With the bulk of the locking mechanism done I had just
the key to make and fit. It’s pretty
simple, a ½” by ½” piece ¼” thick that gets glued in the slider recess. Here is the key friction fit in the slider
showing how it lines up with the front piece and the notch in the divider.
Until I had all the pieces together as shown below I was
not sure how they were all going to align.
Had I cut the slider to length earlier and there was any little error in
my measuring it would not have aligned with the box edges. Now that I know just how things line up I can
cut the slider to length and sand it flush with the front piece. The left photo shows the slide in the closed
position and the one on the right about how it will be when set to open the
box.
Now it’s time to make sure all the sliding parts slide
the way I want them to and not bind plus do my final sanding. In this case the final sanding also includes
gently rounding all the edges.
The finishing on this project has some special
considerations. I usually finish with a
lacquer spray but that could cause some problems with this piece. Since there are several sliding pieces that
are fit with very small tolerances a lacquer finish that is a couple of
thousandths of an inch thick could cause all kinds of grief. Two thousandths of an inch on each surface or
four thousandths total will make a sliding joint go from silky smooth to
nope-not-gonna-move.
After reviewing my options, I decided to use a single
coat of penetrating oil which really does not build up a surface film. With the finish selected and the final
sanding done I could start the finishing process. I will be using two different methods to
finish the boxes. The Leopardwood box
is the easiest. I take it apart and mask
off any areas that will get glued together.
With that done I applied a liberal application of the Danish Oil Finish
waited 30 minutes, gave it another application, waited 15 minutes and wiped the
until any finish remaining on the surface was removed. I let it set for a couple hours then came
back and buffed it again then after 24 hours buffed it once more.
The curly maple follows a different route. There is a whole separate process I use to
bring out the “curl” in the maple. The
first step is to make a mix using 3 drops of Dark Vintage Maple dye mixed with
1 tablespoon of denatured alcohol. I
could mix the dye with water but water raises the grain and I sure don’t want
that. The alcohol does not raise grain
but dries faster which can cause lap lines if you are not careful. On a piece like this small it’s not a
problem. The dye and alcohol solution is
evenly applied with a small piece of cloth and left to dry overnight. Here is what that completed step looks like.
The next day using 220 and 320 grit sandpaper I sand most
of the dye off the maple leaving the “curls” a little darker. Next is to apply a second coat of the dye
solution to give added emphasis to the curls and warm up the rest of
maple. The logic behind this whole
process is that the curls have a different grain structure which takes the dye
differently so applying and then sanding off most of the dye will highlight the
curly figure in the wood.
After the dye dried I masked off the areas that will be
glued together and gave the pieces a coat of the Danish Oil Finish. Comparing the above photo with the one below shows how the oil makes the curly figure in the wood pop out. Once the finish sets for a couple of days I peel off the
masked areas. Below are the sides, one
with the masking on and one with it taken off.
Once the finish work is done I reassembled the pieces without glue to make sure all the sliding parts still slide freely. It is still relatively simple to do any
needed adjustment if there is a problem or at least easier compared to trying
to do it after everything is all glued together. With no problems showing up I was ready to
start gluing the pieces together.
First is to install the slider in the dovetail cut in the
front then glue the key into the recess in the slider. I need to be careful limit the glue to the
slider and key. That is because I do not
want to glue the slider to the front. 
Next is to glue the left side to the bottom. I clamp it up with the spacers and right side
in place to keep everything square.
After the glue cures, overnight I do a dry fit to make
sure the front/slider/key assembly works correctly. If there are any refinements to the locking
mechanism needed now is the time to make them.
In this case, everything worked smoothly so I could then glue the two
dividers in place. Once again, the right side without glue is
used to keep the pieces aligned.
Last is to install the front/slider/key assembly. No glue is used here because the front needs
to move up and down in operating the locking mechanism. With it in place I can glue the right side on
and the box is completed.
Well almost completed, as careful as I was in gluing
there were a couple of places where the glue had oozed out and it needed to be
removed. I use the 4X magnifying headset to help see the tiny details clearly and do the cleanup.
Because the piece had been prefinished the glue was pretty easy to pop
off.
With the box all finished and assembled here is the sequence for
opening it:
1. Slide
the key to the left which will unlock the front.
2. Slide
the front down until it hits the stop unlocking the top.
3. Slide
the top toward the front until it hits the front which will unlock the back.
4. Slide
the back down until it hits the stop.
5. This will allow the top to slide over the
back and if desired removed.
Here are both completed boxes. As I said in the beginning there is not a lot
of material in the boxes so the actual cost is not very much. However, the time and needed attention to
detail for everything to work together and move smoothly is substantial.
When I started this project, I wanted to see if my skills
were up to the task. Now that they are finished I am happy with the end product. That said I am not planning on making any
more.
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