Disclaimer: This blog series is not intended to be instructional! It is for fun. SO… do not take it serisouly. My goal with this build it to challenge myself to do some stuff that I have not done before, or stuff that I am going to try and do better. I have thought this through extensivly, and have spend lots of time planning, drawing and designing this build. Everything I do, how I do it, and why I do it are intentional, and thats just the way I do it.
Hello again. This is the frist part of a new hand tool build I am doing. I named it ‘Carzy super awesome cool box!” to try and get more people to follow. Also, because I have intentions for this box that will remain hidden until the very end, so I cannot name it what it is going to be. So Crazy super awesome cool box will just have to do for now.
Like I mentioned before, this is a hand tool build, and so far in my planning, I should not need to use any power tools at all. To start off I did use a thickness planer and table saw to get my material to thickness and sized. And that was only because I wanted to get to step one as fast as I could and I did not want to wait and spend a few days doing it by hand.
Here is my starting material, I am using some sort of mahogany. Dont ask which kind, I dont know.
So because I have everything cut to size, I can start on my joinery. Here are the major tools I am using for this job.
Ok, step one, lay out and mark out my tails. Tails? Wait… tails first? Yup, tails first. Just keep reading…
Now to saw my lines..
Ok, now I have your attention. Two things caught your eye. 1. I cut WAY past my lines. 2. I am sawing herizontal and not vertical. Here is why… 1. Yes, I cut way past my lines, its the inside of the box so no one will care (especially the future owner, ME) it is also period authentic, and not to mention WAY WAY WAY easier to deal with on the next step. 2. This allows me to saw in my normal ergonomically correct sawing position.
Chop out the waste…
Now to transfer my lines
Ok, now I really have you. You think Im not doing anything properly, that I don’t know what Im doing. Pins first for half blinds? Crazy man!!! Well, despite that.. I do in fact know exactly what I am doing.
Now I cut my lines….
And chop the waste. Wait, back up. Is that a half blind tail? Whats going on here?
FULL BLIND BABY!!!! And thus the April fools rabbet joint.
But wait… whats up with the exposed corners? Well, that again was intentional. To make the corners covered to look like a rabbet joint, I would have cut the tails to have a little lip, but I do not want that lip, I want the exposed corner. I will be cutting the edges to put in a contrasting border, and doing it the way I did will save me a bunch of time later, as I already have the groove on the vertical corners. See, I thought this through!
Now, last thing… put some mutton on my saw blade to protect it for next time.
Speaking of next time…. wait… its a secret. You have to check back to see. Til next time!!!