Another good reason to make a Mini Workbench for yourself might be the size of your shop. This little bench has all the key features of a big bench but is easy to move out of the way — or even to take with you on a job or just to work outside.

For my Mini Workbench, I chose to use maple, plum and mahogany lumber, mainly for aesthetic reasons. If you want a bench that is cheaper to build and can take a bit more stress, beech would be a good choice.

The dimensions of my bench are 35-1/8″ long by 12″ wide with a height of 7-1/8″.

Getting Started

I started by cutting the different woods into roughly the dimensions I needed (see Material List) and milled it all down to the same thickness of 2″.

For the top of the bench, I cut a maple slab into three strips of 4″ x 29-1/8″ and glued it back together with the middle strip flipped upside-down to minimize cupping as much as possible. For extra strength, you can also join the three pieces with biscuits or dowels, but it is not necessary with this construction.

While the glue dried, I started working on the legs, which I made from mahogany. I cut the wood for my bench’s legs into two pieces measuring 2″ x 6″ x 12″, but in hindsight I would be a bit more generous with the height, because when the vise is built in later, it wouldn’t hurt to have a bit more clearance.

I connected the legs to the benchtop using a long dovetail joint. The dovetail on the legs was cut on the table saw at a 22.5˚ degree angle.

After the tabletop glue-up dried, I took my tracksaw and cut the same 22.5˚ angle into the underside of the top to make room for the dovetail to slide in. I took my time doing this and sneaked up on this cut because it is very easy to cut it too wide. It is a good idea to experiment with test pieces until it fits perfectly. A chisel and a router plane work great to clean up traces of saw blade marks and to refine the inside corners of the tails on the legs.

Breadboards

Your next step is to machine the breadboard ends. I cut tenons on the ends of the benchtop, first. There are a lot of ways to cut nice tenons. I used a hand plane, but the tracksaw will do a great job as well. Before I made the first cut, I checked what Forstner bits I had available and sized the tenon thicknesses based on that bit. In this case, I used a 1″-diameter Forstner bit.

Since I would be cutting the mortises with the Forstner bit, I rounded over the edges of the tenons with some sandpaper to provide a snug fit.

The plum wood I chose to use for the breadboard ends was already milled to the right thickness, so I only had to cut them to size and drill out the rough mortises with the Forstner in my drill press. To make things easier, I set up some stop blocks that assured that both breadboards were identical. Set up a depth stop, as I did, to drill these repetitive holes.

Again, a nice sharp chisel was all it took to clean up both mortises.

Legs and Vise

I didn’t secure the breadboards and legs right away because, now that all the joints are done, it is time to shape the legs and fit the vise.

I chose the leg shape you see in the Drawings because it looks great and also provides a good surface to clamp the workbench to a tabletop, later. It is a quick job to cut the legs to shape on the band saw. I used sandpaper backed by a round piece of steel to clean and smooth them, but a spindle sander would be a great help here.

After one leg is done, the other leg needs further work because it will have to make room to fit the vise. I chose a 9″ quick-release vise with a built-in bench dog. I took measurements from the vise and cut out the corresponding recess from the right-hand side table leg to accommodate the hardware.

Once the vise had enough room to fit, I continued by working on the right breadboard. It is very helpful (and also looks nicer) to have the vise flush with the breadboard.

Again, I transcribed the measurements to the breadboard and used my table saw to cut a recess into the plum wood to fit the vise.

My vise attached with four screws driven up from the bottom and two more driven into the face, which was quick and easy to do.

The last step before putting it all together was to cut the holes in the benchtop for my bench dog. It is much easier to drill these holes on a drill press before the legs and the vise are attached. I bored a line of 3/4″-diameter holes down the middle of the benchtop, spaced every 4″.

I had a piece of 3/4″ solid brass to use as a bench dog, into which I filed a little notch for securing flat-edged workpieces. Then I drilled one hole into the left leg for storing the bench dog when I’m not using it.

