Wayne Bennett makes an oak box to store watches and cufflinks
I was commissioned to make a watch box to house 10 to 12 watches with a drawer for cufflinks. The only constraint was that it needed to be made from oak. I like to keep my designs simple, so I chose some lovely quartersawn European oak to be the main timber. I love the silvery flecks you find in quartersawn oak – pair that with hand-cut dovetails, and it really doesn’t get much better for me.
When starting a new project, the first thing I like to do is produce a full-size working rod. This enables me to make sure all the compartments, trays and divisions are able to house the elements they are designed to hold.
Preparing the timber
1. Once the stock was milled to rough size, I let it sit for a week or so before dimensioning it to the final sizes.
Making the dovetails
2. The first process was marking out the dovetails. Using dividers and a 1:8 angle, I marked the tails on the face and edge.
3. On the back face of the tails, I removed a 0.5mm rebate. This helps lining up the tails when marking the pins.
4. I removed the waste between the tails using a fine dovetail saw and deep throat fretsaw …
5 …then chiselled along the scribe line for a nice, crisp edge. Once all the tails were cut I started marking the pins. I referenced the back rebate cut earlier against the side cheek. This gave a lovely positive location, much easier than trying to get the edge and faces flush. I transferred the tails on to the pin board using a sharp scalpel and a heavy weight on the template piece; it is crucial to get an accurate line at this point and for the reference board not to move! Once marked out I removed the waste, using a mix of hand saws and chisels.
Making the box
6. Next up was veneering some birch plywood for the bottom and till bottom. I used a thin layer of D3 PVA spread with a foam roller. Too much glue can bleed through and cause the veneer to ripple. The panels were then put between some thick MDF and clamped tight. I left these overnight to make sure they were completely dry. Once removed from the clamps, I used some digital Verniers to get an accurate thickness as the next stage was grooving the internal box front, back and sides.
7. I used a 1/4in router and straight fence to groove the exact thickness of the two panels, taking care not to forget to stop before the ends. I didn’t want any grooves popping out where they aren’t wanted.
8. Once the grooves were routed, I planed the veneered panels to the exact length and width and dry-fitted the box together. I fitted some small oak packers to the side that the drawer box will slide on, which enabled me to have a reference surface and set how wide the drawer fronts will be.
Making the drawer
9. With the box together, I marked out where the drawer front was going to be. Using a 10mm drill bit, I drilled the corners out then jigsawed the reveal. To get an exact size cut-out, I used a following cutter with removable knives. Using new knives on cuts like this is well worth it, as you get a great glass-smooth finish. With the drawer cut-out now removed, I dimensioned the stock saved for the drawer front to the same size as the cut-out. Getting the drawer front the correct size is make or break for a piston-fit drawer, if it’s too small, it’s game over, so I always make sure I have a cup of tea to hand! Once the drawer front was cut I could glue the box together. I made some cauls to fit between the dovetails so as to get a nice neat joint.
10. While the main box was gluing up, I made a start on marking up and cutting my blind dovetails to the drawer sides. I made sure not to go too deep with the tails and left them 0.25mm proud. This enabled me to plane them flush with the drawer front, to get a nice fit. With the drawer front and sides dovetailed together, I made a groove to accept the back. Dovetailing the box all around is a nice idea, but I like to leave some length on the back of the sides to allow the drawer to be opened fully without the drawer falling out. I veneered a small panel using the same method as all my other panels and again checked the thickness using Verniers. This was then used to create a groove to accept the panel, creating the bottom of the drawer box. Once the drawer box was fully assembled, the fun could begin! Using a bevel-up smoothing plane I took equal shavings from both drawer sides until the drawer fitted nicely in place.
11. My attention then turned to the drawer handle. I have used a scalloped design before and like the simplicity of that. First, I made an MDF template …
12 … and then used a 1⁄2in router with a coving bit to create the scallop detail.
13. Then, using a small router plane I make a groove to accept my handle, which was made from a piece of wenge.
14. The wenge was dimensioned to the size of the groove, then shaped to the desired profile. I tend to do this in situ as it’s as much about look as it is about feel at this stage.
