# My in-out box project.



## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

*My in-out box project. (Updated, New Photos)*

Ok, I figured that everyone else is posting a project. Now that I have my loft done and room in the garage\shop to work I have been working on some projects to give away for Christmas.

First up is the In-Out box that I read about in Woodsmith Volume 30. I made a few changes to the plans as I only wanted 2 trays in mine and the plans in the magazine has 3. I also made my trays 2 inches where as the magazine is 2 1/2 inches. Other than that I have been following the directions.

This is where I am at so far....










I have to trim the tray bottoms to fit them in but I have the three sides of the trays glued up and waiting on them. I have the stand done and need to add the tray guides and a finish. I did have a bit of a problem after all the glue set up. The is a misalignment in the back that has added a bit of a twist in the frame. I hope that when I screw in the tray guides and the top tray that I can get that twist out of there. 

In the plans they had a little jig for holding the parts while cutting the kerfs in the corners for the splines. While I was working on the jig and on the frame I figured that I could use the same jig for helping glue up the tray and making sure that corners are square and right at 45 degrees. 



















The jig for the kerfs worked great... I ended up making two jigs for holding the parts while cutting on the saw. The first one was for the kerfs in the corners as seen in the second photo. The second jig was to cut the slots in the ends of the miters for full length splines. They both worked well and allowed me to get some straight cuts.











Today I will be finishing the trays and will be able to start the assembly. 

I have done a couple new things during this project. I got to use my new router table for the first time. I built the table over the last couple months and just finished it about two weeks ago. I also used my first dado blade in the table saw. 

Oh yeah... The stand is made with Cherry wood with Mahogany splines. The Trays are opposite being Mahogany and Cherry splines. The bottom of the trays are 1/4" hardboard. 

Anyone have a good suggestion on the finish for them? I was thinking about a clear poly... But I would also like something that will bring out the colors and patterns of the wood.

Tim


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

tdsapp said:


> Anyone have a good suggestion on the finish for them? I was thinking about a clear poly... But I would also like something that will bring out the colors and patterns of the wood.
> 
> Tim


Very nice gift idea. 
I like Tung oil. Used it on the paint chest I just finished.
http://www.routerforums.com/attachm...260036786-artists-paint-chest-1205091301a.jpg


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Wow Tim, that is some fairly complex workmanship! Nice work so far


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## vikingcraftsman (Mar 31, 2006)

Great work glad you joined us project a day crew.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

I like the splines, Tim.. They add a nice touch!


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

AxlMyk said:


> Very nice gift idea.
> I like Tung oil. Used it on the paint chest I just finished.
> http://www.routerforums.com/attachm...260036786-artists-paint-chest-1205091301a.jpg



That looks good... What kind of wood is that?


Tim


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

Bob said:


> Wow Tim, that is some fairly complex workmanship! Nice work so far



Thanks Bob... The magazine really lays things out and makes it easy. I have also been reading about stuff like this to learn as much as I could. 

It has helped to find this site and start looking at some of the projects posted here. This show and tell is a great part of the site.


Tim


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

BigJimAK said:


> I like the splines, Tim.. They add a nice touch!



Yeah they really stand out. There are also two splines on the curves on the bottom in the curves. I loved the plans in the magazine and had to build one when I saw it.

Tim


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

Very nice work on the joinery!


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

*Here is an update...*

Here is an update on my In-Out trays....

I was finally able to get back out to the garage in the last couple days and worked on my Christmas presents. The In-Out box is coming along nicely and I will be ready to stain maybe tomorrow.

I trimmed the hard board bottoms for the trays and glued up the last side of the tray. Once that set I cut the kerfs into the corners and added the splines. 










Once the glue set I trimmed them flush and sanded them with some 220 to flush them up. I wanted them to have a smooth ride over the router table. 



















I mounted a 1/2" round over in the router and hit the corners. I had to sand it again with 220 to clean up the cut. I guess I need to learn a bit more about the speed for the bits. All the corners had black marks on them where the wood started to burn when being cut. But... Once sanded, they came out looking real nice.




