Assembly

Now you’re ready for final assembly. Although this is technically not the correct way to do it, I secured the dovetailed legs with two 3/8″ wooden dowels. My opinion is that, for a tabletop this narrow, there probably won’t be enough wood movement to affect the leg dowels. I also secured the breadboards to the benchtop with three dowels each.

The Mini Tabletop Workbench is a great addition to my shop, and I am sure I will get a lot of use out of it. I bet yours will get a workout, too.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Mini Tabletop Workbench appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Now, I can already hear the critics say, “There are umpteen box joint jig plans on the Internet and YouTube. You can build them from scratch, with all sorts of whiz-bang adjusters, and pay next to nothing!” Yep, you folks are right. But keep in mind that not every woodworker enjoys designing or building jigs. If you’d rather spend your shop time making projects, gifts and furniture, this roundup of prefabricated box joint jigs is for you.

The following five options offer quite a range of function, versatility and pricing. But rest assured — they all work well for the job. Have a little patience, follow the directions carefully, and start with flat, square and uniform workpieces. You’ll be making air-tight box joints in no time, thanks to these well-engineered products.

Woodhaven 4555

Street Price: $69.99
Joint Sizes: 1/8″ to 13/16″
Compatible With: Table saw, router table
Web / Phone: www.woodhaven.com / 800-344-6657

Woodhaven’s 4555 Box Joint Jig most closely resembles those pin-and-scrap-fence versions you may have made before, and it functions similarly. It features a 24″ extruded aluminum fence with T-track openings that mounts to a table saw or router table miter gauge (not included). A pair of 3/4″-thick MDF sub-fences in front serve as a sacrificial facing to help minimize tearout as a blade or bit exits each slot cut.

What makes the 4555 a big improvement over typical shop-made box joint jigs with fixed pins is that this jig’s double indexing pins are adjustable. Made of angled aluminum and piggybacking one another, one pin registers one edge of a slot cut, and the other pin can be moved and set to index the other edge of the same slot cut — whatever width it happens to be. When aligned up and down, the two pins can accommodate 1/8″-wide slot cuts. Or, spread to their maximum distance, you can cut up to 13/16″-wide box joint patterns. Great versatility!

It’s also easy to space the slot cuts accurately, by loosening two T-knobs that mount the fence unit to the miter gauge, then sliding the whole assembly left or right as needed. It’s a simple way to refine a too-loose or tootight joint.

The jig will mount to any miter gauge with fence holes in it by screwing a scrap facing to the gauge for retrofitting to the 4555’s connecting bolts. Or, Woodhaven brand miter gauges will accept the 4555 jig directly. Regardless, it’s very important that the miter gauge’s bar slides in your table saw or router table’s miter slot without side-to-side play. Any “slop” here can lead to cumulative error in the joint’s pattern, which will impede its fit.

The simplicity of this design and its ability to cut a wide range of slot sizes makes this jig attractive. It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, either. But, I wish its metal indexing pins were longer. They only protrude about 3/8″ beyond the MDF sub-fences. So, when you’re cutting, say, 1/2″ or 3/4″ material, the pins are hidden entirely underneath the workpiece. It’s more difficult to reference them easily from above, standing behind and over the jig. Make sure your workpiece’s end is flat on the table. You may also want to clamp it to the fence for every cut, just to be sure it stays properly engaged with the jig’s short pins.

INCRA I-Box

Street Price: $179.95
Joint Sizes: 1/8″ to 3/4″
Compatible With: Table saw, router table
Web / Phone: www.incra.com / 888-804-6272

INCRA’s I-Box uses a unique dual-pitch lead screw “positioning engine” that reduces the variables that impact a box joint fitting together too tightly or loosely. Here’s how it works: a red knurled knob on the end of the jig’s aluminum fence does two operations: it opens or closes a pair of steel pins that fit inside slots of the joint as they are cut, PLUS it simultaneously moves this pin assembly the correct distance away from the cutter. What amount to two separate factors for some other box joint jigs are simplified into a single adjustment here. The chrome dial on the end of the red knob tweaks joint fit further, in .001″ increments.

