Hello All! As we started to pick things back up after the weekend break, the advanced woodworking J-term ran into a few hiccups, but you can rest assured that we did not give up! Our goal for today was to finish the poker set box we started last week. In order to do so we had to attach the base to the box, insert the spline joints into the sides of the box, install the hinges to the box, and lastly make a rabbet cut on the box to facilitate the opening of the lid. After outlining our goals for the day we got to work.
We started by sanding the base down so that it would fit inside the box. After doing so, we were able to glue the base in and it fit snugly within the walls of the box.
As we waited for the base to dry we began testing how to cut out spaces in the edges of our box for the spline joints (See Elliott’s corresponding photo blog). We were able to test the top and bottom spline joints, but the middle one proved tricky. We kept mis-measuring and making mistakes, which led to us taking 30 minutes for just that one cut. When we finally got the right measurement for the cut, we finished our tests and were ready to move on to making the spline joints on the actual box.
However, as we were getting ready to move on, we realized that the table saw blade was cutting inconsistently. With the top most portion of the cut wider than the bottom, we immediately recognized something was long. After close inspection we discovered that many of the table saw blades were warped and/or deformed. After pondering what would have caused such damage, we realized that two screws in the miter saw jig were cut in various places. Thus, as the blade cut into screws, metal on metal, it destroyed the teeth of the blade.
We used this opportunity to take a trip to Rockler, a great woodworking shop offering a variety of essential tools and hardware. In addition to a new blade, we picked up hinges for the box, as well as magnets to help the lid stay shut.
When we got back to school, we carefully ensured that there were no remnants of the screw left in the miter saw jig and finished cutting spaces for the spline joints. We inserted the splines with glue and are now waiting for it to dry. Tomorrow we will cut off the excess of the spline joints, do a variety of other finishing touches, and hopefully (fingers crossed) finish the box.
Today was a great learning experience and we had the opportunity to discover the benefits of working smart in addition to working hard. Although the mistakes were inadvertent, the ability to work through them and continue learning has been an adventure!
Excited for our next project!
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