This is the first time I've constructed anything from wood. Fortunately I have a patient and skilled teacher--thanks Gary! I couldn't do it without him. He watches my every cut! Below is a log of the process of making the bench/time capsule.
Saturday November 24: For the bench sides (18" each), I needed to build the width by cutting a 12" pine board into one 52" (18 X 4) by 12" piece and 2 52" X 6" pieces. To do this I first planed the board to 3/4", and then used a jointer to get an even edge. With a straight edge I could then use the table saw to cut to width. Then we glued these pieces together to create one long board measuring 52" X 18". Once glued we used bar clamps to secure the pieces and left them to set over night. I can cut this into fourths and voila! 4 sides are ready to go. The whole process took about an hour.
Clamps hold glued pieces togetherSunday November 25: Today was the really fun, meticulous part -- making the box joints. I removed the clamps from the strips and cut them to size (4 sides at 18" X 16 1/2" each). There are all sorts of routers made specifically for box joints, but I don't have any of them! So we used Gary's table saw. We used a dado blade set at 3/4" and fashioned a jig for the miter gauge. (See pictures below.) The jig has to be made so that the joints can be cut accurately and precisely. Designing, cutting, and testing the jig and setting the proper blade height took up most of the time I worked today, but it made the actual cutting of the box joints pretty easy. The fit of the joints was a bit tight. Since glue would make it even tighter I filed down the horizontal surfaces a bit. Again thanks to Gary for helping me with all this--it was totally new to me! Besides the box joints, I also made the top and bottom panels.
The last work of the day was to cut the rabbets that will be support the interior structure of the bench.
Pieces marked for cutting box joints
Setting up the jig
Cutting the notches for the box joints
Ready to join the pieces
It's a Cube!Tuesday November 27: Today I dry fit the box and cut off the top. Scary! It meant cutting through each of the 4 sides with the table saw--guiding a 3-dimensional cube over the saw--which was a little tricky, but it worked.
I used the band saw to cut notches in the plywood pieces for the interior and cut the top of the false bottom.
Wednesday November 28: I stained the darker sides of the box, using Minwax, water-based stain in Rosewood. It's a deep, rich brown. Then I laid on a coat of water-based polyurethane, also Minwax, on the unstained pieces. I masked the pieces I stained, but I got a bit of bleed through which I had to sand off.
A stain test. I chose Minwax water-based in Rosewood
Pieces masked for stainingWhat I've Learned: Since my concept and the structure were simple I challenged myself by making a full scale model from wood. The whole process was new to me (with the exception of sanding and staining). I learned how to make a jig and use it to make box joints. And I used a variety of power tools, hand tools, and clamps. In general, I found it much easier to get straight lines and true 90 degree corners with woodworking tools than it was when we worked with paper and fiberboard and xacto knives. I still had some mistakes, mostly at the points where edges joined. If I make a few more (which I intend to do--it's lots of fun!) I'm sure the craftsmanship would improve. Two more things: 1) power tools are not made for people who are 5' 4 3/4" tall. I had to do some awkward reaching, and 2) fleece attracts sawdust and woodchips like crazy. I'll wear a less nubby sweatshirt next time!
The completed project
The lid construction
The completed, stained box joints
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