I needed a lockable box, so I decided to build one.
I chose wood that I had just sitting around. A friend told me to take whatever wood I wanted, so I have some wood just sitting around. Most is not perfect, but it was free
For the sides, I grabbed some wood that I believe to be Red Elm. Because of some flaws, there was significant waste and I ended up gluing two boards together.
I cut the dovetails by hand.
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For the top and bottom, I chose a piece of walnut that was sufficiently wide, assuming I did not mind a large crack that you can see light through. I used a dado blade on the table saw to cut a rabbit on the top and bottom board and I cut a grove into the sides for the top and bottom. I did not want the groove to show on the outside of the box, so, for the sides (which have the tails), I set the board down on top of the spinning dado blade and then stopped pushing before cutting to the other side of the board. I then used a chisel to finish the groove (since I do not own plane that can do this). It went very fast for me so it was probably faster than trying to do this using a router.
I finished the wood with amber shellac. The wood around the defect in the top seemed to absorb the shellac, so, I ended up using numerous coats (more than 10) in those areas. I really like the character of the top.
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I considered mounting the hinges so that it is not possible to simply unscrew them when the box is locked shut, but I opted to go the fastest route since I wanted to start using the box, it was late, and I wanted to just finish it. Well, really, my girls needed to go to bed and there was only so much time that I could delay before my wife would have bopped me on the head. My 6 year old drilled the pilot holed for the screws using a hand drill that I own.
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And the inside of the box
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This is my first experience with Red Elm (if that is what it is). Not a bad wood to work, but, I am not sure that Amber shellac was the best choice over-all, especially since color on the Walnut looks the same as the sides (well, close anyway). I had hoped for more of a contrast.
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