I-Box comes with its own miter gauge that mounts to the fence and slides in a standard 3/8″ x 3/4″ miter slot. It has INCRA’s GlideLOCK plastic adjusters on the bar to snug up any loose fit in the miter slot, for silky smooth operation. The fence adjusts laterally on the miter bar to suit different cutter-to-miter slot distances, as these vary by router table and table saw.

This jig also offers excellent guarding, with thick MDF blocks on the infeed and outfeed sides, plus a long clear guard plate shielding the user from flying debris or contact with the cutter. And to help keep cuts tidy, there’s a replaceable 1/4″ MDF facing that also can be flipped for reuse.

The I-Box works equally well on a table saw or router table, and its variable split-pin design will enable it to cut any pin-and-slot pattern you choose, from 1/8″ up to 3/4″. That flexibility can help you produce a balanced joint pattern on a wide variety of workpiece widths. You can also cut more decorative splined and “center keyed” box joint styles.

INCRA’s 12-page manual is thorough and well illustrated with color photographs. You also get a DVD that covers the manual’s information in video. Be sure to keep these guides handy unless you cut box joints frequently — there is a learning curve to setting up the I-Box. But if you follow along step-by-step, you’ll be up and running quickly. While $179 may seem spendy for a jig that cuts essentially one type of joint, it does the job wonderfully.

Leigh RTJ400

Street Price: $359
Joint Sizes: 3/8″, 3/4″ (standard); 3/32″, 3/16″ (optional)
Compatible With: Router table
Web / Phone: www.leighjigs.com / 800-663-8932

The versatile RTJ400 will cut about a dozen sizes and styles of through and half-blind dovetails, plus four sizes of box joints. Here’s the gist of how it works. It consists of a thick aircraft-grade aluminum template with a pattern for cutting dovetail pins or box joints along one edge and dovetail tails along the other edge. This style of joint-making template isn’t new, and many dovetail jigs use it. While the RTJ400 will cut a few sizes of box joints, most other template-style dovetail jigs can, too.

What makes this jig truly unique is its handle and fence system. Leigh has engineered a series of holes and slots in the template that position the fence automatically for cutting its full range of box and dovetail joints. Much of the trial-and-error process involved with setting up other similar templated jigs is eliminated with this design, and that’s a huge help!

Another brilliant Leigh innovation is the “eBush” guide collar, required for use with the jig. It installs in 1-3/16″-diameter router plate openings. The bushing portion is elliptical, not round, like typical guide bushings. Its collar has numeric index marks that enable you to adjust the tolerances of your joints by simply twisting the eBush left or right to increase the collar-to-router bit offset. This way, eBush allows joints to be fine-tuned in .001″ increments.

The RTJ400’s base will accept workpieces up to 16″ wide, so while this jig doesn’t accommodate unlimited workpiece width, it will tackle anything from small boxes and drawers up to moderately sized carcasses. The template’s 6″ x 27″ footprint, combined with sturdy handles on both ends of the fence, also inspires confidence when machining even long or heavy workpieces. But, you’ll need a router table to use this jig. It also only works “template down” and not with a freehand router.

Leigh includes a 3/8″ straight bit with the standard kit, so you can cut either 3/8″ or 3/4″ box joint patterns, plus many sizes of through and half-blind dovetails with other included bits. You’ll need to buy accessory bits for routing 3/32″ or 3/16″ box joints. It won’t cut other common box joint sizes like 1/4″ or 1/2″.

A clearly illustrated spiral-bound manual, and an instructional DVD, provide excellent help. I was able to cut glue-ready 3/4″ box joints on my first try. But, keep these reference materials close at hand when using the jig — setting it up isn’t intuitive. Who would pay $359 to only cut box joints? Not many. But remember, box joints are only the tip of the iceberg of joint-making options here.

