First two box-joint boxes

Over the weekend I glued up the second box. Sanding of the box joints was a bit of a problem because I put some scratches in the outer veneer of the plywood. The photo does not show the scratching, but it does show how the dado cuts were a little deeper than half of an inch. I could try a different sander; I have a detail sander with a smaller head. My goal for next time will be to test the depth of the table saw blade, and make sure the cuts are no deeper than 1/2-inch.

Lids

Thursday, March 24th: I was able to cut the first box lid to size. I used 3/8-inch plywood that I saved from a Coleman pop-up camper.

I just ordered this $8.00 depth gauge from Amazon:

Lid handles

I had to use clamps; usually I just use a Porter Cable 16 ga. finish nailer. But I didn’t have short enough nails. I am ordering some 3/4-inch nails, not Porter Cable brand. With an air nailer, I am able to get more operations done in a day, since I don’t have to wait for the glue to dry. Even with the air nailer, I apply glue to the joint.

Maths

It turns out that if I had done the math, I would have realized that 1-inch nails would work. My habits tend to be a lot of measuring and eyeballing, but rarely doing any calculations. I am starting to realize that carpentry involves a LOT of calculations, especially of the fractional type (unless you’re like most of the world that uses the metric system). Time to learn new habits.