Paean to the LV (String Inlay) Cutting Gauge

[C. in Indy]

Yep, I'm stir-crazy!

Last year I got some string-inlay tools and only did one such project.  However the cutting gauge can do just about anything; it's really stout and sharp.  So I've used it to size stock, make dados, mark dovetails, etc.

Lately I picked up a cigar box that I thought was striking.  It's got a few structural issues I plan to solve, and I also wanted to keep the 'iconography' while making it less commerical.

In progress...

   

   

Happy woodworking,
Chris

[Bill Holt]

Nice.  I want to try my hand at decorative inlay, just have not had the right project...yet.

[C. in Indy]

This was a fun little job.   It is basically a shipping gift-box for some stuff I'm sending to a relative in this COVID19 time.   In addition to the very enjoyable cutting-gauge, I had use of a couple of Woodcraft packs of 1/16"-thick walnut veneer.   This type of veneer was a joy; it works like wood instead of working like floppy paper.

And here is shown the progress toward the "box full o' soul"


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[TFM]

This was a fun little job.   It is basically a shipping gift-box for some stuff I'm sending to a relative in this COVID19 time.   In addition to the very enjoyable cutting-gauge, I had use of a couple of Woodcraft packs of 1/16"-thick walnut veneer.   This type of veneer was a joy; it works like wood instead of working like floppy paper.

And here is shown the progress toward the "box full o' soul"




Very nice.  Hey C., did you cut the veneer to length with that miter saw?  Looks like pretty wide pieces for that saw!  

[Scoony]

Cool looking box. I have a bunch of booker bourbon boxes that need repurposed. May have to do something like this.

[C. in Indy]

Thanks!
Indeed the veneers were cut to length on the miter saw.   Their widths were a bit unsupported at the side closest to the saw-operator, so I held them up a bit just with my other hand.   In the end after glue-up I was lopping off most of that last bit of width, so any roughness in that part of the cut didn't matter


Chris

[jstraw]

Nice box. Looks like a fun project.

That same cutting gauge comes in handy when chiseling out for small hinges on small boxes. On thin stock, the back line of the hinge mortise, it is susceptible to splitting along the grain. I’ve found that cutter gets a little deeper than my other knife blade marking gauges and prevents splitting. Speeds up the process.