Tomorrow I am going to pre-drill the holes to mount the top tray and mount the rails for the lower tray. After that I will route the grooves into the side of the lower tray. I think I can finish it up tomorrow where I will be able to stain it.

Tim


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

CanuckGal said:


> Very nice work on the joinery!



Thanks for the comment CanuckGal... It has been a fun project and since it is my first woodworking project I have to say I am a bit proud of it.


Tim


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Good workmanship. You do well.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

"I have to say I am a bit proud of it."

and so you should be Tim, a first class job, if that really was your first, we're going to be in for some real treats as time goes by.


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

harrysin said:


> "I have to say I am a bit proud of it."
> 
> and so you should be Tim, a first class job, if that really was your first, we're going to be in for some real treats as time goes by.



Well, I have done some big jobs like a stand for my fish tank, centering rings and fins for my rockets but nothing like this in-out box. The fish tank stand was built with 3/4" plywood using pocket screws, brad nailer and store bought trim. The face of the stand is 3/4" birch that is just nailed on and I am worrying that they are not going to last. I did not think about using pocket screws to build the frame first and I did not have a joiner that that time. They are just nailed on with brads and if I grab them wrong they move and twist. Now the doors of the stand have mitered corners and a 1/8" panel sitting in a groove. They are the strongest part of the face. I bought a joiner and the miters have biscuits in them and they are sturdy. 


I have never had to work with small mitered corners with splines, or any "exotic wood" like Cherry or Mahogany. Just about everything else I have ever worked with has been HD plywood. This is also the first project I have done with my table saw. I did not get it until after the fish tank stand was done. My dad bought a new table saw with a surface like an aircraft carrier and a fence big enough to put in the back yard and keep the dog in the yard. In return I got his old Craftsman 10" table saw on a roll around stand. (same way I got my 10" compound miter saw  ) 

Most of the wood working I have done has not been very detail oriented. With the rockets, if I cut the fins 3/8ths of an inch off then it is not noticeable. With this thing I was off by less than an 1/8th inch and could tell when it was on my bench. 

I have to admit that not everything has been perfect. I had to made some last minute changes.

For instance... I had bought a 3/4" Cherry board that was about 7' long and a 3/4" Mahogany board at about 6'. I had the place I bought them from plane them down to 1/2". When I went to rip the cherry board down to 2" I was very picky and measured the fence, and then measured the fence again. I gabbed the board and started to cut. I went about 2" and pulled the board off the saw and measured. I guess I was tired at that point because even though I measured three times I picked the wrong mark. On my tape measure the "2" is not on the 2" mark, it's beside it. When checking I picked the wrong side and all of my boards ended up being 1.5". I had also made my first cut not paying enough attention and put the rough cut side of the board up to the fence. That cost me half the board since my first cut started at 1 1/2" and ended up much smaller on the other end. At least I was able to use that wood for the splines so it was not all a loss. I had just hoped for more wood left over for other projects. 

This caused me to have to re-size the trays and the sides. It also made me go with 2 splines per corner and not the 4 that the plans called for. (Actually, the plans were for three 2.5" trays and I had re-calculated for two 2" trays.)

I also had one of my miters for the stand off and after I was finished with the glue up I had a bow in one of the boards. I was so obsessed about the corners being flush and the way it went together I did not notice it until the stand was built. I tried to use mounting the top tray to straighten out the bow but that did not work. I ended up cutting out 1" out of both the front and back of the stand. That split the base into two parts but it allow the wood to relax from the bow and I was able to sand out the section that was keeping the stand rocking. The back I left square but on the front I took it back over to the router and used the same 1/2" round over bit to round the stand from the front to the back. I think it actually added a bit to the look of the final assembly so I am happy with it. It's kind of hard to explain but I will get some photos up as soon as the clear coat drys.