Rockler Box Joint Jig

Street Price: $84.99
Joint Sizes: 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″
Compatible With: Router table
Web / Phone: www.rockler.com / 800-279-4441

Rockler’s Box Joint Jig has a 1/2″-thick MDF base that’s positioned over the router bit on a router table, then locked in place using two 3/8″ x 3/4″ metal miter slot bars and star knobs. Make sure the miter slot on your router table is within 4-1/2″ to 6-3/8″ from the center of the router bit; more or less span will exceed the base’s range of adjustability.

A plastic 3″-tall backer sled rides in a pair of grooves cut across the jig’s base. It functions like a double-bar miter gauge: the sled supports your workpiece while cutting pins and slots so you can slide it over the bit accurately. Three blue anodized aluminum indexing keys, sized 1/4″, 3/8″ and 1/2″ wide on top, mount to the jig base with a pair of tiny Phillips screws. These keys, when used with router bits of matching diameters, enable the jig to cut three sizes of box joints with minimal changeover. To switch to another joint size, just swap the index bar and bit to the size you want to cut, then loosen and shift the jig base over accordingly to match the bit and key size. It’s simple to do.

Given the 3″ x 6″ size of the backer sled’s vertical fence, this jig is best suited for making small boxes or drawers with sides not much wider than around 8″. Fasten a sacrificial fence facing to the sled to improve support further and to provide wider handholds.

The MDF base works well, but I do wonder how long the backer sled will slide in its grooves before it starts to gradually widen them. Accuracy depends, in part, on this sled moving smoothly with minimal side-to-side play. An aluminum or phenolic base would extend the life of this jig further.

The strength of Rockler’s design here is simplicity: if you’ve never cut box joints before, its four-page manual won’t intimidate. Thanks also to quick setup, you’ll be making box joints in less than an hour. I was able to cut a snug-fitting 1/4″ box joint on the first try, using a 1/4″ spiral upcut bit (bits aren’t included). And, if you should happen to misplace the manual, the jig’s design is intuitive enough that you probably won’t need the instructions anyway.

Woodhaven 4556 Portable Box Joint Jig

Street Price: $119.99
Joint Sizes: 1/2″ to 1-9/16″
Compatible With: Handheld router
Web / Phone: www.woodhaven.com / 800-344-6657

Woodhaven’s second jig option for cutting box joints clamps over the end of a workpiece. So, rather than passing the jig and workpiece over a router table or table saw to make the slot cuts, you use a handheld router equipped with a 3/4″ O.D. guide collar and 1/2″-dia. bit (not included) to make the cuts, moving the router over the jig’s top surface.

Two black phenolic plates serve as a router base, but their spacing also sets the cutting width for the guide collar and bit. A pair of adjustable aluminum “stop arms” underneath the top supports provide the index to start the box joint cuts, then they fit inside the joint slots when working across the end of the board. Each subsequent slot cut involves unclamping the jig, fitting the stops into the previous slot, and re-clamping the jig before cutting.

The jig’s construction is stout: a 12″ aluminum slotted track serves as its spine and the connection point for a pair of included workpiece clamps, melamine-coated sacrificial boards, top supports and the adjustable stops.

Woodhaven provides five helpful plastic joint setup blocks for cutting 1/2″- to 1-1/2″ box joint patterns, in quarter-inch increments. Dialing in the jig for use involves loosening and adjusting the aluminum stop arms and one of the top black supports, inserting the appropriate setup block, spreading the stop arms to fit the setup block and retightening some screws. Easy.

After making one round of test cuts, then following Woodhaven’s recommendation for refining a loose joint fit, I was able to cut a nicely interlocking joint on the second try. The clamps worked well to hold the jig securely, and the 4-1/4″-long top support platforms provided ample stability for guiding my mid-size router through the slot cuts.

This jig’s clamp-on design makes it ideally suited for cutting box joints on large chest panels, because there’s no limit to how wide a panel can be. If you want to build sizeable projects, like hope chests or decorative carcasses, here’s a good pick. Plus, the 4556 will cut the largest box joint patterns of any jig here, up to 1-9/16″. On the flipside, it isn’t well suited for use on narrow or small drawer parts, where clamping width for the jig is compromised. And, look elsewhere if you want to cut tiny box joint patterns: the smallest pin-and-slot pattern possible with this jig is 1/2″.

