Sliding dovetail box progress and question
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I’m working on the dovetail box with the sliding lid.
In the attached pictures, you can see my progress.My glue up was a horror story. (Never do this with small kids playing around you)
The glue dries so quick, or I’m too slow. The result is that my box isn’t square and some tails that aren’t fully seated.What would be a good way to fix the gaps in my joinery?
Should I make my base plate also out of square?Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.@dave
I did a dry run but was to slow while gluing.
Some gaps would still be there even after a perfect glue. I made a first version of the sliding lid box to practise (in pine) and that went smoother. This beech is more difficult to work with.
I made the lid out of square so it fits.6 October 2014 at 2:52 pm #119021I have been in that situation many times! Do what ever to the base to make it look square. If that means the bottom is out of square, so what.
I have not used it yet, but I think I will start using liquid hide glue. The stuff that is already made. I think there is a much slower drying time. The typical white glue doesn’t give me enough time to adjust things.
@bertd – cut and round over the bottom to fit the box. The nice thing abOut hand tools is you can easily fit stuff together even if it’s a bit out of square. As far as the gaps go, you can either sand the box and mix a little glue into some sawdust and use a small spatula to work the mix into the gaps or use a wax based filler or just leave it and make another box with the aim to practice more dovetailing.
Bertd, dovetail joints in hardwoods requires a different kind of accuracy. The wood doesn’t compress like it does in pine so your sawing has to be spot on. What I have been doing is marking both sides of the board with my lines so when I’m done sawing I can check to make sure the cuts are square. If they are out then I pare to the line with a chisel. If you can find a small enough square you could use that too. Using Paul’s technique of the backing board helps a lot too.
Hi guys,
I tried the glue and sawdust method but it not perfect although good enough. Please find attached some more pictures of my progress.
I just need to finish the bottom. I glued two small pieces together but didn’t check for the grain direction. After two swipes with the plane, I had the most terrrible tear out you could imagine so I decided to cut it up and reglue the pieces together (now with correct orientation).Best regards,
BertAttachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.Bertd, it looks a heck of a lot better than my first attempt, you could drive a truck through the gaps I had. That little bit on yours is just fine. Build a dozen or so dovetail boxes out of pine in all manner of sizes. By the end of it you will have it mastered and those boxes are really handy to have around the house.
Hi Bert…
from your pictures, you have an outstanding box, especially since it’s your second box. Glue and sawdust are great, but if you’re a hacker like me, you can try little wedges stuck into the gaps with glue and planed flush. Another trick is to put your project on a rapidly moving lazy susan, so that the movement obscures anything less than perfect.
but seriously, each time you switch to a different wood, you have to alter your thinking about how to do common place tasks. I’m a little envious that your first box in beech turned out so well. I’d tell you about my box in honey locust, but I’d need an entire blog entry for that–suffice it to say that after 3 remedial glue ups on the sides and ends, I have put it to one side. It’s clearly not ripe yet.Keep on truck’n
jim@dave @jlmountverizon-net
I’ve spent some more hours working on the box and beside the finishing, it’s done.
After all, I’m quiet happy with it. I already started the stock preparation of the last sliding box I’m going to make (oak this time).New progress pictures are attached.
Thanks for reading!
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.Looks great, nice job!
I just started preparing some oak to start the sliding dovetail box project. I’ve never worked with oak, so I am a little apprehensive about it. It seems like what I need to worry the most about is splitting. So far the planing to thickness has gone well. -dw
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