Cleanin up boxes

[Don P]

The pile of miscut pine and a cold weekend ganged up. Both the museum and Michelle needed more canning jar boxes. I keep trying to pare these down. This is as far as I am on the wheel, hopefully it might save someone a few prototypes and in the same vein, feel free to post what you all have been up to lately.

For a box that will hold a dozen quarts I've been making them around a bottom that is 11-1/4" x 15".

I've been planing the end "panel" 1/2" thick and pinning it to ~1-1/4 x3/4" rail stock. The ends measure 8-3/4" x 11-1/4". With everything precut I've been assembling a dozen ends and then clamp it overnight with a jack, careful not to break the bench or building. As can be seen by the handle, "Hold me back  :D"


 

I planed the bottom and side wood to 5/16" thick, I keep trying to make them lighter. The stick under the bottom slats is 3/4x3/4x11-1/4" (if 3 boards they are ~3-11/16" if 2 rip to 5-5/8") I need to get a narrow crown stapler, this is getting thinner than brad nail stuff really but I like the lightness.



 

Assemble the bottom on the ends first, then the sides, this one is lacking the last side so you can see how I nailed it together with the bottom cleat. The side pieces are 4-3/8 wide x 5/16 thick.

Why are there 2 pitman arms and a chunk of fat lighter in a folgers can on the radial arm? The man needs a maid  :D



 

Michelle had been making hot pepper jelly in half pints, we were curious. It is snug but 20 per layer and it would hold 2 layers but about 1/2" too tall for the box. The antique baled and bullet quarts at the museum need bigger boxes but these dimensions seem to work for modern jars. I used a 1/8" roundover bit with bearing on all edges and did a real quick sand.

[Wlmedley]

 

 Stocked up on my bushel crates after you all showed me how to build them.Gave several away and everyone I gave them to seemed to really like them so I made more thinking I might sell a few.Haven't advertised but so far there hasn't been a run on them  :D

[Don P]

I've given the museum a dozen or so boxes and they need more. We carried stuff upstairs from the kitchen by the armload when I gutted it. I'm trying to get stacks of dishes and china gravy bowls off the floor upstairs and into something  :D. I'll send some of these to the farmer's market for sale and I owe one of the ladies there a couple shallow boxes sized for a dozen of those half pint jelly jars. Even if this one could hold 40, they couldn't safely move it.

I got back to the house to an email from a friend up the hill, she needs a kindling crate. I think either the bushel size or that 30 dozen egg crate box would be about the right size. If I ever saw a haunching machine come up cheap...  It would make those nice finger joints in one kachunk.

[aigheadish]

Nice work fellas! 

I like those bushel sized Wlmedley! 

We flea market pretty frequently and love to find boxes that size, the older and stamped kind we tend to like the best. My enterprising, lovely wife has turned 3 of them into ottomans in the living room. I cut a top out that she filled with foam and covered with fabric, then we put wheels on them. The tops have hinges so we can store stuff inside. 

You can see 2 of them in this picture, the third, big one was a neat trunk we found for like 30 bucks.