Shaker Oval Box – #5 Installing Bottom & Top, Filling Gaps

With the bottom fitted the next step is finish sand it and the inside of the box body followed by installing the bottom. 

There are a couple of ways to install the bottom I chose to use wooden pegs.  No glue, just a series of pegs roughly 2” apart.   First, is to mark the peg locations.  I suppose you could carefully measure the perimeter and mark out the spacing but I think in this case it’s an aesthetic decision as to what looks right rather than what is perfectly measured out.   My starting point was the peg that goes adjacent to the body tail.  I needed to have room to cut and smooth that peg flush with the body.   It was followed by the one to its left then the one on the center of the opposite side with the rest spaced to look right.  With the locations set I marked them on the body for drilling.

Pegs Located

The base is 5/16” thick and I wanted to make sure I had the pegs centered and a consistent distance from the bottom.  Both requirements suggest a jig.  What I came up with is pretty simple, it’s a piece of MDF clamped to the shorter fence on my drill press.  Using a scrap piece of the bottom I adjusted the fence so the bit was centered and ready to go.

Peg Drilling Jig Setup

For the pegs I suppose I could have made my own but ready-made hardwood pegs just the right size are readily available, they are called toothpicks.  My plan is to use wood toothpicks cut in half using a pair of wire cutters.  The ones I will use are 5/64” in diameter we also had some that were a little thicker but they were dyed and waxed, not what I had in mind. 

A Supply of "Pegs"

The bit is 1/16” which gives me a 1/64” interference fit.  Rather than hold the piece securely and run the chuck up and down as is normally done I will leave the chuck fixed in position and move the piece.

Drilling the Peg Holes

Here is how the sequence work.  First is to drill the hole.

Peg Hole Drilled

Second is to hammer the half toothpick in.

Peg Hammered in Place

Third is using a wire cutter nip the toothpick off about 1/8” from the box body.  I want to leave a little stub because when using the wire cutter it crushes the fibers and I want to have an undisturbed peg end when I am done.

Peg Rough Cut to Length

Here is what the box looks like with all the pegs installed but not yet smoothed.

Installed Pegs Ready for Final Fitting

To do the bulk of the work in bringing the peg flush with the body I use a Dremel tool with a 120 grit sanding drum.  To grind, I brace the Dremel tool and the box against myself for maximum stability and control then gently and carefully grind off most of the peg.

After getting as close as I dare to the box body with the Dremel tool I finish bringing the peg flush by hand with some 120 and 220 grit sandpaper.

Completed Peg Installation

The top is made out of curly cherry fitted and installed following the same procedure as the bottom; tracing the shape of the top band onto the blank, rough cutting it out on the bandsaw, fitting with the disk sander and pegging it in place.  Having practice on fitting the bottom made the fit tighter, one reason for fitting the bottom first. 

In the last post I mentioned that I ended up with a few gaps where the bottom and the sides meet.  Those gaps while small bothered me.  I wanted to do something to make them less noticeable but the idea of adding putty or using sanding dust and glue as a filler just does not give the result I want.   Giving it some thought it occurred to me that using the fine sanding sawdust and mixing it with the lacquer as a binder might work.   Using the dust from the piece means that as the wood ages the filler color will match the piece.  Using the same lacquer as I will use to finish the piece means any change in finish color will also match.   In addition, because I am using lacquer when I apply the finish coats they will melt together and in essence become a single coat.  Well, at least that’s the theory.  

Small Gaps Between Bottom and Band

After mixing some sanding dust with a few drops of lacquer to make a thick paste I used a small putty knife to force the mix into the gap leaving it just proud of finished surface.  Letting it dry overnight I sanded the area smooth and was happy with the results.  The gaps still show up as slightly darker lines but that’s because they have in essence already been finished.  My expectation is that when I apply the lacquer to the whole piece everything will match.  

Fixed Gaps 

The only thing remaining before applying the finish is to do the final sanding of the outside.  I sometimes think that every once and awhile the fates decide to give me a little jab just to be ornery and this was one of those times.  After completing the final sanding I put the lid on and was using compressed air to blow off the sanding dust when the air blast got under the lid blowing it off the box across the workbench crashing it onto the concrete floor.  As I saw the lid flying away headed toward the floor I remember thinking that this is not going to end well.  Retrieving the top off the floor I found that it had landed on the edge of the band resulting in a hairline crack where the band met the lid.  Needless to say I was not at all happy.  Fortunately using thin cyanoacrylate (super glue) the capillary action of the wood pulled the glue into the crack stabilizing it.  This is what the crack looked like before any repair attempt.

Crack in Lid Band Before Repair

With the sanding done I was ready to put the finish on these two boxes.  

Boxes Ready for Finishing

Next Up – Finishing