G Get's His Groove On (Memory Box pt2)

The plan for this box is to "box joint" the four sides together with a top and bottom panel resting semi-loosely in grooves.  The box with be assembled as one sealed piece and cut into a lid and bottom on the table saw.

Each side piece was cut to exact length and fastened securely to the the workbench.

Then the grooving began to a syncopated rhythm that matched the undulations in the mahogany's playful grain.  In other words, every time the grain changed I had to adjust the direction I was pushing the dado plane in to avoid serious tear out.  Eight hours of dancing to this funky beat produced a pile of wood chips.

It also produced the eight very satisfying grooves that would hold the top and bottom panels tightly but still allow for some seasonal wood movement.

The dado plan in action.

Each groove needed two passes to create the width.  This is  one end after the first pass.

You can faintly see the layout lines for the box joints.

Cheers!

Wedding Memories or Pirate Booty? (Memory Box pt1)

Every pirate can tell you, real treasure is kept in a wooden box...next to the rum.  This box was created to keep treasured wedding memories safe.

The project started with some dimensions and a simple design in mind.  A trip to plunder the always friendly and helpful Exotic Woods got the project underway.

A lot of time was spent with Mrs. G deciding on how the grain would line up on the box.  The decision was to have the grain meet at the left and show growth to the right to symbolize the start of a couple's journey into the the future together together.  A fitting theme for a box of wedding memories, not as much for a box of pirate loot. (G's Tip: If you want to build a pirate box, make the grain look like an X.)

The wood is cut to rough length and stacked.  Arrrrrgh!