I apologize for not having Maureen on camera this week. Her schedule was real busy, and I wanted to move the jewelry chest project along...she will be back soon.    After making the larger panel with the spalted sycamore, the next task is to make the jewelry chest on which it will be fastened.    I have no plans, per se, but it should be rather simple. I started by approximating the height that I think would be in proportion to the top—4 inches seems to look right.         And measured the two dimensions of the panel.    And made a very simple sketch. If you remember, when Bethany and I were using the Incra Project Book, it was nice to have the exact plans and detailed measurements. It is also nice to be able to make the plans as you go—and come out with a good finished product.    While I measured the panel as close as I could with the measuring tape, it is often easier and more exact to set the miter gauge stop to the actual panel. This way the box sides will exactly match the panel. I plan to use mitered corners so I want sides exactly the same length as the panel's width and depth.       I cut the four sides of the chest from 1/2" walnut.   For small boxes, mitered corners are great. But a locking miter corner is much better. It has the precision look of the miter and has great structural strength.    For me, the first step is  to set the height approximately so that the center of the bit is centered on the stock.    To have perfect locking miter joints, this centering must be absolutely correct. We will use the method we devised a month or so ago, when we first covered this great bit. I will describe the procedure here.       I mark two sample boards of the exact same stock as the sides. The one marked "A" will be routed with the face up, and the one marked "B" will be routed with the face down.    With the fence in place, I use a hold down to pass the sample pieces over the router.          I then fit the two pieces together. You can't see the small degree of misfit here, but it is there. Remember, if the "B" side is low, raise the bit one half the amount.    Rather than to bore you with pictures of more adjustments, I will simply report that it took two minor, minor changes of the bit height to get a perfect fit—and I mean PERFECT. This method is so fast and simple, it makes using this locking miter joint fun. Main Menu           Previous  Page          Next Page