Project - Making a Decorative Box with Lift Out Tray
About the course
Everyone loves a box- especially if it has some fancy dovetails on its corners, pretty veneer on
its lid, compartments inside to keep treasures tidy and organised and a lock to keep little fingers
at bay and treasures safe and secure.
We all know that dovetails are an elegant, strong solution for jointing the corners of boxes, and if
you’ve already successfully cut a few sets of dovetails, perhaps on the ‘Skills Week’, this course
will give you the perfect opportunity to take things to the next level with some ‘Houndstooth
Dovetails’, great for building your hand-skills, a little more demanding to cut and more visually
interesting. A practice set to get your eye in and remind you of the process, then the critical,
precise layout, and cutting of four sets to create the box.
Rebates will be needed to house the top and the base of the box and the lid accurately split
from the bottom half of the box through the middle of a dovetail ‘pin’, which presents the perfect
opportunity to become acquainted with the Router Table. Although the ‘Top’ can be
pre-veneered on its inside face, the outside must be veneered after the top has been glued into
the rebate, this gives you the chance to make a fancy veneer ‘Lay-On’, perhaps ‘Quartered’,
with a central ‘Star’ or a geometric ‘Parquetry’ pattern, we’ll look at these options and the
techniques that are used to successfully work with these very skinny sheets of wood. Gluing the
decorative veneer will give you the chance to become acquainted with a Vacuum Press.
Letting metalwork into wood is another important skill for a Cabinetmaker, usually coming near
the end of a project, if you’re going to avoid ruining your day it’s vital that you have a completely
foolproof method for fitting Hinges and Locks. We’ll look at ‘Hinge Theory’, so that you
understand the critical effect of positioning the ‘Pivot Point’ of a Butt Hinge, how to make fine
adjustments, and how to make a standard hinge work as a ‘Stop Hinge’. Cutting in a Lock
requires just the same precise fitting if it is to look good and work smoothly; fitting a decorative
diamond-shaped ‘Escutcheon’ protects the keyhole and gives an elegant finishing touch.
Lining the inside of the box, adding compartments and making a lift-out tray with skinny pieces
of wood is another test of marking out and the cutting of crisp, precise mitres. This will give you
the chance to become acquainted with a wonderfully named planing jig- the ‘Donkey’s Ear’!
As usual, a full set of razor-sharp tools will be provided, knowing how to sharpen them would be
useful, but by no means critical for this course.
What You Will Learn
PREPARING TIMBER COMPONENTS TO FINE TOLERANCES-A little bit of a recap on
planing technique to prepare the main components to final dimension.
HOUND’S TOOTH DOVETAILS- Still probably the most effective technique for joining bits of
wood together on a corner, we’ll look at Dovetailing techniques, taking Through Dovetails up to
the next level with Pins of different lengths. ‘Hound’s Tooth Dovetails’ are the perfect way to
develop those vital sawing and chiseling skills.
THE ROUTER TABLE-Setting up and using this incredibly versatile and useful machine to cut
accurate Rebates for the Base and Top, and to split the top from the base with absolute control
and precision.
MAKING a VENEER ‘LAY-ON’ & THE VACUUM PRESS- Preparing a decorative pattern to
make a veneer ‘Lay-On’ for the top of the lid; Selecting an appropriate glue and using the
Vacuum Press to attach the veneers to the lid.
HINGES and LOCKS- There’s absolutely no room for mistakes when letting metal fittings into
wood. Understanding the importance of Hinge Positioning is vital when hinging anything, but
particularly important when turning a standard Butt Hinge into a Stop-Hinge.
Fitting a ‘Cut Lock’ shouldn’t be too challenging if you understand the cutting-in sequence and
have a couple of modified tools at your disposal.
FITTING a DECORATIVE ESCUTCHEON- An elegant diamond-shaped reinforcement for a
keyhole- cutting the Escutcheon in a contrasting wood into the font of the box using a
combination of hand-held router or perhaps the Shaper Origin, finishing off with a little precise
chiseling.
BOX LINER, COMPARTMENTS and TRAY- Precise dimensioning of these skinny components
to give a crisply fitted out interior to the box. The Donkey’s Ear planing jig is indispensable for
cutting the accurate mitre joints for the corners, the compartments and the tray, which will also
have Veneer Key corners.
Read what our recent students say about the Skills Week Course
“John unlocks the little details that are never quite answered when being self taught by YouTube. Learning ‘the knack’ of doing things properly is so much easier and faster face to face.”
“I found the course very informative and educational. The tuition was broken down into manageable sections and all bought together in the making of a small tray which I thoroughly enjoyed.”
“An excellent course. An excellent teacher. Wasn’t taken too seriously, but equally we learnt a lot.”
