It's been some time sense I posted anything about the pistol I'm building.
Although the pistol is still in process, I thought you might like to see the box I built for it.
The box top and bottom are made of 1/4 inch Birch plywood set in a Poplar frame.
As I only had 1/4 inch and 3/4 inch (actual thickness) Poplar to pick from and I wanted a thinner outer frame, I split a 1X4 to end up with two 5/16 thick pieces.
Using my router, I cut the dados for the top and bottom plywood pieces into the outer frame boards and then cut these into the pieces for the front, sides and back.
The partitions are 1/4 inch Poplar which my handy Home Depot sells. I bought a 1/4 X 4 X 36 inch piece and ripped it into 3 pieces about 1 inch tall.
Rather than make a seperate top and a bottom, I built the box completely closed with mitered corners. After the glue had set up, I used my table saw with the blade set just a little higher than the sides are thick and the fence set to cut about 3/4 of an inch width, I cut the box in two forming the top and the bottom.
Using this method, the sides of the top and bottom align perfectly with one another.
I then stained all of the wood with three coats of alcohol based Walnut stain and finished it using Deft Satin finish (lightly sanded between coats).
The interior is built out of 1/4 X 1 inch pieces mentioned above, with 1/8 inch balsa covering the areas I wanted closed.
The compartment cover is made from 1/4 X 4 inch Poplar and finished to match the outside of the box.
The material I chose was Empress Red Velveteen (at $11/yard) glued in place with spray adhesive, contact glue or white glue depending on the location.
The top and bottom are padded with pieces I cut out of an old bedpad.
I will say, those people who understand how to cover the insides of boxes like this must have some secrets I don't know about. In several places, the best I could figure out still left exposed edges of material. Oh well, it will have to do as it is.
The ramrod is made out of Hickory and stained black with a perminant black marker. I then coated the wood with several coats of Linseed oil. Looks close enough for Ebony to please me.
I thought the porcelain drawer knob made a fitting end for it and my only regret is that I didn't leave the lid of the box deeper so I could use a porcelain knob on the compartment cover.
By the way, if you want to make one of these porcelain capped ramrods, do not try to drill the hole in the end of the rod and screw the knobs screw into it. It will split every time.
My solution to this was to drill the hole to the same size as the outside diameter of the thread and then epoxy the stud in place. That way there is no internal stress on the wood and, if anything, the epoxy will make the wood stronger than it was before the screw hole was drilled.
Now, back to finishing the pistol.
::
Although the pistol is still in process, I thought you might like to see the box I built for it.
The box top and bottom are made of 1/4 inch Birch plywood set in a Poplar frame.
As I only had 1/4 inch and 3/4 inch (actual thickness) Poplar to pick from and I wanted a thinner outer frame, I split a 1X4 to end up with two 5/16 thick pieces.
Using my router, I cut the dados for the top and bottom plywood pieces into the outer frame boards and then cut these into the pieces for the front, sides and back.
The partitions are 1/4 inch Poplar which my handy Home Depot sells. I bought a 1/4 X 4 X 36 inch piece and ripped it into 3 pieces about 1 inch tall.
Rather than make a seperate top and a bottom, I built the box completely closed with mitered corners. After the glue had set up, I used my table saw with the blade set just a little higher than the sides are thick and the fence set to cut about 3/4 of an inch width, I cut the box in two forming the top and the bottom.
Using this method, the sides of the top and bottom align perfectly with one another.
I then stained all of the wood with three coats of alcohol based Walnut stain and finished it using Deft Satin finish (lightly sanded between coats).
The interior is built out of 1/4 X 1 inch pieces mentioned above, with 1/8 inch balsa covering the areas I wanted closed.
The compartment cover is made from 1/4 X 4 inch Poplar and finished to match the outside of the box.
The material I chose was Empress Red Velveteen (at $11/yard) glued in place with spray adhesive, contact glue or white glue depending on the location.
The top and bottom are padded with pieces I cut out of an old bedpad.
I will say, those people who understand how to cover the insides of boxes like this must have some secrets I don't know about. In several places, the best I could figure out still left exposed edges of material. Oh well, it will have to do as it is.
The ramrod is made out of Hickory and stained black with a perminant black marker. I then coated the wood with several coats of Linseed oil. Looks close enough for Ebony to please me.
I thought the porcelain drawer knob made a fitting end for it and my only regret is that I didn't leave the lid of the box deeper so I could use a porcelain knob on the compartment cover.
By the way, if you want to make one of these porcelain capped ramrods, do not try to drill the hole in the end of the rod and screw the knobs screw into it. It will split every time.
My solution to this was to drill the hole to the same size as the outside diameter of the thread and then epoxy the stud in place. That way there is no internal stress on the wood and, if anything, the epoxy will make the wood stronger than it was before the screw hole was drilled.
Now, back to finishing the pistol.
:: :thumbsup:
