around the piece I wanted to inlay where I wanted it. Then I used 1/4" upcut bit to hog out the material, then cleaned up the edges with the exacto knife, using it like a paring chisel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 Haven't done anything monumental on this in a few days. On Sunday I leveled the top of the box with my block plane where it meets the top so that the top sits flush with no gaps. I just milled the board for the bottom of the box, sadly the pieces I have aren't wide enough to meet my needs so I had to joint and glue 2 pieces to make the bottom wider than the top. Glued up and waiting until tomorrow for more to be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDave Posted May 20, 2015 Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 Got to try to do some inlay...seems like a lot of fun and good way to build some skills on the router... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 A little more done today. Waiting for glue to dry now. Maker's Mark Complex glue up. Had to weigh it down so it wouldn't shift. Checked and rechecked, and checked again. Rather than rabbet the top, I made a piece to fit the box over it, and glue it in place. I will also be drilling through the bottom, and gluing some maple blocks with nuts embedded in them to hold the box closed to contain the ashes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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