Raven inlay Jewelry and Make-up Boxes-Part 3

Hi Everyone!

In this part I will continue to cut out the dovetails. At the end of this part we will have great fitting dovetails that are not only great to look at, but also very strong.

I ended part 2 with cutting the pins with a dovetail saw, making sure to stay well away from the scribed layout lines. Now I continue to cut out the waste in between the pins by using a coping saw. I opt for a coping saw instead of my scroll saw because now I am dealing with angled sides.

After the waste has been removed I reach for my chisels to pare away the rest while using the scribed knife lines as guides. I also square the shoulders by using the same method as seen in part 2.

And voila! The finished dovetails on both boxes! These are perfect fitting dovetails. Although the paring method is time consuming it surely leaves you with exceptional results!

A close-up of the dovetails. Also notice how the grain of the walnut continues consistantly around all sides of the box.

In the next part I will be tackling some grooves and shaping the bottom of the box sides for a nice design detail.

Thanks for looking!

Roshaan

Raven inlay Jewelry and Make-up Boxes-Part 2

Hi Everyone!

Welcome back to part two of the box duo! We ended the last part by carefully marking out the dovetails. Today we will be cutting those dovetails by a combination of the table saw and by hand using a hand saw especially made for cutting dovetails, appropriately named a dovetail saw. To clean up the dovetails we will be using various sized chisels and a wooden mallet.


I start by cutting the tails first. I use the table saw to quickly and accurately cut the angles of the tails. I simply tilt the blade to the appropriate angle of the dovetails, in this case I went with the 1 : 6 ratio to get that angle. The stop block is a great way to get accurate and repeatable cuts. Now from these cuts everything else will follow, so I take extra care to be very precise with this operation.

After all the tails are cut at the table saw I then look toward my scroll saw to remove the waste in between the tails. I make sure I stay far enough away from the the scribed line of the shoulders. This will be cleaned up later with the help of a guide block and chisel. Who says a scroll saw can't be used for fine joinery!

At my bench I clean up the shoulders of the tails. I use the aid of a beefy guide block to help guide the chisel at a perfect 90 degree angle as I chop out the waste.

After all the shoulders of the tails have been squared up, it was time to mark the pin board. I carefully line up the tail board on the end of the pin board. I steadily hold the pieces in place and with a very sharp marking knife, I carefully trace the angle of the tails onto the pin board.

Before I can cut the pins however, I make sure to scribe the thickness of the tail board onto the edge of the pin board by using a marking gauge. I also use a machinist square to carry the lines of the angles onto the face of the pin board. Then with my fantastic Veritas dovetail saw I cut the pins, staying well away from the marked lines.

Well that's it for now folks! Please join me next time to see how the dovetails turn out.

Thanks for looking!

Roshaan

One-on-one workshop with Lesley

Hello Everyone,

I had a great opportunity to teach a one-on-one woodworking workshop from my modest yet organized garage shop. This workshop was to be a birthday gift for the sister of a great friend of mine. Btw...what a great birthday gift idea! Please take note for future reference :)

Lesley was an ideal student since she had a great passion for anything handmade and she was willing to learn in a very short amount of time. I have to give her credit for sticking with me to the very end of a fun but exhausting 8 hour day. At the end of the day she went home with a great token of her hard work...a lovely keepsake box made out of hard maple with a cherry wood scroll sawn top.

I gave Lesley a few scroll saw patterns to choose from, and she immediately gravited to the elegant, yet intricate dragonfly design. The design was a bit ambitious for a beginner, but I told her she had to be happy with the design since she was planning to keep the box for a very long time. The box sides was mitered which was then further enhanced with cherry splines. Splines not only add strenth to the joint but also dresses up a simple mitered box. There are no visible hinges, because the lid opens with the aid of 1/8" diameter brass pivot pins which is glued with epoxy into drilled holes in the sides of the box.

At the end of the day Lesley was extremely pleased with what she accomplished in such a short amount of time and so was I. I hope she will enjoy the keepsake box for a very long time and will keep it in the family for many more years to come.


Roshaan