Make a Box

While this post is about a box I made for a friend's ashes, above, it can really be about making a box; pretty much any box, or drawer, or cabinet case ... whatever. This is how we do it ... It's not the only way, it's not the 'right' way, it's just the way we do it. I don't think I've seen this dovetail method in print recently (or ever), but we've been using it for so long that I don't know exactly how we came to it ... Anyway, for a hand cut looking dovetail, it makes for a pretty quick process and the more of them you do, the faster you get at them. No jigs to fuss with either. For the tansu stairway project and the tansu cabinet project, Will did so many of them, I think he could do them now while playing his banjo. I did this box, start to finish, and I know I'm not as fast as I used to be ... It was a reflective process though and I enjoyed it totally.
Click the pictures to enlarge them ....

In a case like this, we start with a full size mdf mockup so we all know how big it's going to be, and what kind of 'presence' it will have... This one was on hand for the service and seemed about right. The main box part is 4.75" high x 13"long x 8.5" deep as I recall. Base and lid add about another inch and a quarter in height and length ....

We cut the tails on the table saw, in this case using a 10 degree angle. The butternut (wood from Meg's kitchen) is soft so we used an intermediate angle. Those cuts can be anywhere from 8 to 12 degrees depending on the look you like. In the photo above, we're using a stop and a cut off to test our layout. after cutting the initial, defining 10 degree cuts, we make another set at like 5 degrees and then at 90 degrees, leaving very little waste to chisel to the line. (lower the blade a bit as you get to vertical).

We keep the pins small (1/8" or so at the small point) for what I think is a referred to as a 'British' look but you can make them equal if you like that look too. This is what the side looks like as it comes off the table saw, before we pare to the scribe line...

Then we trace the tails onto the front and back pieces and make our cuts with a 'gent's' saw. We use a sharp pencil to mark with and leave the line ... You can see the saw we use in the first photo above ... Then, from the small side of the pin cuts, we waste between the cuts with our multirouter. This can also be done I suppose, same as the tails, on a table saw with a carefully set dado head.

However you do it, you're left with some small trapezoids to final cut. We use a modified flush cut saw. The nose has been ground down for working in a small pin space on small drawers ...

You should be able to hammer them home right off the saw ... (after a little practice)

Front and back view ..

Glue up with cauls and clamps and center block to keep the sides from flexing... we use good old Elmer's white glue ... decent open time, short clamp time ...

The bottom is rabbeted and screwed on , or if you're making a drawer, slid into a dado from the back ,,,, For a cremation urn, we make an intermediate top, supported on corner posts, with a little leather tab to open it. You can see that top on the right above ... All the hardware is installed and then removed for the finishing process. we use a 1.25" brusso box hinge with a stop for the lid with a rare earth magnet epoxied in to hold it shut ...

The finished box ... Finished with a two step aniline dye mix, (Lockwood light golden brown walnut and LW Antique walnut water stains), a coat of gloss poly, a sanding and a gel stain coat next and a coat of satin poly ... buffed with a paper towel when dry ....

The thank you note which arrived in my inbox as I was writing this ... good karma ...