The post Five Box Joint Jig Reviews appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Preparing the Cabinet Blank

To get started, cut a 26″ x 26″ blank for the cabinet carcass from 1/2″-thick cabinet-grade plywood or solid wood. Make sure the corners are square and the diagonal measurements match. Sand one face of the panel to 180-grit; this will become the cabinet’s inside face. Next, cut a pair of dadoes that will house the two dividers between the drawers. Stack a dado blade to match the actual thickness of your project stock, and raise it 1/4″ above the saw table. Set your table saw’s rip fence 10-3/16″ away from the closest face of the dado blade. Now cut one dado across the panel’s inside (sanded) face, then turn it 180˚ and cut a second dado parallel to the first along the panel’s opposite edge. Make sure the depth of these two dadoes is uniform along the cuts.

Since we’re using the Miter Fold Dado Set, flip the panel to its back face, and draw four layout lines across it, 5″ in from each edge. These mark the “fold” lines of the cabinet. Extend the layout lines around to the edges of the panel, too. Apply a strip of wide painter’s tape, centered over each fold line, to cover them up. The tape will reinforce the Miter Fold joints where the veneer “hinge” is thinnest, to help keep the cabinet carcass from folding up prematurely while the joints are being cut.

Making a Zero-clearance Throat Plate

Cut out the throat plate shape slightly larger than your traced outline. Then, mount the blank to your metal or plastic throat plate with double-sided tape, and template-rout the blank to match the “master” using a flush-trim bit with an end-mounted bearing.

Separate the two, and see if the new throat plate fits the saw table’s opening. If it doesn’t, sand its edges as needed, and drill a finger hole through the new throat plate to make it easier to remove.

If you’ve made your throat plate from thicker material than the master, you’ll need to recess the bottom edges so the throat plate will sit on its tabs in the opening and be flush with the tabletop surface. The size and location of those tabs will determine how much material you’ll need to remove.

Cutting the Carcass Joints

Make a fresh throat plate for your table saw to use with the Miter Fold Blade. Then cut a test piece about 3″ wide and 14″ to 18″ long from the same material you’re using for the carcass panel, and set it aside.

Grab your Miter Fold Blade manual and follow the included chart to stack the blade for the correct width of cut. Once it’s installed, and with the rip fence clamped partially over your new throat plate, raise the Miter Fold Blade slowly through it until the tips of the specialty blade are slightly higher than the thickness of the carcass panel stock.

Lower the blade a few cranks, then carefully raise it again until the tips of the specialty blade are just 1/32″ below the top of the test piece you set aside earlier. Make sure that you’re measuring from the top of the blade’s arc so that there’s no chance it will cut all the way through the carcass panel when you are machining the folding joints to come.

It’s time to check the blade height before making the actual cuts. Apply a strip of painter’s tape across the width of the test piece, a few inches in from one end. Using your miter gauge with a long scrap fence installed, and a push pad to keep your hand out of harm’s way, cut across the test piece with the taped face up.

Make this cut directly under the tape, midway across its width. Fold up the test joint, to see if the intersecting faces of the Miter Fold profile meet correctly. If they don’t, add or subtract shims, according to the manual, to improve the fit.

With the blade dialed in, set the rip fence to the left and then right of the blade to make the four Miter Fold joint cuts that will form the cabinet’s top, bottom and sides. These cuts should be lined up so the tips of the specialty blade are intersecting your 5″ layout marks on the edges of the panel. Make a cut along two opposite edges of the panel with the rip fence to the left side of the blade. Then, repeat with the rip fence on the right side of the blade and the panel turned 90° from the first set of cuts.

Once the four fold cuts are made, carefully trim off the four corner waste pieces of the carcass with a sharp utility knife so the short ends of the top, bottom and sides can engage correctly.