15. The handle was glued into place using some PVA. Sometimes I drill some dowels through from the back, but in this instance a glued tenon was more than strong enough.
Making the lid
16. I bought some lovely burr oak that I wanted to use for the lid along with some wenge stringing. I softened the burr using some softener and left it clamped up while it dried.
17. In the meantime I routed a rebate for the top to sit in. I rebated between 0.5–1mm deeper than the thickness of the top. This would be planed down later. Once the burr was dry and flat I pressed it on to a birch plywood substrate with a crown-cut oak balancer. Then I had to plane the top to fit inside the rebate. I find using my shooting board and plane gives great results. With the top a nice snug fit, it was glued into place. Once it was dry, I planed the small lip of the rebate so it was flush with the veneered burr panel.
18. I planned to use some wenge as a break line between the burr oak and the quartersawn oak. To do this I used my inlay tool, which is a lot like a marking gauge, but creates a small groove. The stringing was placed inside the groove and the length marked, before cutting to length and mitring with a sharp chisel and a mitre block.
19. Once the stringing was glued into the groove …
20. … the lid was ready to be cut.
21. I used the tablesaw with the blade set just below breaking through to cut the lid. The remainder of the cut was made using a Japanese saw so as not to break out on the back face. Once the two were separated, I used a No 4 smoothing plane to flatten and square the two faces.
Adding the hardware
22. I like to use stopped box hinges as they allow the top to rest at 95 degrees or so once opened. I routed these in on the router table.
23. I took a bit of time to work out the threading of the screws so all the slots lined up with each other once tightened.
24. Next, the keep was fitted. I like to use high-quality locks and keeps and stick to using a few that I know offer a high-quality feel. As such, I have various router jigs that allow me to fit the hardware. The jig I used for the keep is a simple MDF jig that allows me to use a 1⁄4in router with a guide bush and two flute cutters.
Making the tray insert
The final stage was to make the tray insert that will house the watches. This will sit on a 20mm-high piece of oak that will create a hidden compartment once the tray is in situ. Again, I used some lovely quartersawn oak for the main frame and divisions. I started by veneering some 4mm birch plywood in oak for the bottom. This gave me the thickness of the rebate that I will run around the bottom into which it is housed. I used an electric router and made the necessary passes to achieve the correct width of the bottom. Next, I mitred the front, back and sides to the same internal width of the box. Although the tray would be too tight, I could plane it later once glued, to a tolerance that would allow it to be removed nicely.
25. Once the mitres were cut, I marked out and made a groove to house the divisions.
26. I made the groove a couple of millimetres deep, just enough to locate the divisions.
27. Once these were cut out using a router plane, I could glue up the tray. I like to use a band clamp, as this pulls the joints together nicely and makes it easy to square the tray. Once dry and square, I cut all the divisions to size.
28. I cut them by hand with a gent’s saw, then using my shooting board and plane, squared the ends and trimmed them to size. I find this method more accurate than using the tablesaw, and more satisfying!
29. After cutting to size, I marked up where the divisions would intersect, and cut the housing joints on the panel saw with a dedicated sled. If the design allows, I dimension the divisions to the same thickness as the saw kerf. This allows me to make the bridle joint in one pass, which makes the whole process easier.
30. These divisions were friction-fitted into place. To reinforce the tray, I used veneer mitre splines. On this box I used wenge to complement the stringing and drawer handle. I marked the splines and used a tenon saw to make a groove. The kerf of my saw was set to the thickness of two veneers laminated together.
31. After gluing in, care was taken to flush off due to the brittle nature of wenge.
32. I gave all the elements a thorough sand, working up to 320- grit sandpaper. I finished the box with three coats of birchwood Casey Tru oil. Originally formulated for gun stocks, it gives a great hard-wearing finish and lustre. The burr and medullary rays on this box are a particular favourite of mine, and the contrasts on the dovetails, once some oil is applied, really make me appreciate my job!
You can see more of my work on Instagram @thelittleboxmaker.