Gary Rogowski Jewelry Box


kevinmallick

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Hello Everyone,

 

Thought I would share my first "real" project.  I have lurked here for a long time and felt the need to contribute at least something.  So here we go!

 

I say "real" project, because I have built some 2x4 furniture and a bandsaw box, all using cheap/scrap wood and what little tools I have available.  This time, I got a good deal on some common walnut for $5.00 a BF and picked up a board for $19.  Couldn't pass it up.  Got home and immediately thought of this box.  Measured up to make sure I could get the whole box out of this board.  It's close, but should work if I'm careful.

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I used my jigsaw to break down the board.  I left room to trim down to the exact measurements.  

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The board was not very wide, but if I'm exact I should leave enough for the breadboards when I cut the front/sides to 2 1/4".  I don't have a planer, but have a jointer.  So to mill these for use, I will joint 2 sides...

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...and then use the flat side on my bandsaw fence, and rewsaw just a bit thicker than 3/4", and then creep up either with the jointer or sanding.  

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It won't be exact as if I was using a thickness planer, but close enough for my work... 

 

More to come!

 

-Kevin

 

Edit: Pictures fixed

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OK, I am really excited about this project.  I took my lunch break today and worked on the box (Sliced my finger good too... but I'll share that later)

 

So here is one of the sides milled to the thickness compared to the original board.

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Here you can see, I rough cut the length here to 13" for the sides which will ultimately be 12 1/4".  That way I can cut them on the table saw to be more accurate.

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Like I mentioned in the original post, I thought I could pull it off, but it was CLOSE!  When I cut the side pieces to width (2 1/4"), I was left with a perfect 2" breadboard end piece.  LUCKY!   But I'll take it.  I can't believe I'm going to be able to make this box from a $19 board!

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Here are the front/back and sides all milled up and ready to hit the bandsaw!

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I used a piece of scrap cedar to get the kerf size of my bandsaw blade.

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And believe it or not, I had a piece of scrap (I keep pretty much everything) from a 2x4 that fit the kerf exactly.  

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After practicing on a scrap piece of cedar that I had cut to the exact width to be sure, it's time to make the cuts on my walnut.

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Now with the shim against the fence, I make the cuts for the tenon on the side pieces.

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Time for some chisel work!

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I had a picture of the sides and the front lined up, like he shows in the video, but the file was too big to upload.  Same for the initial fit of the fingers.  Only one of the 4 joints fit off the saw.  So most required some fitting and chisel work.  I'll try to downsize them and upload later.  I also don't have a proper workbench or really any area to hold these pieces effectively.  So I now have a very deep hole in my left pointer finger about the size of my chisel....   Lots of blood and it's a little difficult to type now, but these are the lessons we learn I guess.  Looks like a workbench will be next...

 

ANYWAY, here is the one joint that fit before I cleaned it up.  Not too bad!  

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Next, I will clean these joints up as best I can.  And then try to figure out what type of magic I will perform to get the grove for the bottom.  I don't have a router table, or a bench to hold it steady to hand route.  The sides can be done with a dado blade on the tablesaw b/c they are through cuts, but the front/back need to stop before the ends...  Any ideas?

 

 

 

 

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Thanks Richard!  I figured that was the case!  I felt even dumber when it happened b/c I have read so many times about chisel injuries.  I simply didn't have much of an alternative at the time.  I definitely need to prioritize a workbench with a way to hold pieces steady.  

 

On a side note,  I paid particular attention to the photos that I uploaded that time, and they still seem to randomly flip.  Does anyone know why?

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I know that some people say you can make a stopped Dado with a Dado blade but i just don't see it.

Any chance you have a router plane?

 

Yeah, I thought about trying the stopped dado on the table saw.  I REALLY don't like the idea of placing the wood down the moving blade and it seems very inaccurate to me.  Plus, I would have to clean it up anyway so it wasn't rounded off at each end of the dado.  I may have to see if I can find a good deal on a used router table on craigslist or something.  Or maybe I can find a deal on a router plane, because I do not have one of those yet either.

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OK, I resized some of the photos that were too large.

 

Here is the view Gary and Mark showed in the video.  It gives a good idea of how snug everything will fit.

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After cutting away the waste, only one joint fit.  Here is one that needed some fitting.

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Aaaaaaand, here is after I fitted each joint and the sides and front/back were all together.  

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Yay for non-flipped pictures!  I'm going to go back and see if I can edit the other posts to correct them.

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You could very well build yourself a nice Router cabinet. Mine took about a day to put together.here is an in progress shot. Finished with doors, drawers, rockler plate.

 

I like it!  I will have to look into that as an option as well.  I took a quick look on Craigslist and there are a few craftsman and a bosch that are under $100.  I may take a break now, let me finger heal up a bit and think over my options.

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Obviously you'll need a real bench if you're gonna do real work...but in the meantime, you could use some double-stick tape to affix your workpiece to your work surface to route your stopped grooves.  Just be sure it's good tape.  Turner's tape will work well.

 

Don't mess with stopped grooves with the dado stack...that can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing...and you'll end up with a ton of chisel work to do afterward.

 

You'll be better off doing your stopped grooves and through grooves all the same way with the router...that way you know they'll all be identical.

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Obviously you'll need a real bench if you're gonna do real work...but in the meantime, you could use some double-stick tape to affix your workpiece to your work surface to route your stopped grooves.  Just be sure it's good tape.  Turner's tape will work well.

 

Don't mess with stopped grooves with the dado stack...that can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing...and you'll end up with a ton of chisel work to do afterward.

 

You'll be better off doing your stopped grooves and through grooves all the same way with the router...that way you know they'll all be identical.

 

I like this idea as a temporary fix.  I don't feel comfortable attempting the stopped dado on the table saw.  More power to those that that do, but I've already shed enough blood on this project.  (-:

 

I'll see about some tape or maybe see about finding a surface to clamp one side of the piece at a time.  Not ideal, but it might work.  I also have 2 leads on router tables in the area off of craigslist that I may go ahead and do.  I will likely build a cabinet later that is all mine and custom, but for now it may be the best option.

 

I do also like the plywood and hardwood fence idea.  If these tables don't work out, that may be the way I go.  

 

 

Damn Dude, you're making good progress if this is live! I'd still be whining about the blood loss

And welcome to the forum!

 

Haha, thanks!  I did jump right in and work a lot on it yesterday.  It will slow down now.  I don't have the best selection of tools yet and now my finger hurts... (-:  

 

Plus that work thing that most of us have.  I will probably go in the garage after work this evening and just stare at it while I think about what to do next. 

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The TS can do most of the work on a stopped dado if you use stop blocks to make sure you don't cut too far. Also, check out Paul Sellers on you tube, and search for 'poor mans router plane' on his channel for a quick workaround for cleaning up the ends of your dado.

 

OH!  And I watched this video last night too!  AWESOME!  I almost want to try it just to say I did it.  Even if I end up routing it or whatever, I may do this to clean it up and try it out.  

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Here is the one I made a while ago. H mahogany w ebony accents.

Good start and keep it up.

Very nice!  I have been contemplating plugs vs. dowels as well.  Not sure which way I will go.  Got a little more shop time tonight and made some progress.  Getting photos straight now and I'll post an update.

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