Divider Options

Just cut the holders to length from a 60″ piece with scissors, and affix them inside the drawers with their pre-applied adhesive strips.Then, make drawer dividers from scraps of 1/4″ plywood, hardboard or solid wood.

Or, if you don’t plan to change the divider configuration, another option would be to install fixed dividers instead, without holders.

Make them from thicker material, and drive a couple of 18-gauge brad nails through the drawer sides and bottom to attach them.

Adding Dividers

Go ahead and fold up the four joints to relax the “hinge” veneer along the seams. If everything meets up evenly at the corners, spread glue on the joints and clamp up the cabinet carcass. While the glue dries, measure the front-to-back and side-to-side dimensions within the carcass for the drawer dividers. Remove the Miter Fold Blade, switching back to your standard saw blade, and cut two dividers to size. Sand them to 180-grit, and glue the dividers into their dadoes. Peel the painter’s tape off of the cabinet.

Building the Drawers

The process for machining the three drawers with the Miter Fold Blade is the same as for making the cabinet carcass — only this time, there are no internal divider dadoes to cut. Start by cutting three 1/2″-thick plywood or solid wood panels to 13-3/8″ x 23-7/8″, and sand one face smooth for the “inside” face.

Along one long edge of each drawer panel, mark a centerline for drilling a 1-1/4″-dia. semicircle with a Forstner bit to serve as a finger pull. Bore these three finger pulls, one for each drawer, at a drill press and against a clamped fence.

Next, mark the back faces of the drawer panels with four long layout lines, this time at 4-1/2″ in from the edges and ends. Cover them with tape. Reinstall the Miter Fold Blade, adjust it to the correct height again and cut the hinged drawer joints on all three panel workpieces. Glue and clamp the drawer boxes.

Finishing Up

The Miter Fold Blade leaves sharp outer corners on the folded joints and, depending on the grain direction of the outer veneer “hinge,” even tiny splits in the veneer. So, ease these folded edgeson the cabinet and drawer boxes with a sanding block. Smooth the remaining unsanded surfaces to 180-grit, then apply a couple of coats of your favorite durable finish.

Add the drawer dividers inside the drawers if you wish. Then hang the project by driving a pair of 2″ flathead deck or wood screws through countersunk pilot holes in the cabinet back, centered on its width. Locate these mounting screws on a wall stud to hang the cabinet. Now, round up those “must keep” odds and ends, and fill up those drawers!

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Starting with the Box Body

To form the gracefully tapered legs, cut a piece of 1″-thick maple to 1-1/4″ wide by 14-1/2″ long. Then, crosscut four legs to 3-1/2″ long from the long blank. For consistency and safety, I use a simple sled on my band saw table for angle cutting one edge of each leg at 7°. See the Exploded View Drawing for the leg elevations. To make the jig, cut a piece of 1/2″ or 3/4″ plywood to 8″ x 12″ for the base. Cut a runner to slide snugly inside the miter gauge groove on your band saw, and glue it to the bottom of the base so the band saw cut will be roughly centered in the base. Band saw about halfway into the base. Brad-nail a pair of cleats to the top surface of the plywood base to position a leg to trim one edge at 7°. With the wide face of each leg facing down, taper-cut each leg. Sand each miter-cut leg smooth.

Cut the two ends to size from 1/2″-thick stock; I used quilted walnut. Finish-sand the surface that will be the outside face of the end assembly. It’s easier to sand it now, rather than later when it is sandwiched between the two legs. With the inside edges and top ends flush, glue and clamp an end between two legs. Repeat for the other end assembly. Remove the clamp and sand the inside face of each end assembly.

Cut the two sides to size. I resawed a 3/4″-thick piece of quilted maple for these pieces. Cut a 1/4″ rabbet 1/8″ deep along the bottom inside edge of each side piece. Then, sand both sides through 220-grit.

Using a miter gauge with a sacrificial fence and stop, cut a pair of 1/4″ grooves 1/4″ deep on the inside face of the end piece sandwiched between two legs. The groove width needs to be the same width as the thickness of the sides. Be careful not to cut into the legs when cutting the grooves. The stop on the fence allows you to make consistently placed grooves.

