Wobbly Breadbox

[rgdaniel]

Hi folks,

I recently completed (woohoo) a breadbox to match a breadboard I made a while back, and I quite like it! It's Shaker style, I think, modeled after an old painted garage sale version we'd been using, but I modified the design to have a breadboard-style top, and racing stripe sides. Quite happy with the look!

But...

Literally as I was placing it in its final home, I realized it wobbled. You can even see in the picture, the back corner has a bit of a gap showing. I THOUGHT it was fine during construction, but I didn't check it that closely I guess, like on the table saw for ultimate flatness. Pretty sure the pieces themselves were decently square, but something went askew somewhere in the process.

I briefly tried sanding and low angle block plane, but rather than risk wrecking the finished piece, I ended up just placing a small brass pin, like what's acting as the door hinge, into the bottom of that corner, to stop the rocking. Like a permanent "folded piece of cardboard" under a dresser leg.

So my question is, what other methods might I have attempted to set things straight?

[ffs1973@gmail.com]

Hello.

I am to novice to giv you advise. But I am innterested in what wood you have used?

Best regards

Torgeir Robertsen

[mikepdarr]

I am going to guess that maybe the counter top isn't as flat as your saw table?

[rgdaniel]

I am to novice to giv you advise. But I am innterested in what wood you have used?

Mostly hard maple, with stripes of walnut, cherry, and purpleheart. Cheers.

[rgdaniel]

I am going to guess that maybe the counter top isn't as flat as your saw table?

No, both surfaces revealed the wobble equally. Cheers.

[Lawrence Brown]

Instead of the pin in one corner, you could get some of those small rubber feet and put one in each corner. You would want to shave 3 of them a tiny bit or figure out another way to even them out, so not the funnest thing in the world, but they would serve a function by providing grip and also keep the box slightly out of any spills that may happen on the counter. But of course that's just dealing with the symptoms, not the problem...

If you want to actually get rid of the problem, you're right, there are lots of ways to do it. I also would go the sanding or planing route. Put down a long strip of self-adhesive sandpaper on your table saw or other wide surface you know is flat. The paper should only be wide enough for the right side of the box. Put the box on the table with the right side on the sandpaper, and while keeping pressure on the left side and your other hand on the front of the right side (the high side), slowly move it forward and back until the side is flat.

Think of it like you were jointing a board. I'm assuming the left side is flat, so that's your referrence surface. I'm also assuming it's not a big difference on the right. Removing a bit of material from that side will make it slightly shorter, but I don't think it will be enough for it to even be noticeable. Otherwise you would also have to sand a bit from the left side, but don't try to do them both at the same time or you might end up rocking it, which would just make things worse. Always keep one side flat on the hard surface for reference. After you are done, resand those bottom edges again if they aren't rounded any more.

Good luck.

[rgdaniel]

Thanks for your answer! I did in fact have little rubber bumpers on the bottom, serving as feet, when I first noticed the problem. Never thought of shaving down the high ones, I just popped them off and took it back out to the shop... where I tried a few passes with the block plane without much success (planes and planing are not a tool or skill I have in great quantity)... then I tried the sandpaper on the flat surface thing, just as you describe, BUT, I tried to do both sides at once, and did not feel I was getting anywhere. Which is when I went with the brass pin...

Thanks for the tips, should've tried just sanding the one side, as you say. Cheers!

Instead of the pin in one corner, you could get some of those small rubber feet and put one in each corner. You would want to shave 3 of them a tiny bit or figure out another way to even them out, so not the funnest thing in the world, but they would serve a function by providing grip and also keep the box slightly out of any spills that may happen on the counter. But of course that's just dealing with the symptoms, not the problem...

If you want to actually get rid of the problem, you're right, there are lots of ways to do it. I also would go the sanding or planing route. Put down a long strip of self-adhesive sandpaper on your table saw or other wide surface you know is flat. The paper should only be wide enough for the right side of the box. Put the box on the table with the right side on the sandpaper, and while keeping pressure on the left side and your other hand on the front of the right side (the high side), slowly move it forward and back until the side is flat.

Think of it like you were jointing a board. I'm assuming the left side is flat, so that's your referrence surface. I'm also assuming it's not a big difference on the right. Removing a bit of material from that side will make it slightly shorter, but I don't think it will be enough for it to even be noticeable. Otherwise you would also have to sand a bit from the left side, but don't try to do them both at the same time or you might end up rocking it, which would just make things worse. Always keep one side flat on the hard surface for reference. After you are done, resand those bottom edges again if they aren't rounded any more.

Good luck.

[Eli]

If you try planing or sanding, just take material off of the front-right and back-left corners. Those are the "high" spots. You can always shim it up, then scribe around it with a level line. That will give you a line to go to.

Eli

[Lawrence Brown]

Yeah, that was probably the problem: doing both sides at once. And just using a plane on one side, you can get the edge flat, but that doesn't guarantee that it will be parallel to the other side.