Bread Box

[Isaac]

This was a quick project for my spare time. I was looking for something useful and to use some of the existing scrap boards and hinges I had on hand, so I decided to use some left over quarter sawn red oak. The goal was just to produce a box to make the bread on the counter look a little nicer. I decided to use mitered corners and the the front of the door actually has a gentle miter as well, which was intended to somewhat conceal the front leading edge.

 

The brass inlay was a late addition, I stumbled onto it and liked it so much, I decided to give it a go. In this thread I discussed options for attachment. I wound up using @wtnhighlander 's suggestion and picked up some epoxy and black dye.

I like the look of the inlay, but could improve the execution, this was my first time doing anything like it and I learned a bit in the process. A couple things I figured out with the epoxy

1. If you overfill the recess and sand down, most of the bubbles in the epoxy will be in the waste and you can get a nice flush surface.
2. Having a plan to lock the metal inlay in the exact position you want is a good idea or it may shift as the epoxy cures. Mine wound up slightly out of place  .
3. Voids can be repaired by refilling with a second batch, the epoxy material, because of its transparent nature, is pretty forgiving as far as variations in color. 

 One of the biggest challenges was gluing up the miters, I first tried using some special corner clamps, but that was basically a disaster and I tossed in the towel and found and alternate method simply using tape. This gave significantly better results, but not perfect. 

I'm still going back and forth with adding a handle to the top. This is the style I have ordered and will see how it looks once it arrives. 

[shaneymack]

Cute little box, Isaac! The inlay is pretty cool.

[gee-dub]

Bread boxes remain a favorite in my experience.  If the lid is easily opened one-handed I would skip the pull.  If not, definitely add one.  I would have loved some progress shots on the inlay process.  It looks great in the pics.  Is the symbol significant?

[Isaac]

 

11 minutes ago, gee-dub said:

Bread boxes remain a favorite in my experience.  If the lid is easily opened one-handed I would skip the pull.  If not, definitely add one.  I would have loved some progress shots on the inlay process.  It looks great in the pics.  Is the symbol significant?

Thanks guys. I may be doing another inlay soon so I'll try to record the process, it was pretty simple actually, I just routed the recess out, taped around the perimeter with blue painters tape (including the open edges to create a pour stop). Mix the epoxy with some black dye (I used a 5 minute bob smith epoxy), fill er up and drop in the metal. For the upper narrow part symbol it was completely buried under the epoxy. If I do it over again I'll be more precise about the depth of my recess, I'm thinking I'd leave it so the metal is about 1/32 proud and then sand it down to flush. The brass sanded very easily. The epoxy is of course pretty viscous so you can mound it pretty high, and I think that is a good idea, because then any bubbles wind up in the material that gets sanded away. Other people recommend heat guns to remove bubbles, so I might try that as well.

As for the symbol, when I bought them they came as a pair (4 total pieces of metal). Confusingly, each one of these sets is the Chinese character for 'Double Happiness', and it is ubiquitous on Chinese decorations around their lunar new year. So I guess if I had installed both sets on one box, we'd be looking at quadruple happiness box, but I settled for a double. My wife's Chinese from Hong Kong, so she really appreciates it.    

[prov163]

Nicely done, Isaac.  I like the miter's in the box lid.  Inlay has meaning so it increases the uniqueness of the gift! Double happiness to you and yours!!!

[Andy Wright]

1 hour ago, Isaac Gaetz said:

 

Thanks guys. I may be doing another inlay soon so I'll try to record the process, it was pretty simple actually, I just routed the recess out, taped around the perimeter with blue painters tape (including the open edges to create a pour stop). Mix the epoxy with some black dye (I used a 5 minute bob smith epoxy), fill er up and drop in the metal. For the upper narrow part symbol it was completely buried under the epoxy. If I do it over again I'll be more precise about the depth of my recess, I'm thinking I'd leave it so the metal is about 1/32 proud and then sand it down to flush. The brass sanded very easily. The epoxy is of course pretty viscous so you can mound it pretty high, and I think that is a good idea, because then any bubbles wind up in the material that gets sanded away. Other people recommend heat guns to remove bubbles, so I might try that as well.

As for the symbol, when I bought them they came as a pair (4 total pieces of metal). Confusingly, each one of these sets is the Chinese character for 'Double Happiness', and it is ubiquitous on Chinese decorations around their lunar new year. So I guess if I had installed both sets on one box, we'd be looking at quadruple happiness box, but I settled for a double. My wife's Chinese from Hong Kong, so she really appreciates it.    

To keep the inlay from shifting around in the epoxy you just need to glue it in place before you fill the rest of the cavity. A few drops of CA glue or even hot glue will do the trick.

[rodger.]

I like your project, but I didn't realize people still used breadboxes.

[Coop]

25 minutes ago, Pug said:

I like your project, but I didn't realize people still used breadboxes.

Most of the time now days, they are used as a reference, as in, larger than or smaller than a bb.

[Isaac]

1 hour ago, Andy Wright said:

To keep the inlay from shifting around in the epoxy you just need to glue it in place before you fill the rest of the cavity. A few drops of CA glue or even hot glue will do the trick.

That is a suspiciously simple solution, are you sure you are a woodworker?!

Seriously though, thanks for the tip.

47 minutes ago, Pug said:

I like your project, but I didn't realize people still used breadboxes.

Well, I'm not sure if they actually keep bread fresh or whatever, I just wanted something to help de-clutter the kitchen counter.

I suppose most people would just try to reduce the absurd amount of food products we have in all our kitchen cabinets, but instead I'll just keep building various boxes until I'm smothered to death by them.