Drilling the holes for the hinge pins is next. The top photo shows where the shims have been
reinstalled between the base and the lid along with a pair of .01” thick shims
between the beveled edge on the top and base.
With the shims all in the lid and base set in their exact finished
location tape is used to hold the top and base in place while the holes
get drilled. Last, shown in the bottom
photo is to mark the hinge pin locations and center punch that point for
reference when drilling.
This is the setup for drilling. Everything is clamped square and tight in
place so the tip of the drill bit is lined up with the punched center
point. The drill has a blue tape depth
marker (red arrow) so when it touches the oak wood face the hole is drilled to
the proper depth.
Once the hinge pin holes are drilled the tape holding the
lid and base together along with the shims get removed. Any final light sanding is done and the two
pieces are blown off with compressed air in preparation for finishing. However, before the finish gets applied I
need to plug the hinge pin holes to keep the finish out because an unfinished
surface is needed for the glue to bond to.
Since the hinge pin holes are 3/16” in diameter I went to
cut a piece of 3/16” dowel and found I didn’t have any. Rather than go and try to buy a dowel that
size I decided to just turn some since only two pieces about an inch each are
needed. After cutting a ¼” square piece
of soft wood it’s turned to just a bit over 3/16” then 120 grit sand paper is
used to put a slight taper on the end until it fits in the hole. It’s then parted down so there is only a
little holding it on then it’s snapped it off.
Making them took way less time than driving to one of the big box places
to see if they even had a dowel that size.
Just like the file handles I am going to use Danish Oil
Finish (DOF). This is my typical finish
for tool handles, toys or anything that could be exposed to hard use. DOF is a lot easier to touch up if it’s
damaged as compared to the lacquer finish, I use on other items. Like the file handles three coats of DOF are
applied. This photo shows what the lid
looks like when the first coat is applied.
The red arrow points to one of the plugged hinge pin holes.
When getting ready to apply the second coat of DOF I
noticed that I had missed making the finger notch in the base to make opening
the lid easier. Fortunately, with this
type of finish it’s not a problem. The
notch is added using a small drum in the oscillating drum sander and fine
sandpaper. The photo shows the top of
the tool tilted to 30 degrees and the small drum in the process of making the
notch.
Here you can easily see the light area where the notch
was sanded to the desired depth. Only
other work is to lightly soften the sharp edges with 220 grit sandpaper until
they feel right. When the second and
third coats of DOF get applied the color of the notch will match perfectly.
Gluing in the feet is done by using a toothpick to spread
a little glue inside the hole then pressing the brass foot in. To get the feet set with the same amount
exposed a spacer with a small hole is set over the foot and a clamp is used to
press the foot flush with the spacer.
Installing them this way takes care of any variance in the foot length
or the hole depth.
The last work on the case is to install the two brass
pivot pins, one of which is shown in the lower left. Process is to take two drill bits the same
size as the pins then use them to align the holes in the lid and base with the
stainless-steel spacer in-between. Cut
playing cards are used as spacers to hold the lid in place during the pin
insertion.
Next the assembled case is stood on edge and a drill
removed. A drift punch (red arrow) is
used to make sure the wood pieces and steel spacer are still aligned. Using a toothpick glue is carefully put in
the case hole but not the lid since the lid needs to freely rotate on the
pin. The pin is then inserted and pushed
in partway by hand. The process is
repeated for the other pin. Last is to
take a clamp and press in both pins until they are flush with the lid’s sides.
This is the finished case ready to be used with the just
installed brass pivot pin visible at the right.
The photo also shows the continuous flow of grain on the top between the
lid and the fixed part of the base.
Here the case is shown with the lid up and with the lid rotated to
act as a stand holding the tools upright.
I know that this case may be a bit much for something to hold six detail files along with their handle but I enjoy using good tools and associated items. I like to think that there is a mental component when using them that helps me do good work. Besides the wood is from a scrap piece that was split, cupped, bowed along its length and twisted. The brass rod and stainless-steel washers were left over from other projects and the Danish Oil Finish was on hand. Last but not least I enjoyed designing and building the piece. That’s my flawed reasoning and I’m sticking to it. 😊
No comments:
Post a Comment