Bottoming out

When the glue had cured overnight, I squared one end using some sand paper. I checked my progress with a combination square. The goal was not absolute flatness, but getting it dead square — flat-ish was good enough, square was non-negotiable.

Using the wheel marking gauge, I referenced the lowest point and struck lines on all four sides so that I could monitor my progress.

After squaring the top using a hand plane and the sand paper, it was time for a bottom.

I grabbed another piece of scrap, planed one edge, and shot one end square to that edge. I then traced the outline of the box, marked the wall thickness, and cut the piece to shape.

After shooting all sides square, I marked around the perimeter for a small rabbet. I wanted a small raised section inside the box, sort of like a tenon, to give me a bit larger glue surface.

To cut the rabbet, I used my Veritas skewed block plane with the fence attached (I made a thicker fence so that I can go from dead zero width; the stock fence leaves a much wider rabbet). Initially I just slapped a holdfast on the bottom piece, but it did not hold it still. Oh, well.

In stead, I put the bottom in the vise and planed close to my line. On this rather small piece, I could not register the plane well enough to ensure a uniform and square rabbet.

So I grabbed my router plane to do the finishing touches. I also used my 3-in-1 shoulder plane for some tweaking of the rabbet.

I undercut the rabbet ever so slightly, to ensure that the outer edges would seat properly and leave no gaps. A little trick up your sleeve. Works great for tenon shoulders and between the pins on dovetails. You do not need much relief – a 1-2° cut starting 1-2mm (¹/₃₂ – ¹/₁₆”) in from the edges is all you really need. When gluing, the “trough” will be filled with excess glue – a bonus that reduces squeeze-out.

I put the box in the vise and left it there till the next day. Can’t get better clamping than this!

I decided to give the box a little flair. A dead square box is boring, but I did not want it to be too busy. A small bead on the edges, giving the illusion of rounded columns. The Lie-Nielsen No.66 beading tool is excellent for this.

I then cut down the bottom to make it less dominant, and pared it slightly concave so that the box will sit nicely on the four corners. Just enough so that I get some light shining under the combination square.

Yellow masking tape works surprisingly well as a makeshift bandage. It’s very cold and dry right now, and the skin on my fingers cracks easily. Blood, sweat (not really), and tears (none, thankfully) are said to go into honest work.

I cleaned up the faces using a card scraper. By holding it at a shallow angle and “rake” the surface, the box became very smooth.

A square needle file was used to clean up the beads so that there were no fuzzy edges anywhere.

I rounded all the edges using some sand paper (I use Mirka Abranet – highly recommended!).

After some detail sanding, the box was ready for finishing. And it is time for the last page of this article adventure.