A Box & A Double Screw

So my friend asked if I could build her a recipe box. Seems like a simple enough side project, while I wait for all this lumber to dry out. It will get me back to practicing again. It's been a good couple months since I've practiced the basics. I'm definitely far from perfecting them, but the whole "workshop setup" process, ironically, pulled me away from actually woodworking or practicing anyway. The 1839 School Box from the Autumn 2009 issue of Woodworking Magazine (from The Joiner and Cabinet Maker) seems like a good place to try and start for the recipe box. Obviously, there will need to be some scaling, but at least it gives me the chance to exercise the basics without scrapping too much wood.

I was in the midst of milling two pieces of ash for the Joseph Moxon Double Screw Vise that Christopher Schwarz blogged about a few months back, and which showed up in this month's issue of Popular Woodworking. Getting a piece of stock that size, for the first time, proved a bit more difficult than I was expecting. Although the highly questionable work area probably didn't help matters. A flimsy and unstable work table combined with a makeshift planing stop made for some difficult planing. I have one surface pretty good, but was never really sure if I had removed way more material than needed. I'm tempted to run the pieces through the power jointer and planer to get them done and out of the way so I have a good vise to work on the box. Maybe I'll try jointing the stock for the box by hand. Baby steps as it were.