Quick Turn Around Maple Box

[jstraw]

Looks like it was very rewarding and memorable for everyone involved. What more can you ask to get out of a woodworking project?

[BrokenOlMarine]

Very nice...
It says a lot that "the boy" respects his teacher enough to want to thank her for the year.

[R Clark]

Very nice...
It says a lot that "the boy" respects his teacher enough to want to thank her for the year.

Yep; that's what I thought, too.  Says a lot for him, and his parents, and the teacher.

[Arlin Eastman]

Well thank you, very much.  I doubt my son will ever be forgotten by any of his teachers, even after years of therapy.  His teacher this year was an absolute saint, and my son and his best friend absolutely did everything in their power to test her limits.  I wanted to buy her a flask to put in the box, but my wife said no and insisted on a gift-card instead.

According to my wife, it was very well received.  My son's teacher started crying, and then took the box to show all of her peers.

Very nice box.  It looks like your son is shy and he maybe in love with his teacher.  I know in 3rd grade I was in love with mine.

[JohnnyEgo]

That frown is 100% "My mom told me I had to have my picture taken." He absolutely hates having his picture taken, and if he knows you are doing it, he will make the experience miserable. I'm pretty sure he's not in love with his teacher this year, Arlin, but he has definitely grown to respect her, particularly after she started demanding he pay attention and do work in the middle of the year. The period between November and January was not pretty for either of them, but I give her a lot of credit for winning the battle of wills, and I think so does he.

[Gary G™]

Are your miters typically tight; was just this box at issue?
Did you joint the pieces or just plane?

[JohnnyEgo]

Miters were tight on dry assembly, but not quite when I clamped it up. I think part of it is I should have planed down the inside tenon of the long grain sides of the box lid. I have a feeling they weren't quite square and a little extra clearance might have made it a non-issue. The miters themselves were perfect 45s checked against a protractor, a Starrett square, and a Wixey gauge, so that's not an issue. I jointed the maple before I planed it to just over thickness on my power planer, then finished it to thickness with my #5 1/2. It appeared pretty flat, but given the short time frame, I didn't let them rest very long afterwards, and I put the shellac on the inside face many hours before I put anything on the outside face, so between those factors, it's entirely possible I got cupping or warp on the panels. Which leads me to the other factor I believe to be involved; namely that I don't have a very effective clamping solution for mitered corners yet. My Bessey strap clamp is a little too large for a box of this size, and I ended up using four full sized K-bodies lying on the table and clamping on the flats, which I don't think did a very good job of holding the corners together while the glue dried. I am very open to suggestions or alternate theories, though. Miter joints are not my friend.

[Gary G™]

I use pony band clamps for my mitered boxes— one along the top, one along the bottom and one in the middle if it’s tall.

I suspect the finish on one side might have given you an issue since the miters were dead on. If the opposite pair sides are identical lengths and the miters true, the wood was your culprit.
One thing I’ve started doing on important boxes—I make a fake top or bottom of 1/4” plywood to make certain it’s sized just so. When I make the real parts, I make them the same size then hand plane the edges a bit.

However, the box looks good, everyone was happy, Vincent appears to be enjoying himself and y’all had shop time together. Win, win, win.

[Martin S.]

Nice box and I am sure the teacher appreciated it and your son did as well.

I follow your posts and you are a great father for your son.

Well done.

[Cian]

He has a discerning eye:

Your son is great, the box is nice, and the teacher is hot.  But, Johnny, your shop is awesome!!!  Have you been holding out on us???