Set a stop on your miter saw fence, and miter-cut a 7° angle on the outside edge of each leg on the end assemblies. Miter-cut one leg of each end assembly, angle the blade to cut the opposite direction, reset the stop, and miter-cut the opposite leg of each end assembly.

Finish-sand the two end assemblies, sanding a slight roundover along the edges of each leg. Using rubber bands for clamps, glue and clamp a pair of sides between the end assemblies, checking for square. I used shop-made 90° corner braces to keep the assembly square. Double-check that the top edges of the end assemblies are flush with the top edges of the side pieces. Rubber bands make excellent clamps on the tapered legs where regular clamps have a tendency to slide up the beveled surfaces when they’re tightened. Wipe off any excess glue with a damp cloth.

Measure the rabbeted opening in the bottom of the box and cut the box bottom to size. Glue the bottom in place, wiping off any excess glue. After the glue dries, sand the bottom of the box body smooth.

Adding the Lid Next

Cut the lid to size from 1/2″-thick stock. If you don’t have figured stock this width, edge-join two pieces of 3″-wide stock for the lid. I often book-match figured stock for the lids to obtain the necessary width. To safely cut the tapers along the top edges of the lids, I use the table saw fence saddle shown here. Tilt the table saw blade to 10° from vertical and bevel-cut the ends of the lid first, leaving a 1/8″ flat along the edges of the ends. Then, bevel-cut the edges. The hold-down on the jig keeps the lid firmly in place when making the bevel cuts.

Sand the top and bottom surfaces of the lid smooth. It is easier to sand the lid now as compared to later when the lift has been attached. Measure the opening of your box, and cut the lid bottom to this dimension less 1/16″ in length and width. Center, glue, and clamp the bottom to the underside of the lid.

Following the three-step cut sequence in the Drawings, bevel-cut a lift to shape along the edge of a 1″-thick board. Starting with a wider board makes this a safer table saw cut. Sand 10° tapers on the top ends of the lift, and then sand the lift smooth. Cut the lift spacer to size and glue and clamp it centered on the bottom side of the lift. Now, center the lid/lift assembly on the lid top and glue it in place. I use masking tape to mark the lift’s location on the lid.

Finish Sanding and Adding the Finish

Finish-sand the box and lid. To bring out the grain of the figured stock, I use MINWAX® Antique Oil Finish, following the directions on the can. After letting each coat dry, I rub down the finish with Scotch-Brite gray Ultra Fine Pads. Three or four coats of the oil creates a lasting finish.

Click Here to Download the Materials List and Drawings.

Marlen Kemmet is a woodworking editor specializing in print and digital communications. He resides in central Iowa and is an avid woodworker with a fondness for Greene and Greene style furniture.

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Picnic Basket: Pack up the picnic basket for a summertime outing! This version is traditional with a twist: author Sandor Nagyszalanczy achieves the woven wood look without the need for steam bending, and adds wheels and a pull-out handle for easier transport of all your outdoor eating supplies.

Jigs & Fixtures: A Portable Mini Workbench provides a work surface for small spaces or easily transports outside. Laura Kampf shows you how to build this handy helper.

Prairie Style Box: Equally at home holding jewelry or other trinkets, this architecturally styled box has beveled edges on the lid, lift and legs.

Surfboard Coffee Table: The elliptical top of this Mid-Century style accent resembles a surfboard. Learn to work with mixed materials – an aluminum base supports the wooden tabletop – while creating this beachy accent for your home.

Odds and Ends Cabinet: Screws, other small fasteners … all sorts of odds and ends. You know you have them, and they’re taking up space in your shop. This cabinet provides you with a place to put them – and introduces you to a blade that provides a new way to make interlocking miter joints.

Today’s Shop: Need to make a bevy of box joints? Chris Marshall gives you an up-close and personal look at the purchase options out there for manufactured box joint jigs.

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Mother of Pearl:

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