That the was the other thing I learned... I coated the entire stand and trays with a clear satin spar urethane that was sitting on a shelf. To be honest I am not sure why I had it but I tried it on some scraps and I liked how it brought out the color and grain of the wood. So I covered my work area in plastic and grabbed a rag. I applied the urethane like a stain using a rag and everything was looking good. I covered the bottom of the parts and set them on the plastic knowing that I would have to sand out the pattern that the plastic left. So, I left the parts to dry, it took a bit longer than I thought but eventually they dried and I was able to sand. There is where I learned my lesson... Don't sand too much!!! When working with my rockets I end up with a couple layers of paint on the rocket before I paint and when using 220 grit paper I rarely get down to the primer. With this stuff I got down to the wood in a heart beat. I thought it was just lighter because of the dust, like paint is discolored it's before wiped down, but when I cleaned up the parts up with a damp rag I could tell that I had taken most of the urethane off. I taped them back up and applied a second layer. At least I could tell that the wood had absorbed some from the first coat. This time I used a foam brush and it went on much smoother and looks great. I wanted to keep working after I coated the parts so I set them into an empty storage tub and put the cover on. That allowed me to keep cutting with the saw and router while they dried. I am going out today to pick up some 320 and 400 grit sand paper for later. All I want to do this time is to smooth out the urethane and bring out the effect of the satin.

I have learned a ton of things while working on this project and others in the last month or so. 

I now check the side I am putting up to the fence before I cut.​
Don't sand all the finish off the project.​
I don't have enough router bits.​
I love my new router table.​
The Wobble Dado blade does not make a clean surface on the top or edges.​
I now know very quickly where certain measurements are on my tape measure. Things like 3/8ths, 1/8th, 1/16th, and 1/32nd were used often. (In rockets and my fish tank stand everything was done at 1/4" measurements.)​
When trying to cut a 1/8" spline use a long piece of wood and don't try and use a 3 1/2" scrap. Also, the 1/8" should be on the outside of the blade and not between the blade and the fence.​
My drill press sucks at using large bits. It feels and looks like my 1/2" bit is bent but once the hole is cut it comes out at 1/2". The top edge really sucks so I use a thin top board when I drill with big bits.​
My tank mounted propane heater is a God send but can get my garage too hot at times. ​
Jigs are good...​
I am sure that I learned more but that is what came to mind as I was typing this. I figure that this post is long enough anyway... Sorry, once I start typing I just can't seem to stop. 


Tim


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## jmg1017 (Apr 9, 2009)

tdsapp said:


> Here is an update on my In-Out trays....
> 
> I was finally able to get back out to the garage in the last couple days and worked on my Christmas presents. The In-Out box is coming along nicely and I will be ready to stain maybe tomorrow.
> 
> ...


Good job on the trays Tim!

As for the burning when routing, there could be a few reasons. First, I'm not sure of the quality of the router bit used or how sharp it was. Also some fruitwoods, like cherry are prone to burning easily so you have to keep the work moving past the cutter at an even rate. Mahogany not so much. End grain, which is what you are routing when you route mitered corners, burns more easily than edge grain.

As for the staining, if you want the natuaal beauty and grain of the wood to show, avoid it. Instead use a finishing oil like Danish Oil or Boiled linseed oil. It takes more time to dry so you can put a finishing coat, like Poly or Shellac, buts it's worth the wait. And it makes the contrasting color of the splines pop.

Keep it up!


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

jmg1017 said:


> Good job on the trays Tim!
> 
> As for the burning when routing, there could be a few reasons. First, I'm not sure of the quality of the router bit used or how sharp it was. Also some fruitwoods, like cherry are prone to burning easily so you have to keep the work moving past the cutter at an even rate. Mahogany not so much. End grain, which is what you are routing when you route mitered corners, burns more easily than edge grain.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info on the burning... It was a new bit that had never been used before. However, it was also a cheap HD router bit that I actually borrowed from someone. At least it sanded out well and the project I think came out nice.

I did use a stain on it that was a stain and sealer. I posted a final update on the board here at, http://www.routerforums.com/show-n-tell/19151-my-out-box-project-final.html

I think it came out great.


Tim


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