“The course was comprehensive, thorough and well structured. John has a very methodical and clear approach when explaining and instructing. I think the course had a good balance of theory and practical application.”
“I had a great time on the course. The tuition is really good and I came way understanding how to do the tasks we looked at. I will need. Lot more practice to become proficient but that is part of the learning process.”
“Perfect combination of hand plane, chisel, and dovetail saw skill building. Exactly what I was looking for.”
“From the outset we were made to feel welcome and the course was delivered in a no pressure environment.”
“As a complete beginner I was a bit apprehensive at the start of this course but John’s enthusiasm, knowledge and clear teaching skills meant I need not have worried. It was an excellent course in a beautiful setting with delicious afternoon cake. What else could we ask for?!”
“I Particularly liked John’s concise methods and tips and tricks.”
“There were clear explanations and demonstrations and time to practice.”
“Spacious workshop, ability to use tools of a greater quality than my own. John’s ability to show us how to do the various tasks.”
“John was very patient, had a great sense of humour and the was amazing, I was very surprised that i managed to turn out a half decent cheeseboard and cracker box – definitely the result of good teaching as I had little woodworking experience beforehand.”
“Small numbers and personalized tuition”
“I would just like to say a big thank you for the fantastic course that you ran last week, i can honestly say i haven’t learnt that much in years and along with that had such fun.
“You truly have an exceptional environment to learn and the camaraderie is second to none. Again many, many thanks and hopefully i will get myself along to the long course in the not to distant future.”
“It was excellent, I liked everything. Really. The people, the equipment, the course content, John’s expertise, Sara-Jane’s cake. It was all Brilliant.”
“The course was taught at the right pace and the tuition was very good.”
“Well thought out. A good pace. Excellent venue. Beautifully laid out classroom. Good workbench. Very good explanations about tools and the different brands.”
“Lovely atmosphere, beautiful surroundings, great teacher and fantastic cake!”
“Very good clear and staged instructions to allow skills to develop. The content was challenging but never to the extent that it’s outcomes could not be achieved.”
“Thanks for another great week. I’ve been fettling my box today and it’s starting to look like something I can be just a little but proud of. Only another ten years and I’ll be able to make the perfect dovetail (and win Wimbledon).”
“I also want to say thanks again for such a fantastic week, I learned more than I thought I was capable of and feel much more confident about taking my first steps into a career in carpentry. I know I’ve still got a long way to go but I feel much better about the future now. Hopefully, I’ll be back again next summer, if not before!”
“Absolutely enjoyed every minute. Went to the tool sharpening and beginners cabinet making course. Looked forward to every morning and hated leaving lol. Worst part of the course was its too short!!! Thanks ever so much to John and his patience with my caffeine fuelled jitteriness! Hope to be back as soon as possible!”
“The knowledge and the way information was put across by John standout but the all round atmosphere was excellent. Please move to Carlisle so you are closer. To be honest it is the best week I have had.”
“Even with the bar set so high for beginners, the instruction was presented in such well organised and digestible bite size chunks, one was able to absorb and implement the information without feeling overwhelmed or too confused. The course and instruction far exceeded anything I could have reasonably expected.”
“John is a great teacher and the course content was spot on. Its also a great location for me and the home made cakes are a very nice plus!”
“Very informative and we gradually progressed through important stages. Informal and relaxed with good interaction between tutor and all participants.”
“John is a very good teacher. I really liked the attention to detail, the focus on technique, and the comprehensive approach to understanding the tools and how they worked. The projects were well-judged, with the right balance of challenge and achievability.”
“Well paced, comprehensive and built skills through practical experiencing. I enjoyed the teaching style.”
“The course was structured – everything we did led into another activity. It was almost like someone had thought about it. Although we didn’t necessarily create anything for the first few days there were ‘goals’ along the way. The methods were taught in a way that was easy to follow (though not always to put into practise!). Tools provided were great, and we got the opportunity to try other variants. Nice cakes as well.”
Structured and good pace. Very thorough build up of the fundamental skills. Feel like I could completed the projects independently now using the skills covered.”
“Well explained and always there to help.”
“A Professional level of instruction.”
“I would recommend the course to anyone seeking to improve their basic skills in cabinet Making,in particular the dovetail saw.”
“I liked the practice of dovetail marking & cut outs, nice to have an early piece finished ( cheese board) recommend YES.”
“Skills Week is well-designed, well-organised, well- resourced and great fun – I learned a lot!”
“This was an excellent choice of course for me as I work with hand tools, and I felt that my skills levels and knowledge had really been raised enormously after the week with John.”
“Excellent instruction in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The quality of the tools was top notch which made a huge difference.”
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