Box

I built this for my sister and her family. If it turned out badly, I’d have kept it, but it was good enough to give away. (As of 2010, it was being used to store a matched set of ping-pong ball pistols.) It’s about 5” tall, and twice that in length.

The box is 1/2” yellowheart with a 1/4” mahogany lid. Finish is thinned satin polyurethane. I guess you’d call it a wiping varnish, but it’s just straight from the can mixed with some thinner and applied with a rag. I think it’s three coats.

The base is mahogany as well. It’s set into a slot near the bottom edge of the sides.

I used the tape-and-glue method to clamp the sides. It didn’t work as well as I’d hoped, or maybe I had too much glue in the joint. Still, a bit of sanding dust and glue filled what minor openings there were in the corners.

Last updated 26 July 2010

The lid just sits in a rabbet around the top edge. Here you can see my lousy mitered corners. They were done with a 45-degree shooting board and a Stanley #3 handplane. (recent production from England, not an old one.)